|
12-03-2012, 03:43 PM
|
#1
|
Senior Member
Winnebago Owners Club Nor'easters Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Freedom, NH
Posts: 1,520
|
Multiple Battery Charging
While we are away in Florida this winter, we will leave several batteries behind out of their vehicles. They consist of three auto starting batteries, one small garden tractor battery, a small jetski battery and two Group 24 Marine/RV batteries. All the batteries are 12 volt. They will be stored in the unheated basement, which should stay above freezing. I would like to trickle charge them for the three months we are in warmer climates. I normally do this manually, one battery at a time, but this the first time we will be away.
Would it be possible to charge them all at once? I was thinking I could wire them up in parallel and attach the charger to the center battery. How large of a charge (amps) should I give them? Or, in other words, what size charger would I need? I could plug the charger into a timer to come on once a day for an hour---two hours---three hours, what ever is needed. Any thoughts?
Thanks, Fran
__________________
Fran, Mary & Zoey (silver Cocker)
2017 Thor Axis 25.5 "RUV", Ford E-450, V10, 6 speed
2016 Chevy Sonic LTZ Auto Hatchback 4-down
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
12-03-2012, 08:06 PM
|
#2
|
Senior Member
iRV2 No Limits Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,324
|
Battery Minder says you can Batteryminders Specials | BatteryMinders.com . All batteries, regardless of their chemistry, will self-discharge. The rate of self-discharge for lead acid batteries depends on the storage or operating temperature. At a temperature of 80 degrees F. a lead acid battery will self-discharge at a rate of approximately 4% a week. A battery with a 125-amp hour rating would self-discharge at a rate of approximately five amps per week. Keeping this in mind if a 125 AH battery is stored for four months (16 weeks) winter without being charged, it will loose 80 amps of its 125-amp capacity. It will also have severe sulfation, which causes additional loss of capacity. Keep your batteries charged while not in use!
|
|
|
12-03-2012, 09:52 PM
|
#3
|
Senior Member
Thor Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Port Charlotte, FL
Posts: 728
|
When I lived in minnesota i kep a charger on a timer (2hrs a day) to keep my power boat batteries charged. And the charger I used was one of the Battery tender models that had wires to charge 2 batteries (I wired it so it would charge 2 battery banks). ed
|
|
|
12-04-2012, 09:06 AM
|
#4
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: somewhere in the west
Posts: 1,168
|
I say it could be done, but problems could arise when one semi bad batt draws all the others down to it's level. However, if the charger is a three stage, and left on continuously, AND, the charger leads are on the end corners, the chances of success is high IMHO.
Ed
|
|
|
12-04-2012, 09:23 AM
|
#5
|
Senior Member
National RV Owners Club
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Spokane Valley, Wa
Posts: 1,987
|
Another problem is with batteries on a charger for 4 months you will need to come
up with a way to replace the fluid level or you will have a problem.
__________________
Art
1999 Trade Winds 7371 Cat 3126B w/current upgrades
1990 D 250 Dodge Ram Cummins Turbo
|
|
|
12-04-2012, 09:31 AM
|
#6
|
Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 195
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockwood27
While we are away in Florida this winter, we will leave several batteries behind out of their vehicles. They consist of three auto starting batteries, one small garden tractor battery, a small jetski battery and two Group 24 Marine/RV batteries. All the batteries are 12 volt. They will be stored in the unheated basement, which should stay above freezing. I would like to trickle charge them for the three months we are in warmer climates. I normally do this manually, one battery at a time, but this the first time we will be away.
Would it be possible to charge them all at once? I was thinking I could wire them up in parallel and attach the charger to the center battery. How large of a charge (amps) should I give them? Or, in other words, what size charger would I need? I could plug the charger into a timer to come on once a day for an hour---two hours---three hours, what ever is needed. Any thoughts?
Thanks, Fran
|
If the batterys are fully charged and in decent shape there is no way they will be in need of charge till u get home stored as u have alluded to and then only the jet ski one and maybe the GT. I leave my gardon tractor battery in the tracter from without charging Oct-1 till april-25 without charging and it still starts the tractor
same with my pick up truck except I disconnect it.
|
|
|
12-05-2012, 09:28 AM
|
#7
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: somewhere in the west
Posts: 1,168
|
Good batteries left on a good three stage charger will be "maintained" at the float charge level which is below the gassing level, hence no water loss.
If however, the charger is put on a timer, the charger MAY bring up the batteries to the bulk charge level which is higher than the gassing voltage causing some water loss.
Ed
|
|
|
12-05-2012, 11:47 AM
|
#8
|
Senior Member
Damon Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,024
|
Short answer : YES, in fact that is how they are often done at battery stores.
long answer.. As someone pointed out if one battery shorts out a cell, it can damage the others.. Now there is a very simple solution to that.
First: use a fairly large battery tender, (or battery minder, these two products are so close to each other that anywhere I say one name you can insert the other and it will change nothing) They make some that are designed for "Stores' that have several charging "ports' these isolate each battery so if one shorts, NO damage.
Option to, use a good size one, say a 4 or 6 amp model, and put a fuse (That size) in each battery lead.
IF. one of the batteries short out, that one will draw current not just from the Tender, but from other batteries as well, quickly exceeding the rating of the fuse and ...... Protecting the rest.
If anyone says anything about how "The garden battery will charge up and signal "Full" and the larger ones will never reach full" Disregard.
I'd say something more serious but alas, someone might take it serious and actually do it so I won't say that. just ignore them, TFor batteries in parallel.. It is impossible for that to happen.
__________________
Home is where I park it!
|
|
|
12-05-2012, 02:15 PM
|
#9
|
Senior Member
Winnebago Owners Club Nor'easters Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Freedom, NH
Posts: 1,520
|
Thanks everyone for the advice, especially Wa8yxm. I will use your method with the fuses on each battery. The batteries will be fully charged before I leave and then I'll hook up the battery tender.
Fran
__________________
Fran, Mary & Zoey (silver Cocker)
2017 Thor Axis 25.5 "RUV", Ford E-450, V10, 6 speed
2016 Chevy Sonic LTZ Auto Hatchback 4-down
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|