Battery Charger

[Gormley Green]

Since I can't keep my camper at my place or plugged in over the winter. I'm going to haul the battery out if it's going to sit for sometime without being used. It got an AGM battery in it from FWC. I'm looking for any recommendtions for a good battery charger to get for my garage.

I've heard Ctek is pretty good.

It would be nice if it could double duty and tend/charge my motorcycle battery periodically as well.

Thanks.

 

[MarkBC]

I'm not an expert...but this is the one I got a couple of years ago, mainly to charge my camper battery, and I've been happy with it. It's a 3-Stage charger and has lots of different modes/functions.

Black & Decker VEC1093DBD Smart Battery 40/20/10/4 Amp Battery Charger

 

[billharr]

Battery Tender.

 

[pods8]

You just need a basic trickle charger to counter act self discharge, probably could find one for $10-20 locally at your battery supply places. Probably would only need to plug it in a few times over the winter.

 

[UglyScout]

I have one of these in my camper all the time to maintain the battery. They can be had for $30 at your local store I'm sure.

My link

 

[Gormley Green]

Thanks guys. Will check with my local supplier about a tender.

 

[GBW]

I currently use the Ctek charger. In the package, it comes with clamps and rings which can be attached with a quick connect style plug. I leave the "O" ring on the battery and just disconnect the plug when not in use. If I'm parking the camper near an outlet, I just plug the camper in and leave the charger connected (I hard wired in another 120V outlet). Other times, I need the charger for another battery or over the winter when I remove the battery, I'll use the clamps. I often have 2 or more batteries charging, I'll just rotate charging one week at a time type deal in my garage.

Ctek has worked well for me, I'd recommend it but as others have posted, there are many options.

 

[Gormley Green]

The guy at Lordco here gave me a good deal on the Ctek 7002 this morning. It's a rainy day, so I went for it. Seems like it should do the job for sure. And then some.

Thanks for all the tips. This site continues to be the best!

 

[MarkBC]

Since we're on the subject of camper-battery charging at home, maybe somebody could clarify something for me -- about charging the battery via the built-in "Iota" system in my 2005 FWC Hawk when plugged into 120v AC.

So, when the outside AC line is plugged into shore power (and the main push-pull switch next to the Iota is on), the camper battery is being charged, right? How effective is that charging? Does/can it work as trickle-charge to keep the camper battery topped off when the truck is parked at home for weeks/months?

I guess this is a pretty basic question, but I haven't really considered options for maintaining the charge between trips until I read this thread. I should mention that I have a pair of Trojan SCS225 flooded/wet batteries -- not AGM or gel.

Until now, I've always charged the camper battery before a trip via the B&D battery charger I mentioned in my previous post, and I didn't worry much about keeping the charge up between trips...though I understand that it's better for the battery to keep its charge up (right?). And it's only since this summer that I've plugged the camper shore-power line into AC at home -- since I got the compressor-type fridge, just before a trip to cool down the fridge without draining the battery. But in doing that it seemed like this (AC-->Iota-->12v-->battery) didn't top off my camper battery as effectively as the fancy "smart charger" does. ??

Input/suggestions/education? Thanks.

 

[pods8]

I'm not sure the IOTA's base profile but it can be improved with a plug in adder which turns it into a stage charger and will top your battery off properly (I don't have the name of that memorized or the charge profile since I don't have an IOTA).


That said in general a battery sitting will self dissipate a bit but it's not a really fast process. If my rig has been sitting for a month or so I'll usually plug it in over night to top the batteries off but it doesn't need to constantly plugged in (assuming you don't have small loads on it that are wearing it down like the propane/smoke detectors if they are hard wired).

 

[Gormley Green]

It's called the IOTA IQ3. I added one to my unit in about 2 mins. I've read very good things about it on WTW and elsewhere on the web. For $25 I'd say it's probably worth it knowing it gives your expensive AGM a safe trickle charge.

 

[billharr]

It's called the IOTA IQ3. I added one to my unit in about 2 mins. I've read very good things about it on WTW and elsewhere on the web. For $25 I'd say it's probably worth it knowing it gives your expensive AGM a safe trickle charge.


I also added one it may help.

 

[valkraider]

It's called the IOTA IQ3. I added one to my unit in about 2 mins. I've read very good things about it on WTW and elsewhere on the web. For $25 I'd say it's probably worth it knowing it gives your expensive AGM a safe trickle charge.


I know this is old, but I am bumping it just for search sake.

They no longer make the IQ3, the new model is an IQ4

IOTA IQ4
http://www.iotaengineering.com/iq.htm

Now for some keywords
trickle charge
battery
smart charger

 

[Bwht4x4]

Does anyone know if the newer IOTA IQ4 will work with a dual battery set up? The new Hawks are coming with a single IOTA DLS-30 converter/charger and I am wondering if the IQ4 will work with a dual AGM battery set up.

Would I potentially need a second DLS-30 converter and IQ4 unit for the second battery?

 

[Spitfire]

It works fine. The batteries are wired together so you only need one charger.

 

[Bwht4x4]

Thanks Spitfire!

 

[craig333]

Ctek 7002 here. I use it on the truck and jeep. Even with the solar and driving I like to use it occasionally. I never really know 100% if I got a full charge from solar. Ctek I know at least occasionally I'm getting the full charge.