Shore power vs Batter maintainer

[dkuntz]

My storage facility has the ability for me to hookup to shore power while it’s in storage and it’s included with my monthly lease. I have a keystone Cougar 5th, 2020.
1) Should I connect to the power source to keep the batteries charged?
2) Should I connect a battery maintainer instead?
3) Does it matter if I’m turning the battery disconnect switch on anyway….?

Appreciate any insight as to why you would recommend one versus the other and why.

[pianotuna]

On the contrary both RV's had propane and smoke detectors.

The 1987 unit required a battery for the rather ancient converter.

The 2005 had a PD which was quite happy to run things without the battery.

One of my upgrades in the 2004 was an inverter charger which allowed for load support. I left the converter in place for those rare times when gfci doesn't "like" the inverter charger.

I have a way to plug in just the converter for the days before the inverter/charger when I used double conversion and ran the 120 volt side from a 2500 watt inverter rated for running motors.

[wa8yxm]

StirCrazy wrote:
I have put a PD9200 series converter in all my units (except my camper, it's still a PD though) I leave them all plugged in 24/7 and they stay like that all year except when I am actually camping.

Mine was a 9100 + Wizard (Effectively the same as the 9200)

And the batteries lasted 9 years plugged in nearly full time.

[StirCrazy]

pianotuna wrote:
On both the RV's I've owned the disconnect switch removed all drains to the battery bank.

When in doubt, for storage, disconnect the negative battery cable.

Judging from the age of them in your other post they didn't have them newfangled safety devices.. all joking aside usually those two are not included in the battery disconnect now as they are just that safety devices. I used my battery disconnect for the first time this last winter and forgot I had done it. so, I de winterized, loaded the rv got the fridge running and everything, pulled the slides in hooked up and away we went. when I got to the destination I noticed there were no lights on the fridge and everything in there wasn't as cold as it normally is and in a moment of brilliance it dawned on me that U may have turned off the battery disconect switch ... sure enough.

so the reason the safety devices bypass the switch is because if I was plugged in I can still use everything in my RV even if the battery switch is turned off.

[pianotuna]

On both the RV's I've owned the disconnect switch removed all drains to the battery bank.

When in doubt, for storage, disconnect the negative battery cable.

[StirCrazy]

I have put a PD9200 series converter in all my units (except my camper, it's still a PD though) I leave them all plugged in 24/7 and they stay like that all year except when I am actually camping.

Beware of people telling you to just turn your battery disconnect switch off as there are still loads even when they is off as in your propane leak and carbon monoxide detectors which will run a battery flat in a month (depending on battery size of course.)

the thing being a good quality charger will have different charging profiles or different battery conditions and works to maintain your battery properly. a lower quality single or double stage charge will just keep pounding power which boils the batteries and in turn they lose water.

like Grit dog said, if you don't have a good charger then use a maintainer (you have to size those properly also) or just totally disconect the batteries in addition to using the disconect switch.

[Grit_dog]

Everything these guys have said is correct. If it’s a smart charger/converter that also works as a maintainer then you’re good to go.
If not either get one that is since it probably doesn’t charge well either.
Or use just a maintainer
Or fully charge and unhook the batteries.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

When I travel for more than a week I connect the battery in my car to a 2 amp charger. I have a timer that charges the battery for 2 hours per day. The starter battery is OEM and ten years old.

I do this because of parasitic loads.

Many RV's have a disconnect switch so there are no parasitic loads to be dealt with.

[opnspaces]

You definitely can't answer that question until you know the make and model of the charger. Look on the power distribution center (where all the circuit breakers and fuses are)

Be aware that the battery disconnect switch may not actually disconnect all loads on the battery. So just flipping the switch may still allow the battery to drain and die.

A battery maintainer hooked directly to the battery with the disconnect switch set to disconnect the battery would be you best be until you can determine the make and model of the charger.

[haste_maker]

I have two "Battery Tenders" I use one for the coach battery's & one for the engine battery.

[Bumpyroad]

I have my RV hooked up to a timer and have it come on for a few hours a day.
bumpy

[theoldwizard1]

IMHO, no battery "likes" to be connected to any kind of charger 24/7 for weeks on end.

Plug your RV in, but turn the battery isolator off. Use a battery maintainer plugged into an old fashioned mechanical lamp timer. Set the timer for about 4 hours per day.

[wa8yxm]

Shore power or a "Battery maintainer" Such as a Battery Tender.

The answer depends on your converter. A good 3-stage converter like an IOTA with IQ-4 or a Progressive Dynamics with Charge wizard.... (None better) PLUG IN.. by all means PLUG IN.

Magnetek 6300 UPGRADE the converter to one of the above and Plug in

What is it company that bought out Magnetek and improved it. Parallex 7300 Use a maintainer.

Those are examples. What is the difference from worst to best.

The magnetek 6300 had no regulation no "Smarts" it just keeps charging and has a well deserved reputation for killing batteries.

The parallex 7300 and 7300T.. The 7300 is a "Float" charger. IT's ok but the batteries never top off the 7300T has a timed BOOST mode when it first plugs in ... Better but still not much better.

The Progressive Dynamics Wizard or Iota's IQ-4 are 3-stage PLUS converters that sense the battery state and go into BOOST, Absorption or float depending on what's needed.. Now I'm not sure about the IQ-4 (Think it does this) But the Wizard after so many hours of float will go into a short "Equalize" mode which can also extend battery life.

[wolfe10]

Please tell us what converter, charger or inverter/charger you have.

A "smart" one-- leave it plugged in 24/7/365.

A "less than smart one"-- use a smart battery maintainer or fully charge the batteries and disconnect them.

[rk911]

unless your converter/charger is a newer 'smart' device that will sense when the batteries are fully charged and will then revert to maintenance or float mode use an external device that will do that.