charging batteries

rogngab · Veteran Member

charging batteries

twobob · Guru

Rogngab
I think you may have been better off asking this in the 'tech section', as answers here may be not serious

But I will have a go, the short answer, is NO, not possible

You are fortunate being with this forum, as we have 'The Duck and Co' who own 'Bat-R-us', and they give a discount to forum members for charging batteries. Also, to be fair, Mick The Mungral has 'In-2-It' service, will do the same, but seems slightly unrealiable.

Hope that is of no help at all

DeBe · Guru

Yes you can Roger, What I use in my van to charge my battery when there is no sun, is a Dual stage charger from Jaycar electronics M3612 $109 can be set to 6A or 12A charges to 14.4V then drops back to13.8V float. This handles my Waeco compressor fridge no prob. Daryl

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

By connecting a portable 150A inverter to your crank battery while the engine is running you can use the charger that DeBe suggests too, without external 240V power.
As another alternative, there are 12V to 12V voltage boosting chargers made for the purpose.

Cheers,
Peter

ballast2 · Guru

Rogngab. If I have read your question correctly you will be staying in c/ps normally. you should be able to keep your batteries charged using a normal 240/12 volt charger. Make sure the charger meets the battery needs. For a professional opinion drive into your local battery shop and get their advice.
Cheers Jack.

twobob · Guru

Rogngab

Please accept my apollogies for being flippant. I read the question as Ballast did, and wondered why you thought CP power was different to home power, where a standard battery charger could be used.

There are lots of other options, but I would question you about, whether there is already an onboard charger, that you do not know you have. Seems strange to have an onboard battery without providing a method to charge it off 240, as well as the tug.

rogngab · Veteran Member

Thanks heaps everyone cheers rogngab

Onedodger · Guru

If you have an onboard battery and do not have an inbuilt charger get one and hook it up correctly plug it in and leave it on then anytime your van has a 240v supply attached the battery will be auto topped up.
You will need a three stage charger of 4amps or more.
Go to a battery place or an auto sparky if you are not sure and they should be able to assist.

Cupie · Guru

A late reply ... but ...

My ageing 1999 Jayco has an on board calcium battery and what was then described as a smart charger ... Made in brazil!

I rarely use the battery, as we prefer CPs. but when at home it is continualy on charge. As a result the first battery 'lasted' 10 years .. finally giving up 12mths after using it to power the kayak electric motor for several hours. I suspect that it had lost most of its capacity by then.

I think the story is .. Never fully discharge the battery. Use a modern multi stage charger & leave it on 'trickle' charge when not in use.

(ps. See my post on the Techo Corner for good advice on this topic)

jimricho · Guru

Absolutely correct about never fully discharging the any battery. I've mentioned before on the techies forum, the advisability installing a low voltage cut-out relay. A suitable unit is a Baintech LVC available through Battery World.

A 100 ah battery should be adequate to hold a Waeco or Engel type compressor fridge for a couple of days. You'll need (in my opinion) a minimum 7 - 10 amp three stage charger.

I would suggest you check the following website www.caravanandmotorhomebooks.com/

-- Edited by jimricho on Friday 26th of March 2010 07:12:15 AM