Trickle Charger

[Gaetan Lavoie]

I need some help in determining the size of a Trickle Battery Charger to maintain two deep cycle batteries at their full charge over long period of inactivities. Specifically I am looking for size of charger such as 1 Amp, duration of charge such as 2 hours every day using possibly a timer switch.

[Gaetan Lavoie]

I need some help in determining the size of a Trickle Battery Charger to maintain two deep cycle batteries at their full charge over long period of inactivities. Specifically I am looking for size of charger such as 1 Amp, duration of charge such as 2 hours every day using possibly a timer switch.

[Nonno]

One suggestion would be to use a "Battery Minder" It's available at Camping World, Campers Choice and other RV parts stores. It can maintain up to 4 batteries without overcharging and it can be left on 24/7

[Gary RVRoamer]

If it truly is a trickle charger, a 1-2 amp rate can be left on continuously and should not overcharge. A unit like the Battery Minder is ideal. Cheap 1-2 amp units may or may not adequately regulate the charge and it is very hard to tell without an oscilloscope and an engineering degree. But if you get a cheap unit and run it only a couple hours a day (via a timer), it will still keep the batteres up and cannot hurt things much in that short a period.

It is difficult to estimate how many amp-hours of charging are needed without analying your rigs current draw when in storage. It could be almost zero (self-discharge only) or it might be around 1-2 amps per hour if all the potential parasitic drains are operating. Do you shut down every possible current using device? Use the battery disconnect? Have you measured the discharge amp rate when in storage mode? That is the only way to make an accurate estimate. If you do nothing to reduce parasitic load, I would guesstimate that your rig will draw about 1 amp/hour and therefore a 1 amp charger on continuously would be about right.

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bob Russo:
One suggestion would be to use a "Battery Minder" It's available at ... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>RV UPgrades.com

Just call RV Upgrades on the phone for availability, I don't think it's listed in the product sheet just yet. 866-332-7881.

[Harry Thorn]

Go to Napa, Car Quest or most auto parts stores and ask for a Float Charger. They cost around $35. The batteries should be up to close to full charge when you turn it on and it will top them off and shut off. When they drop down, it will come on until they are topped off again.
Later ...Harry...

[ISLAPP]

I've had a Battery Minder for several years now and have been very satisfied with it.
Mike

[Clay L]

I have the Battery Minder other people mentioned and it works well.

My sister-in-law got a float charger at Harbor Freight for less than $15 that also works well. I have recently seen it on sale for about $6.