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Jebby14's avatar
Jebby14
Explorer
Jul 09, 2016

charging battery in use

My camper has no inverter to charge the battery when hooked up to shore power. At home I have a smart charger that offers fast charge (I think 10 or 12A or something) and a trickle charge (I want to say 2.5A ish)that is supposed to maintain (ie not cook the battery if you leave it) If I hook it up to the battery on trickle charge and plug that into shore power can I run my 12V systems in the camper off the batter while it is being charged?

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  • Jebby14's avatar
    Jebby14
    Explorer
    Jul 09, 2016
    I read roughly 12v post to post on the battery. when I plug in shore power should that not jump up a bit if it was accepting a charge
  • Jebby14's avatar
    Jebby14
    Explorer
    Jul 09, 2016
    I thought so too but I have been unable to fine one and when plugged in there is no amperage at the battery nor any type of voltage spike. The trailer is "well loved" and the previous owners heavily customized it for full hookups since that's where it spent its time so I'm not surprised it doesn't have it.
  • coolbreeze01's avatar
    coolbreeze01
    Explorer
    Jul 09, 2016
    Sam Spade wrote:
    Yes.
    BUT.....if your camper is equipped with both a battery AND a shore power connection, it would be very unusual to NOT have a converter to charge the battery (which is different than an inverter to make 110VAC from a battery supply).


    I agree. Charging systems have been standard for many years.
  • Sam_Spade's avatar
    Sam_Spade
    Explorer
    Jul 09, 2016
    Yes.
    BUT.....if your camper is equipped with both a battery AND a shore power connection, it would be very unusual to NOT have a converter to charge the battery (which is different than an inverter to make 110VAC from a battery supply).

    Measure the voltage at the battery.
    Connect shore power.
    Measure the battery again.
    If the second reading is higher, then there IS a converter/charger there and you just have to find it.

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