How do you keep your batteries charged when......

[captainphx]

So, when we are not on a camping trip, we remove the camper and store it in the garage. For those of you who do the same, how do you keep your batteries charged? I am thinking I can just keep it plugged into shore power and allow the IOTA IQ4 to do its thing. Ever since I installed the Trimetric, I have noticed that the batteries will deplete about 2% every day, while in the garage and not hooked up to any power and all electric components turned off. So I could just let it go for two weeks or so, then reconnect to shore for a couple of days, but that seems like a PITA.

 

[buckland]

I put my portable solar panel in the garage window (Southeast) ... just a clamp to hold in place ....and plug it in to the camper (I installed an outside plug on the camper wall) ... done... I live in New England so only 5 months with camper on ...7 in garage... batteries are doing great.

 

[JaSAn]

I put a battery tender on them. I also take them out bacause it is easier to access them, it's not necessary. It is prudent to disconnect the batteries from the camper. At 2% a day discharge you have some parasitic draws that are discharging your battery. I find that without the battery tender my batteries loose about 15% per month.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_store_batteries

jim

 

[DavidO]

Paul
I have my boat in my garage and to make sure the batteries are always topped off I plug the onboard charger into a timer and everyday it turns itself on for a few minutes. Here is an example of what I have but you should be able to find something similar in any hardware store. I think this is better than leaving the charger on full time. https://smile.amazon.com/Intermatic-P1121-Heavy-Outdoor-Timer/dp/B00LON2PHS/ref=sr_1_5?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1485394709&sr=1-5&keywords=pool+timer

I have a Trimetric also and I love it. But you will find it can give you sometimes a little false reading(Alternative Facts) in regards to what is a 100% charged battery. Sometimes you will see 102% charged, sometimes it will show that your batteries are 94% charged then 1 minute latter you will be at 100%. This happens because of the way the Trimetric resets itself for a 100% charge. If you plug in the IOTA charge overnight and you already have a charged battery you get a couple of extra amps so were you really already at 100%. Where you really see this difference is in the example you just stated. I checked my camper yesterday it had been in my enclosed carport for 2 weeks I had even left on the power the Trimetric said I was down to 87% and said I had used up 30 amps. I pulled the truck and camper out into the sun I thought it should take my 160 watt roof panel most the day to get to 100%. It took less than an hour, I was getting a false reading. You can see this coming sometimes when you are almost fully charged say 95% and you check the Trimetric and the reading for "day since fully charged" and if it says 0 the Trimetric will reset and you will now be 100 % charged.

 

[BILL98388]

As Jim does, I have a battery tender on a timer. It charges 3 hours per day.

I also run a computer fan to circulate air inside the camper. That plus the draw of the CO alarm seems to average out.

I guess you could think of this as the same as solar...on a few hours and off overnight.

Works for me.

Bill

 

[captainphx]

I put my portable solar panel in the garage window (Southeast) ... just a clamp to hold in place ....and plug it in to the camper (I installed an outside plug on the camper wall) ... done... I live in New England so only 5 months with camper on ...7 in garage... batteries are doing great.

Yes, I have a portable also and I thought about plugging it in and let the wire go under the garage door, but then I'd have to leave the panel outside. I don't have a window on the south side.

 

[captainphx]

Paul
I have my boat in my garage and to make sure the batteries are always topped off I plug the onboard charger into a timer and everyday it turns itself on for a few minutes. Here is an example of what I have but you should be able to find something similar in any hardware store. I think this is better than leaving the charger on full time. https://smile.amazon.com/Intermatic-P1121-Heavy-Outdoor-Timer/dp/B00LON2PHS/ref=sr_1_5?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1485394709&sr=1-5&keywords=pool+timer

I have a Trimetric also and I love it. But you will find it can give you sometimes a little false reading(Alternative Facts) in regards to what is a 100% charged battery. Sometimes you will see 102% charged, sometimes it will show that your batteries are 94% charged then 1 minute latter you will be at 100%. This happens because of the way the Trimetric resets itself for a 100% charge. If you plug in the IOTA charge overnight and you already have a charged battery you get a couple of extra amps so were you really already at 100%. Where you really see this difference is in the example you just stated. I checked my camper yesterday it had been in my enclosed carport for 2 weeks I had even left on the power the Trimetric said I was down to 87% and said I had used up 30 amps. I pulled the truck and camper out into the sun I thought it should take my 160 watt roof panel most the day to get to 100%. It took less than an hour, I was getting a false reading. You can see this coming sometimes when you are almost fully charged say 95% and you check the Trimetric and the reading for "day since fully charged" and if it says 0 the Trimetric will reset and you will now be 100 % charged.

David,

I have noticed the exact thing you are describing regarding what the Trimetric shows for % power. Guess I need to get a little more familiar with it. You said you use a timer to turn it off for a few minutes. Did you mean hours? I like that idea. Thanks for that information.

 

[XJINTX]

I just keep mine plugged into the shore power in Shop. My camper remains on truck. I make sure all appliances are off. No issues to date. I have room to keep top up and air out while stored too.

 

[buckland]

Capt. even if you don't have a window... hang on exterior wall... free juice.

 

[ofc11066]

Capt. I do the same as far as keeping it in the garage. I charge them two ways. One every other weekend or so I hook it up to a tender also with a fan circulating the air. The other way is I like to wheel it out to the driveway and plug it into shore power. That way I can open it up because I have to store it in the down position.
Plus I can tinker around with modifications to it.

 

[Wallowa]

Please explain...why use a battery tender rather than keep the FWC connected to "shore power" and use the charger [IOTA IQ4] in the camper to maintain the batteries? Is there a downside to using the FWC 110v charger to keep batteries at correct charge?

I believe the IOTA can do a floating charge to match the needs of the batteries.

Thanks,

Phil

FYI...'16 Hawk..dual batteries..160w + 80w Zamps...stored in shop and on 110v.

 

[ofc11066]

Not sure???? Good question. Maybe just old thinking? I am game for what ever is better for the batteries.

 

[longhorn1]

Our camper is covered. Once a month I plug in my portable solar panel and don't worry about it for another month. I'm usually at 12.7 when I show up to charge again. jd

 

[tree]

I installed an onboard noco dual bank charger. with an outside ac port from noco. plugged in once a month to top off batteries.

 

[BFH4N]

The Iota IQ4 charger is designed to maintain the battery over the long term. Plug the camper in, turn everything off and walk away.

- Bernard

 

[craig333]

Unless you have a battery that doesn't like the charge profile from the Iota it should be fine, and its already installed!

 

[Wallowa]

Unless you have a battery that doesn't like the charge profile from the Iota it should be fine, and its already installed!

So if you purchased the FWC installed batteries and IOTA IQ4 you do not need an additional battery charger or tender.

And long term 110v maintenance with IOTA does no harm to batteries and in fact lengthens the life of the batteries.

Thanks,

Phil

 

[PaulT]

My Hawk is on the truck outside all year so solar power keeps batteries topped off. Otherwise, I would leave it plugged into shore power. The Iota/IQ4 charging protocol monitors battery condition such that after reaching full charge, it switches to float charge where it maintains batteries fully charged. After a week at float, it switches to equalization charge to ensure batteries are full and then back to float. The Zamp solar charge controller does something similar, (but after 2 weeks if I remember correctly.)

Some battery charger/maintainers do not have this feature and the batteries are not being kept at full charge unless there is sufficient draw down periodically to pull the maintainer out of float mode into charge mode. I lost several expensive batteries until I discovered this years ago in my ham radio station kept for emergency communications on backup batteries. I discovered then that unplugging the maintainer every week or two worked to reset the maintainer & keep the batteries in good condition. Nothing wrong with using a timer to keep batteries charged if the charger goes to float voltage or turns off after reaching full charge. There is more than one way to accomplish similar goal of fully charged batteries.

Paul

 

[BILL98388]

I use a batt tender because my Grandby is a shell model and has no built-in charger.
Bill

 

[Old Crow]

Several other items to add in here.... (it's never easy, is it?)


1. The Cooked batteries thread gives me pause on the subject of leaving a charger connected full-time. (I've pasted in a copy of the photo from that thread showing the scorch-mark on the floor of the battery compartment.)

(click to enlarge)


Anyone contemplating leaving the charger on full-time may want to look into the reasons for cooked batteries. It's typically blamed on a charger malfunction, a battery short, failing to maintain water level or mismatching battery ages and characteristics in paralleled batteries.

2. I know that one of my chargers loses its settings during a power outage... including the setting that tells the charger its connected to an AGM battery. And that silly charger runs its fan full time, whether charging or not. I don't think those issues apply to a DLS-30 but may to owners thinking of leaving another charger on full time.

3. The operating range of a DLS-30 is 0C to 40C. What does it do below 0C? Do owners in cold areas need to take precautions? Also, I don't believe the DLS-30 has temperature compensation so voltages applied may not be optimum. (But is it nevertheless better than not charging?)

4. I have a Lifeline battery in the Hawk so thought I'd take a look in the Lifeline Technical Manual to see what it has to say on the subject of storage. Page 14 says a boost charge should be applied every 90 days or when the open-circuit voltage falls below 12.5 volts (and goes on to specify more details). Also, page 28 has this to say about Trickle Charging (in defining it): "Method of charging in which the battery is continuously or intermittently connected to a constant current charging source to maintain the battery in a fully charged condition. Not recommended for use with Lifeline AGM batteries."