Available Battery Charger(s)

[jodeb720]

Gents,

I hope this not finds you well in the land of high gas prices...

My cousin just purchased a truck camper and it's got an interstate battery (not sure what kind, size, etc).

He's going to be purchasing new battery - and he's not sure if Li is in his budget or AGM is in his future.

What he doesn't have is a good external battery charger he can order today that's not obnoxious in price.

He's not going to replace his WFCO power center - so that's off the table.

I'm open to any and all suggestions for an external charger that he can order today.

Thanks for suggestions in advance!

josh

[jodeb720]

OP Here. We all know the care and feeding of batteries - especially given the cost for them versus the cost of maintenance (which is relatively cheap).

I've ruined more batteries in my life by adding tap water to them, by not fully recharging and desulfating them periodically.

From the great advice I've been given here in this forum, I've learned and been able to keep my batteries in good shape with minimal loss of capacity because of a few, easy maintenance items.

The best advice given to me recently from all of you was to check the water levels, fully charge, desulfate and disconnect the batteries here in Denver (I was in Los Angeles before) - fully charged batteries don't freeze - and that's not something I would have thought of moving to Denver.

For that Thank you all so much!

For my cousin, he's just starting out on his adventure - and the path of least resistance and lowest cost of maintenance is an external charger - which has a maintenance mode (trickle charger).

He's going to remove his battery when it's not used, slap the charger on it, and store it at his house - not in the TC when not in use.

I know. Not optimal - but it's better than using the WFCO to charge the battery (which could take days if it ever fully charges the battery) and it remains permanently undercharged.

He and I did discuss moving to Li or AGM which is why he's looking at an external charger which is designed to charge all three of the major battery types (FLA, AGM Li). For now though, it's basic maintenance and he can enjoy his new to him TC for the summer - and he can save his pennies until he can upgrade.

[pianotuna]

profdant139,

I managed 9.5 years on marine batteries.

[profdant139]

The OP recommended fully charging the battery as soon as you get home -- good advice! But at the risk of stating the obvious, you then have to maintain the charge until the next camping trip. For whatever it's worth, I use a BatteryMinder Plus as my trickle charger.

But it sounds to me like the OP may know more about batteries than I do -- I get about five years out of my group 31 batteries (with about 70 nights a year of camping), and he gets 8 years out of his.

[jodeb720]

because he's young, and still just "starting out".
He bought a TC a few years ago, he and I worked on it - extensively - and got the existing solar panel hooked up and working, added a sink and water - and made it habitable.

He sold that and purchased a travel trailer for 1000.00 - and parts of the floor were rotting out - he used it last summer - and then sold it for salvage and made a profit from it.

Now he's spent a bunch more money on a TC - which is in really good shape - but right now he's cash strapped.

If he had the extra cash, he'd throw solar, and go with Li for power - but right now he's got the unit and is looking to come up with a way to boondock - on the cheap - until he makes more money and I can go to Oregon (from Colorado) to help him get solar, and better batteries and find more space to store stuff.

the Opposite end of that discussion is my friend who just bought a 40' Toyhauler and is replacing the entire power distribution system that has Charger/Inverter in one device (PD) and purchased four Li batteries so he can run his generator once a day for a couple of hours and recharge enough for his boondocking - but not conserve...

A lot of it has to do with where you are financially in life - and what you can afford versus what's practical.

[pianotuna]

Why is solar not on the table?

[jodeb720]

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll start doing the research for him now. since he's in Oregon and I'm Colorado, it's hard for me to "help" him with things that are above his pay grade in terms of experience. He doesn't want to make a mistake - so he's looking for something he can 'manage' himself without making a mess out of his battery.

[StirCrazy]

jodeb720 wrote:
Gents,



He's not going to replace his WFCO power center - so that's off the table.



josh

he doesnt have to change the whole power center he can just change out the converter section which is basicly a charger. if he is going to leave it the same I would sugest he just buy the cheepest GC2 batteries he can find and then its not a big deal to replce them. and external charger just seams like a lot of un nessasary work to me.

[wa8yxm]

I am partial to the Progressive Dynamics 9200. Made in the USA (Marshall, MI) it's a good unit that treats teh battery well.. You can get factory refurbs for around 200 more or less depending on the size.

Battery: My recommendation is one of two
LiFePo4 Battle Born can provide a special Progressive Dynamics converter that is programmed specifically for their LiFePo4 But as you have noted EXPENSIVE. thera are a couple other issues with LI batteries (They do not like COLD).

Good old GC-2 Flooded wet cell (OR GC-12) these are true DEEP CYCLE batteries ideal for RV use The GC-2 is a 6 volt so you need TWO of them in series to make 12 volts (They basically become 4D when properly wired). Treat them as you would a single 12 volt battery.

The GC-12.. IS a 12 volt battery

The 45 amp 9200 is the choce for a GC-12 45 or 60 for a pair of GC-2

[theoldwizard1]

jodeb720 wrote:

I don't know if a FLA will suffice in a TC. He's limited right now to one battery. I'm thinking an AGM might be his best bet.

He plans on doing primarily weekend trips - so if he can get 2 or 3 nights without running a 120 volt generator (and right now Solar isn't on the table) he'd be golden.

Not going to happen, especially if he is using the furnace ! If heat is required, he needs a source that draws nothing from the battery.

jodeb720 wrote:

When he returns home, he'll need to fully recharge the battery and that's where the external will come into play.

There are a lot of good budget chargers on the market. Look at Schumacher and NOCO.

Not cheap, but he should look into. DC-DC charger. It will properly charge the battery when the truck engine is running.

[Lwiddis]

“…so if he can get 2 or 3 nights without running a 120 volt generator (and right now Solar isn't on the table) he'd be golden.”

Not golden at all. Wet batteries will have their full lifespan only with daily full recharging. Lithium is different…no need to fully recharge. Bite the bullet and go solar regardless of battery type.

[time2roll]

jodeb720 wrote:
He's not going to replace his WFCO power center - so that's off the table.

Just replace the converter that slides into the lower slot. About 6 screws and 15 minutes.

Direct replacement: https://powermaxconverters.com/product/pm3-mba/
Slides right in using the same mounting screws etc.

[Skibane]

jodeb720 wrote:

He has a voltmeter with him and his battery voltage was 12.3

That's not terribly discharged, unless it recovered some before he took the measurement.

but the charger was steady at 13.6 never tapering after 8 hours of connecting to shore power (for a recharge).

13.6 volts is typical for a long-term maintenance (or "float") charge.

Depending on how old it is, that may be the only voltage his house battery charger (or "power converter") ever produces.

[pianotuna]

For boondocking maximize capacity. Buy a 270 amp-hour SiO2.

https://azimuthsolar.ca/product/12v-270ah-ultra-long-life-battery/

[LittleBill]

AGM capacity is lower then flooded in the same form factor.

that said, just get this, it will charge everything, agm, lithium etc, and it will fully be charged the next morning, and will condition the battery if it needs it.

Noco 10 Amp Charger