Solar charging maintaining help
Hi all, Ive got some questions. Ive been reading ALOT of posts and trying to gather knowledge of what other rvers are doing and using. I have calculated my useage while boondocking and have decided to...
Forum Discussion
champdog wrote:
so I was thinking Id try to set that up via small solar panel that I could set up outside the storage cover while parked.
Keeping the batteries FULLY charged is the best way to "extend" their life. If they are indeed healthy (that is don't exhibit a large self-discharge) then simply disconnecting is good enough for 3-4 months. If they are AGM, you can extend that to 6 months and beyond.
Then.....I see absolutely NO reason to buy two solar chargers. A really good one will automatically drop to "maintain" and they are made to be outside 100 precent of the time. Don't make this more complicated than it needs to be.
Edit: Just re-read your original post. Since there are two batteries in parallel, and you don't know their condition, you should individually charge each one once, let them sit disconnected for about 24 hours and then check the voltage and specific gravity of each. This will tell you a lot about their general health. If they match and appear able to hold a full charge, then back to the two suggestions above.
Batteries in parallel need to be similar in size, capacity and health. Mis-matches can be problematic.
