RE: What kind of charger?

[George]

 
I read all the pages about batteries...
 
 What Kind of charger do I need to charge the battery on my Taos before/after a trip?  Can I get the $19.95 one at the auto parts store or do I need the $99.95 one?  (or one of the one s in between...)
 
 -George
 

[raven339]

 George
I m sure some other folks will chime in here...
 
 I m using the MajorCharge 12/10 Smart Charger @ ~ $140.00US to charge and maintain my battery...
 
 You can also use the $50.00 12V charger you find in most auto parts stores...Just be sure they are capable charging a deep cycle battery...
 
 Skol...

[mike4947]

 George
It also depends on exactly what battery you have on the trailer. If it s a sealed for life/maintenance free battery most any old charger will do. If fact a deep cycle charger can damage them as they don t want or need the voltage a true deep cycle does.
 We found acceptable chargers at Wally World, auto parts stores, K-Mart that have a deep cycle or flooded setting for around $50.
 
 Rules I ve learned the hard way on trailer batteries:
 
 Charge it before you leave (why go camping with a less than full battery)
 Charge it as soon as you get home (batteries sitting with less than a full charge limits their life)
 Disconnect it from the trailer when not camping (the propane detector can KILL a battery in les than a month)
 Charge it at least once a month during the " off season"  (batteries just sitting lose charge, and like above, partially discharged batteries lose life.
 Check the water every time you charge it, both before and after. (nothing kills a battery faster than exposed plates)
 The converter in a PU no matter what the sales literature says won t fully charge a battery (the voltage is set to RUN 12 volt things, not to fully charge a battery)
 
 

[George]

 George
If I get the cheapest charger $19.99 (I forget the amp/hr rating, the box said it did both charging and maintenance charge), can I leave this hooked up to the battery all the time between trips?  I really don t need for it to charge the battery quickly.
 
 -George
 

[Campntime]

 George
Earlier this year purchased a Marine charger for deep cylce battiers at Walmart for $29.00 +/-.  It is simple, has a manual and automatic setting.  For what I wanted...I m very satisfied.

[mike4947]

 George
George, here s a few sites to read up on about batteries and charging before you make up your mind.
 
 http://bart.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm
 http://bart.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volta.htm
 http://www.dcbattery.com/faq.html#1
 http://www.usbattery.com/care.htm
 http://pweb.uunet.de/william.darden/index.htm

[raven339]

 George
I was a hard sell...But I ve now bought into what Mike and the others were trying to tell me...[][][]
 
 I now use a battery that has the capacity I need and the charger to properly maintain it...
 
 Saves a lot of problems down the road...
 
 Skol...

[4campinfoxes]

 George
After getting awesome advice from members of the board (thank you, thank you) we purchased a new battery (Group 31) and a charger at Sam s club.  So far so good.  I think the charger was about $50 or maybe less.  The battery is a deep cycle, no marine starting.  The charger has different setting for amps and has a deep cycle setting.
 
 Sharon

[tlhdoc]

 4campinfoxes

 

ORIGINAL:  4campinfoxes
 
 After getting awesome advice from members of the board (thank you, thank you) we purchased a new battery (Group 31) and a charger at Sam s club.  So far so good.  I think the charger was about $50 or maybe less.  The battery is a deep cycle, no marine starting.  The charger has different setting for amps and has a deep cycle setting.
 
 Sharon
 

 It sounds like the same battery and charger that I have.
 

[4campinfoxes]

 George
Tracy, I believe it is.  I took your advice & headed over to Sam s club.  Best price around & the battery fit in the tray!
 
 Sharon

[tgawel]

 mike4947
As others have previously stated I fully charge my battery before and after each trip, but I use a solar battery charger to keep my battery charged up. I picked up a 5 watt solar panel from a outfit called harbor freight. You can get them for about $40 to $50 depending if they are on sale or not. If you are dry camping it helps to put back some of charge used during the previous night. I also cary a digital volt meter ($10 to $50) to help determine how much charge is left in my battery and help me plan my power usage. The digital volt meter is also a great tool to have in diagnosing 12v electrical problems at home or camping.
 There a couple of good websites that list the charge state of you battery you can measure with a digital voltmeter. I normaly dont let it get below 40% with anything other than my lights. I was reading some where that is is not good to run electronics below 12.00v
 
 Here is one chart from Saltspring.com.
 
 100%     12.6- 12.7V
 90          12.5
 80          12.42
 70          12.32
 60          12.20
 50          12.06
 40          11.90   This is about a low as I let it go.
 30          11.75
 20          11.58
 
 
 Happy camping from Tony and the Gaggle of Girls