Solar battery charger

[Ron-in-Tn]

I have a 2004 Journey 36G that I keep in a storage lot when I'm not using it. Although I try to get down there to run through everything at least once a month because I'm not able to keep it plugged into shore power, I'm finding that my engine batteries keep loosing their charge. If I make it down there every couple of weeks, then they seem to do ok, but that's just not always possible. I have the factory installed solar charger, but it is only hooked up to the house batteries. Has anyone ever tied this solar charger into the engine batteries also? If so, how did it work? My only other thought is to just install a second solar charger specifically for the engine batteries, but was just wondering about the possibility of utilizing the one already there for both batteries.

[Ron-in-Tn]

I have a 2004 Journey 36G that I keep in a storage lot when I'm not using it. Although I try to get down there to run through everything at least once a month because I'm not able to keep it plugged into shore power, I'm finding that my engine batteries keep loosing their charge. If I make it down there every couple of weeks, then they seem to do ok, but that's just not always possible. I have the factory installed solar charger, but it is only hooked up to the house batteries. Has anyone ever tied this solar charger into the engine batteries also? If so, how did it work? My only other thought is to just install a second solar charger specifically for the engine batteries, but was just wondering about the possibility of utilizing the one already there for both batteries.

[AFChap]

I believe my factory solar charger is linked to both battery banks, but at ideal capacity of 10 amps I don't count on it do do much of anything. It would have to have much greater capacity to keep the batteries up even while in storage. When in storage, we made sure we drove our coach at least 30 minutes every four weeks. And we always made sure we tripped the battery disconnect switch for the house batteries when we put it in storage. If I were storing it now, I would want to put a battery disconnect switch on the chassis batteries also. There are a number of parasitic drains on the chassis batteries that you simply cannot turn off without a battery disconnect.

[John_Canfield]

Paul meant 10 watts and not 10 amps

On my coach the solar panel circuit breaker is in the same basement compartment with the charging solenoid - you could redirect the panel wiring to the chassis battery (at the charging solenoid) and increase the solar panel size to 50 watts.

An alternative would be to add a Trik-L-Charge or Xantrex Echo~Charge so that all batteries are charged (dependant on the house battery voltage) from the increased solar panel size. This would only work if the house (or source) battery voltage rises to the point to where the charging device permits current to flow to the chassis batteries.

[AFChap]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Paul meant 10 watts and not 10 amps </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks, John ...I thought that looked strange when I wrote it. Now I know why!!

[Ron-in-Tn]

I considered the disconnect switch but the service guys at the dealership were concerned about the potential for other problems since the ECU is one of those items that drains a small amount of the chassis battery when in storage. I did a little research and just decided to purchase a second solar charger for the chassis batteries. I went with a 5 watt BatteryMINDer from RVUpgrades. This comes with the controller to prevent overcharging and also has a desulphation mode that prevents build up on the battery plates. http://www.rvupgradestore.com/index....ROD&ProdID=309
From what I could find, it had pretty good reviews and was under $100 with shipping. I'll keep everyone posted on the results.