Jan-11-2016 01:15 PM
Jan-17-2016 12:08 PM
booster wrote:
Sam, the separator takes more power than a smart tender will put out, so that is all done, just like Pleasure-way said.
Jan-17-2016 10:52 AM
Sam Spade wrote:jjson775 wrote:
so I started using the trickle charger.
I hope others benefited from this lively discussion.
Apparently YOU haven't.....because you are still talking about a "trickle charger" which can actually be harmful over long periods of time; sometimes even more than just letting them sit.
YOU NEED A SMALL, SMART, AUTOMATIC TENDER TYPE CHARGER......not something that is properly labeled as a trickle charger.
AND......3 week is NOT a long period of time for it to just sit without attention. If the battery shows a significant amount of discharge during that time then there is something wrong that needs to be located and fixed. OR you just simply need to disconnect the battery. Over a period as short as 3 weeks, a charger is NOT NEEDED. It just is not....or maybe more properly, it should not be.
Given the right kind of charger it won't hurt anything though and if it has a reasonable charge to start with it should not be necessary to disconnect the battery. IF....you have a parasitic loss that is more than a small battery tender can keep up with, you have a serious problem that needs to be addressed. Telling people otherwise is not doing them any favors.
Jan-17-2016 09:31 AM
jjson775 wrote:
so I started using the trickle charger.
I hope others benefited from this lively discussion.
Jan-17-2016 05:54 AM
Jan-16-2016 12:03 PM
Sam Spade wrote:booster wrote:
He also said he knows driving every few weeks isn't always enough, which is absolutely true, as it can take hours to refill a cold lead acid battery so you slowly go downhill on charge.
With a healthy fully charged battery that is absolutely NOT true.
The self-discharge loss should be so small that a reasonable vehicle charging system can make up for 3 weeks worth in about 15 minutes......or less.
And trusting the onboard converter/controller to take care of the batteries over a long period of non-use is a mixed bag too. Some (many?) float them too high and tend to boil off the water, just like a cheap trickle charger. That kind tends to recover the charge slowly too. A good 2 or 3 stage controller, OTOH, will charge rapidly AND maintain the charge properly without excessive electrolyte loss.....like a smart tender type charger.
Specifics are needed. Generalities are almost always false and misleading.
Jan-16-2016 08:50 AM
booster wrote:
He also said he knows driving every few weeks isn't always enough, which is absolutely true, as it can take hours to refill a cold lead acid battery so you slowly go downhill on charge.
Jan-15-2016 04:09 PM
Sam Spade wrote:jjson775 wrote:
Even driving the RV every 3 weeks or so doesn't always prevent a discharged battery which is the reason I went to a trickle charger in the first place.
Yes it WILL.
IF you drive long enough to get the battery charged up
AND
You disconnect it when it is parked.
Any battery that shows significant loss of charge over 3 weeks when it is not connected to anything IS DEFECTIVE and should be replaced.
Did you notice the important information I tried to give you about "trickle" chargers ??
Jan-15-2016 02:06 PM
jjson775 wrote:
Even driving the RV every 3 weeks or so doesn't always prevent a discharged battery which is the reason I went to a trickle charger in the first place.
Jan-15-2016 12:07 PM
Jan-13-2016 04:21 AM
jjson775 wrote:
I drive the RV every 3 weeks or so and run the generator with the 2 house batteries connected.
Jan-12-2016 05:13 PM
booster wrote:jjson775 wrote:
The 12 volt trickle charger is connected to the Ford van battery. I drive the RV every 3 weeks or so and run the generator with the 2 house batteries connected. Then I disconnect the house batteries when leaving the RV in storage. The RV is not plugged in to AC at all while stored (except for the trickle charger). This worked fine with our old PW Excel for years but I am afraid this clicking (a relay of some kind) will give me trouble. Thanks for the input.
What year and model do you have? Do you know if it has an isolator or separator?
Jan-12-2016 02:56 PM
jjson775 wrote:
The 12 volt trickle charger is connected to the Ford van battery. I drive the RV every 3 weeks or so and run the generator with the 2 house batteries connected. Then I disconnect the house batteries when leaving the RV in storage. The RV is not plugged in to AC at all while stored (except for the trickle charger). This worked fine with our old PW Excel for years but I am afraid this clicking (a relay of some kind) will give me trouble. Thanks for the input.
Jan-12-2016 01:51 PM
Jan-12-2016 05:55 AM