questions on battery charging

[riven1950]

I have a small 110V battery charger, nothing fancy , I think it has 2,6,10 amp selections.

Anyway, I was thinking about hooking short wires to the + and - terminals of my battery permanently and let them stick out of the battery box to make for easy charging. Not sure what you would call them, I'll call them pigtails.

Does this make sense? How would they connect to the charger which has aligator clips on it? Are these commercially available?

Other question concerns charging. I have always disconnected my battery before charging or turned off my battery disconnect switch.

Does it hurt to use a 110v battery charger while the battery power to the trailer is on and the frig is running on propane?

I have a 2017 Coachmen TT with one battery if that matters.

Not a battery expert obviously, just trying to be safe.

Thanks

[westend]

DrewE wrote:

westend wrote:
You can have the onboard converter and an auxiliary charger connected to the battery and powered, simultaneously. Won't hurt a thing.

Instead of having wire protruding from the battery box, use a purpose-built connector. There are different ones out there. Anderson Power Pole is one fairly well regarded connector. Audio XLR connectors are typically rated for a minimum of 45A to 100A and can be weatherproof. They're cheap and abundant everywhere. XLR connectors typically use a set screw for wire termination.

I really don't think you mean XLR connectors; those are typically used for microphones (these days at least) and typically have maximum current ratings around 10-15A. Most use solder cup terminations, at least the ones that I've seen. I would not want to see what happens when 100A are passed through them. They are very nice connectors, though, when used within their limits.

Possibly you're thinking of speakon connectors, which are rated at 40A?

Yes, I was thinking of Speakon for the higher amperages. The XLR's from Neutrik are rated only to 16A per pin.

[RCMAN46]

I would suggest these connectors.

120 amp connector.

I even use them so I can disconnect my battery from the trailer.

Or this one for charging only.

45 amp connector

[DrewE]

westend wrote:
You can have the onboard converter and an auxiliary charger connected to the battery and powered, simultaneously. Won't hurt a thing.

Instead of having wire protruding from the battery box, use a purpose-built connector. There are different ones out there. Anderson Power Pole is one fairly well regarded connector. Audio XLR connectors are typically rated for a minimum of 45A to 100A and can be weatherproof. They're cheap and abundant everywhere. XLR connectors typically use a set screw for wire termination.

I really don't think you mean XLR connectors; those are typically used for microphones (these days at least) and typically have maximum current ratings around 10-15A. Most use solder cup terminations, at least the ones that I've seen. I would not want to see what happens when 100A are passed through them. They are very nice connectors, though, when used within their limits.

Possibly you're thinking of speakon connectors, which are rated at 40A?

[westend]

You can have the onboard converter and an auxiliary charger connected to the battery and powered, simultaneously. Won't hurt a thing.

Instead of having wire protruding from the battery box, use a purpose-built connector. There are different ones out there. Anderson Power Pole is one fairly well regarded connector. Audio XLR connectors are typically rated for a minimum of 45A to 100A and can be weatherproof. They're cheap and abundant everywhere. XLR connectors typically use a set screw for wire termination.

[Harvey51]

I don't see any problem doing all those things.
I doubt that charger would overcharge or harm the battery in any way. I would check the voltage it provides to the battery with a voltmeter. Anything up to 14.5 volts is safe as it is what engine charging provides. The current will automatically diminish to zero when the surface charge on the battery reaches the voltage the charger provides. If the voltage is higher than your converter provides it will charge faster and better. Old converters like mine only supply about 13.5 volts which takes forever to charge fully.

[Old-Biscuit]

IF you can power up that potable charger using a 100' extension cord then you could also plug in your TT using a 30A to 15A adapter, good heavy gauge extension cord and let the on board converter maintain battery charge.

Basically ----same/same.

[riven1950]

Thanks for all the answers. Pretty sure my charger does cut down or off when battery is fully charged.

I realize the converter will keep the battery up if plugged into a/c.
Maybe didn't make my question clear. " Does it hurt to use 110v battery charger while the battery power to the trailer is on and the frig is running on propane"

What I was trying to say is tt would be on battery power only, no a/c, and frig is on propane. Then is ok to use a 110v charger?

Reason for the question is the tt will be 100' or so from a/c power source so I can run a cord to the charger but not hook up the normal a/c to the tt.

thanks

[DrewE]

If you do have a connection for charging, I would suggest using a proper connector of some description rather than just having bare wires sticking out. Possibly something along the lines of a hot wheels toy charger connection would be suitable if the charge current is sufficiently low. In any case, please put a fuse in the positive lead so that a short circuit at the exposed connection point won't start a fire.

[handye9]

There is a commercially made post, used as a remote charging / jumper post.

Here's a link to one on ebay

As mentioned above, if you can plug in to shore power, your converter will maintain the battery.

[wa8yxm]

Does it hurt to charge the batteries while they are in use: Generally NO.

With that charger I'd say NO

HOWEver that sounds like a basic charger. NOT a "Smart" charger, this means it puts current even when the batteries are full up. Overcharging and doing damage. |At least on the 10 am setting it MIGHT.. Of course if you have enough battery.. it won't matter.

I would seriously consider a Progressibe Dynamivcs 91xx (not sure the smallest model) plug in model.. Those. you can leave hooked up and plugged in for up to about a decade give or take a bit..Both in use and not in use.

[donn0128]

There is absolutely no need to use a external battery charger if your RV is plugged in. That is what the converter/charger is for.