Battery charging

[skater]

Okay, only one battery down and I'm already tired of the inverter overcharging the deep-cycle battery.

It looks like the problem can be fixed with a real controller, and the price of it would offset the price of new batteries pretty quickly, I think. I'm thinking the Xantrex Statpower 10TB would do the job.

The unit lists for $160 but can be found online for $114-120, and at $50-$70 per deep cycle battery it doesn't take long before it'll pay for itself. Plus it's a hassle when the battery dies, even though it's less than two years old.

(Friday night, at the rally, there was 10 amp service running probably 10 or so campers, 37 degrees outside, and the site's breaker blew between midnight and 1 a.m.... and I had no heat because the battery couldn't drive the furnace fan! I had to go out at 1:15 a.m., trace the wire, find the breaker, and turn it back on - but I should've been able to put off that little trek until morning.)

Here's how I understand it to be hooked up: I'd disconnect the 120-volt connection at the back of the current inverter and wire it to that charger. Then run a new wire from the charger to the battery (and add a second battery, gel or AGM, if I like, since that device will charge two, independently). Then...actually, that should be it. The current inverter will no longer see anything other than 12 volts from the battery, and the charger will do the 120volt/12volt conversion into the system.

Any thoughts?

[Alaskan]

Lets see... 1am in the morning and 37 degrees outside.

Just recently invested in "New generator, $2200 "....hum, reach up and press Start Button

Back to sleep...??

When Iam hooked up to 110 I switch my batteries off.....if you look at that pictures I put in for you of my surge protector you'll see a neat little marine battery switch....I have those same switches on both my batteries.

[skater]

Lets see... 1am in the morning and 37 degrees outside.

Just recently invested in "New generator, $2200 "....hum, reach up and press Start Button

Back to sleep...??

When Iam hooked up to 110 I switch my batteries off.....if you look at that pictures I put in for you of my surge protector you'll see a neat little marine battery switch....I have those same switches on both my batteries.

1. Generators are loud and wake people. Kind of rude to use one when the next camper is just feet from you. Linda (my next door neighbor at the rally) would not have been happy with me.

2. The generator won't start without battery power. I would've had to start the camper's engine, then start the generator, then shut down the camper's engine.

3. Aside from that, I shouldn't have to burn a gallon or two of gasoline just to run the furnace - in fact I'd have to turn on other stuff just to have sufficient load for the generator.

The solution I gave above would make switching them on and off unnecessary and would eliminate the prospect of forgetting to turn it on and have the battery be run-down.

[skater]

I guess my biggest question is whether 10 amps is enough. For 10 amps to be sufficient, that would mean all of the 12-volt appliances I intend to use at the same time would have to add up to less than 10 amps. (It can spike to 15 amps but is rated for 10 amps continuous.)

So, Fantastic Fan, radio, bathroom fan, various lights (florescent, exterior, reading lights over couch)...

I think this calls for an ammeter...

[skater]

Doing some more research on this:

The 194 bulbs (in the reading lights): 0.25 amps each (total 1 amp in mine)
The florescent light: 1.5 or 2 amps
Fantastic fan: 3 amps on high
Bathroom fan: probably 2 amps (guessing)
Radio & Sirius tuner: 2 amps max
Outdoor light: probably .5 amps
Bathroom light: probably .5 amps
Stove fan:
Stove light:

9 amps without the radio and Sirius tuner. Right now, I'm wondering if 10 amps is sufficient - I wouldn't be running every light and both fans simultaneously. And if the usage does spike it can dip into the battery's power for a while - obviously I wouldn't want that to be constant.

Am I missing anything? The power seat uses the camper's power, as does the CB (about 1.5 amps), but I'm not that worried about either one of those. I rarely move the seat, and I don't use the CB when I'm actually camping.

Oh, here's something I didn't think of - starting the generator. Again that can dip into the battery's power if for some bizarre reason I were starting it while I have 120 volt power connected (which I usually don't do - I start it off the engine).

(Updates: added amperages for the radio and CB, and added the note about the stove fan and light. It's looking like 10 amps is a bit slim for this purpose...)

[lv2roam]

The stock converter was of poor quality and would easily overcharge a battery. I bought an Inteli Power 45 amp with the "Charge Wizard". Fit into the old space very easily and the wiring was simple - good documentation for the replace install process. Camping World carries the unit ($239 with Presidents Club) but I bought mine for less from RV Stuff USA.com.

The Wizard can quick charge or trickle charge, what ever the battery requires - both automatic and manual control of charge rate. I have had mine installed for over 2 years and am completely satisfied with the Inteli unit.

Bob

[skater]

Thanks for the advice! The 20 amp charger is more than that converter, and it looks like that converter will do everything the charger would but won't take additional space.

Amazon has one on sale for $224 that's probably the one you're talking about.

[OnTheRoad]

Hi Skater,

I see you upgraded to the PD 9260. Could you tell me what you think of the setup, and what the steps were to install it? I have a 1990 b190, and while I haven't fried any batteries yet, I'm wondering if this is a change I should make and how involved it is.

Thanks

[skater]

Hi Skater,

I see you upgraded to the PD 9260. Could you tell me what you think of the setup, and what the steps were to install it? I have a 1990 b190, and while I haven't fried any batteries yet, I'm wondering if this is a change I should make and how involved it is.

Thanks,

-Eli

I wrote up this article describing it.

I've been really happy with it. Everything works better: the florescent light doesn't flicker, the water heater starts more reliably, and the battery is charged without being overcharged or having to worry about it. It didn't take me long to install it - maybe two hours.

I will say that the 60 amp model is overkill. The converter always goes into "storage mode" - that is, it's putting out just enough voltage to maintain the battery because that's all that's required - even while I'm camping in it. I was told the 45 amp model would also fit but I didn't try it.