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06-11-2016, 06:23 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 27
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Charging batteries with generator/external charger
While I am figuring out if I want to add a solar system, I plan to use my generator and a battery charger to keep my batteries topped off while boondocking. Should I disconnect my batteries (disconnect negative wire) from my trailer while charging, or can I just connect the charger and go ahead? Should I turn the battery disconnect to "off"?
Thanks
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2015 Creek Side 23RKS Classic
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06-11-2016, 06:30 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 35,405
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Yes, with a good battery charger you can leave everything on and connected.
Don't you have a onboard charger/converter that will do that ?
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06-11-2016, 08:23 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: NorthEastern Oregon
Posts: 1,111
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Quote:
Originally Posted by utahrd
While I am figuring out if I want to add a solar system, I plan to use my generator and a battery charger to keep my batteries topped off while boondocking. Should I disconnect my batteries (disconnect negative wire) from my trailer while charging, or can I just connect the charger and go ahead? Should I turn the battery disconnect to "off"?
Thanks
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Do yourself a BIG favor and just buy the solar. You can buy 200w of solar for $340. Of course you can also spend more, but this is the kit (see link below) that I purchased a couple of years ago (except for different brand controller) and I can tell you that it is absolutely the best investment I have made in this trailer. We boondock quite a bit and I have never had to run my generator to charge batteries since I installed the solar. Even when temps get into the high 20's and low 30's at night and the furnace fan runs a good share of the time, eating up quite a bit of battery. I would absolutely never be without solar again, especially since you can do it so inexpensively.
https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monocr...ds=renogy+200w
__________________
2013 Wind River 280RLS, 200W Solar
2013 Ram 2500 Laramie Cummins 4x4
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06-11-2016, 08:50 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,663
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fisher99
Do yourself a BIG favor and just buy the solar. You can buy 200w of solar for $340. Of course you can also spend more, but this is the kit (see link below) that I purchased a couple of years ago (except for different brand controller) and I can tell you that it is absolutely the best investment I have made in this trailer. We boondock quite a bit and I have never had to run my generator to charge batteries since I installed the solar. Even when temps get into the high 20's and low 30's at night and the furnace fan runs a good share of the time, eating up quite a bit of battery. I would absolutely never be without solar again, especially since you can do it so inexpensively.
https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monocr...ds=renogy+200w
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Except when you camp in a forest and the panels are always in the shade.
on our last 3 day trip I ran the genny one morning just in case. This is where a good 3 stage charger (not WFCO) comes in handy.
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2008 F450, 2016 Outdoors RV Glacier Peak 26 RKS
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06-11-2016, 09:01 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: NorthEastern Oregon
Posts: 1,111
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickeoni
Except when you camp in a forest and the panels are always in the shade.
on our last 3 day trip I ran the genny one morning just in case. This is where a good 3 stage charger (not WFCO) comes in handy.
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A very valid point. I still carry the generator, just in case. Or to allow my wife to nuke some microwave popcorn in the evening. But I haven't had to run it to charge batteries even when we have boondocked in some pretty shady (pun intended) places.
__________________
2013 Wind River 280RLS, 200W Solar
2013 Ram 2500 Laramie Cummins 4x4
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06-11-2016, 09:41 PM
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#6
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Junior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twinboat
Yes, with a good battery charger you can leave everything on and connected.
Don't you have a onboard charger/converter that will do that ?
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I think that WFCO converter does not charge at a high enough voltage to work for short-term charging
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2015 Creek Side 23RKS Classic
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06-11-2016, 09:47 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Fleetwood Owners Club Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: SoCal
Posts: 15,749
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Yes, just connect external charger and not disconnect anything else. It will work and charge ok. Realize that likely you have an existing converter / charger already. And it's charging rate is probable 40-50a - more than your external charger capacity.
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Vince and Susan
2011 Tiffin Phaeton 40QTH (Cummins ISC/Freightliner)
Flat towing a modified 2005 Jeep (Rubicon Wrangler)
Previously a 2002 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 37A and a 1995 Safari Trek 2830.
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06-11-2016, 10:09 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Rathdrum, ID
Posts: 595
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Plug the trailer into the generator so that the converter runs everything in the trailer. Then turn off the battery disconnect switch. Then use an external charger say 50 amps and charge the batteries at around 15.4 volts to bring them back to 80 percent.
I would invest in a trimetric battery monitor before spending money on a solar system. FYI, Bogart now makes a solar controller that connects to the trimetric monitor. By doing this you could add panels later and let the solar top off the batteries.
Side note, the WFCO converter is worthless when it comes to charging batteries.
__________________
2014 Creek Side 23RKS
2019 Ford F250, 4x4, CC, SB, 6.2
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06-11-2016, 10:42 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,663
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A simple volt meter is a great way to start monitoring the batteries. While the trimetric is a great meter, it does not take Peukerts law into account and becomes less and less reliable as the batteries age. A good voltage chart and knowing that at 12.2 volts it's time to turn off the lights and at 12.1 volts it's time to go to bed, is much simpler.
Better to start small with an inexpensive ebay volt meter that is as simple to install as a couple of alligator clips on the battery teminals. Try this out for a couple of trips and then see what you need.
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2008 F450, 2016 Outdoors RV Glacier Peak 26 RKS
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06-12-2016, 07:12 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 1,940
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LBZYA
Plug the trailer into the generator so that the converter runs everything in the trailer. Then turn off the battery disconnect switch. Then use an external charger say 50 amps and charge the batteries at around 15.4 volts to bring them back to 80 percent.
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Guess 15.4V would be OK for the occasional fast charge, but I wouldn't do it everyday.
Usually 14.4-14.8V is recommended for the routine absorb stage of battery charging.. And at those lower voltages you don't need to use the battery disconnect. And you don't boil off as much battery water as you would at 15.4V, but it would take longer to charge up.
Higher voltages, 15-16V, are usually only used for the occasional "equalization" charge as they really boil the battery. And like you say, you do want to disconnect the trailer electronics as there maybe components that don't like that high a V.
I can't think of a charger that goes upto 15.4V unless you force it into "equalize" mode.
__________________
2014 Timber Ridge 240RKS, 70K miles
690W Rooftop + 340W Portable Solar, 215Ah GC2s@24V
2016 Ram 2500 CTD 4x4 RegCab SLT, 10-11 mpgUS tow
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06-12-2016, 07:15 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 1,940
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickeoni
A simple volt meter is a great way to start monitoring the batteries. While the trimetric is a great meter, it does not take Peukerts law into account and becomes less and less reliable as the batteries age. A good voltage chart and knowing that at 12.2 volts it's time to turn off the lights and at 12.1 volts it's time to go to bed, is much simpler.
Better to start small with an inexpensive ebay volt meter that is as simple to install as a couple of alligator clips on the battery teminals. Try this out for a couple of trips and then see what you need.
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Again, no peukerts, but V, A, and Ah:
DC 120V 100A Volt Current AH Power Combo Meter Charge Discharge Battery Monitor | eBay
works well for me.
__________________
2014 Timber Ridge 240RKS, 70K miles
690W Rooftop + 340W Portable Solar, 215Ah GC2s@24V
2016 Ram 2500 CTD 4x4 RegCab SLT, 10-11 mpgUS tow
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06-12-2016, 08:35 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Rathdrum, ID
Posts: 595
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I replaced the WFCO with a Iota DLS55 with the IQ4 so that I would have true four stage charging and it also charges the batteries at the recommended 14.8v by Trojan. I purchased another Iota DLS55 without the IQ4 as these converters have an adjustable pot and that gives me the ability to change the output voltages. I then got a good pair of jumper cables cut the one end off and connected them to the converter. I now have a high amp with high voltage charger that I can share between my father and people in camp. Solar is questionable for me, for whenever we dry camp I try and find a shady spot to park under and during hunting season the sun is not up that long as well as snow. "dagmandt" here on this site turned me on to this method and it has worked very well so far.
I may put a couple of panels up there and order the Bogart charge controller now that the prices have dropped on solar panels. Those panels on the roof make it hard to clean and put the cover on. I don't want to end up as a statistic with a grave stone that says "While cleaning the rv roof".
__________________
2014 Creek Side 23RKS
2019 Ford F250, 4x4, CC, SB, 6.2
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06-12-2016, 10:54 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 1,940
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LBZYA
I replaced the WFCO with a Iota DLS55 with the IQ4 so that I would have true four stage charging and it also charges the batteries at the recommended 14.8v by Trojan. I purchased another Iota DLS55 without the IQ4 as these converters have an adjustable pot and that gives me the ability to change the output voltages. I then got a good pair of jumper cables cut the one end off and connected them to the converter. I now have a high amp with high voltage charger that I can share between my father and people in camp. Solar is questionable for me, for whenever we dry camp I try and find a shady spot to park under and during hunting season the sun is not up that long as well as snow. "dagmandt" here on this site turned me on to this method and it has worked very well so far.
I may put a couple of panels up there and order the Bogart charge controller now that the prices have dropped on solar panels. Those panels on the roof make it hard to clean and put the cover on. I don't want to end up as a statistic with a grave stone that says "While cleaning the rv roof".
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That's a nice setup.
I don't wash or cover my roof, but do wash the 3 panels up there and check caulking and other stuff regularly. Two panels could be reached from the sides, but the third would be a stretch. Climbing around on the roof is definitely an issue. But I'm actually more worried about tripping and falling on one of the panels. The roof is pretty cluttered.
Before going up, I try to make sure I'm sober (!), the roof is dry, the awning and slides are out (to break a fall), and there's no wind. Oh, and I usually go up bare-foot.
__________________
2014 Timber Ridge 240RKS, 70K miles
690W Rooftop + 340W Portable Solar, 215Ah GC2s@24V
2016 Ram 2500 CTD 4x4 RegCab SLT, 10-11 mpgUS tow
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06-12-2016, 11:54 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: NorthEastern Oregon
Posts: 1,111
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brulaz
That's a nice setup.
I don't wash or cover my roof, but do wash the 3 panels up there and check caulking and other stuff regularly. Two panels could be reached from the sides, but the third would be a stretch. Climbing around on the roof is definitely an issue. But I'm actually more worried about tripping and falling on one of the panels. The roof is pretty cluttered.
Before going up, I try to make sure I'm sober (!), the roof is dry, the awning and slides are out (to break a fall), and there's no wind. Oh, and I usually go up bare-foot.
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Off topic, but noticed in your sig that you have a new truck, with 0 miles towing. I think you are going to love that CTD. I can never decide which I am more impressed with on mine. The HP and torque when I'm climbing mountain passes or the exhaust brake when I'm going down the other side. Enjoy!
__________________
2013 Wind River 280RLS, 200W Solar
2013 Ram 2500 Laramie Cummins 4x4
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