Power down

[moondog2000]

I have a forest river 2013 x-lite t221rbxl 24' trailer that I keep it plugged in to shore power all the time. Am I wearing my converter and anything else out faster ? Would I be better off disconecting the battery and only plugging the trailer in when I want to watch tv . Will it hurt anything to just plug the trailer in with no battery ?I do not know how much of a trickle charge my converter puts out. I know I should check the battery water more often but to do that I have to remove both propane tanks to pull the battery out. It would be easier to maintain the battery in my garage. I just don't want to damage the electrics in my trailer. Thank You Mike

[MtnGuy]

If you have a 3 stage converter, then all should be good. Check out the converter manual to make sure.

I leave my Surveyor plugged in most of the time. Occasionally I will unplug from 120 volt power to let the battery run down some, to give it a good charge back. I also have a desulfator hooked up to my battery.

PowerPulse PP12L 12V Desulfator

My battery was getting weak after only 2 years. After installing the desulfator, it has really invigorated that puppy.

[moondog2000]

My converter is 3 stage according to the spec sheet and it has a float charge so I should be ok. I did not know you can just buy a desulfator like that. My battery charger desulfates and that must be why I have gotten such long life out of my tent trailer batteries, they are close to 5 years old and still going strong. I have an odd set up on my batteries,there is only room for one so I wired a 50 amp female plug that hangs by the batt. my second batt has a 4' 6 ga cord with a male plug.When I get to my campspot I plug in my second battery. we need all the amps to run lights and tv.Nat. parks have wierd generator hours.I need to figure how I can leave it plugged in at home with out it getting stolen. Thank you very much for the info, I will be buying one of those desulfators. Mike

[moondog2000]

I also have a question that maybe you could answer. In the charge mode absorption it goes to 13.6 volts but does not say how many amps are produced . In the bulk mode It goes to 14.4 volts for 4 hours but nothing about how many amps are produced. My converter is rated at 55 amps but I don't think that will all go to the battery. My manual only speaks of voltage and nothing of amperage. It would be nice to know so maybe I can decrease the run time on my generator. Thank You Mike

[MtnGuy]

I will leave that question to someone that is more knowledgeable on the subject, because quite frankly, I haven't an clue.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by moondog2000

I also have a question that maybe you could answer. In the charge mode absorption it goes to 13.6 volts but does not say how many amps are produced . In the bulk mode It goes to 14.4 volts for 4 hours but nothing about how many amps are produced. My converter is rated at 55 amps but I don't think that will all go to the battery. My manual only speaks of voltage and nothing of amperage. It would be nice to know so maybe I can decrease the run time on my generator. Thank You Mike

The converter will only provide charge current based on the stage and voltage of the battery.

Storage Battery plates are thick and the charger has to provide the electrons to that battery at the rate it can take and no more or the excess will create heat and boil the battery.

Think of the plates like a sponge full of empty holes that electrons fit in.
With a near dead battery there are LOTS of holes and incoming electrons have an easy time of finding a home. They are pretty dumb and don't care that there are more holes inside the lead and they are very happy to stay on the surface.

The battery can take a lot of current quickly in this stage of charge. In fact the voltage will jump right up and it will look like the battery is fully charged when it is not. Lights will be bright etc. However, this is only a "surface" charge and there will be no capacity.

To get those stupid electrons to leave their happy home and move further in, the charger shifts to a different stage and tries to "PUSH" those electrons deeper into the lead. The converter needs to REDUCE the charge rate so that the electrons have time to find a new home and free up surface holes for new electrons coming in. There are many holes "inside" so the current can still be lower than at first but still at a good clip.

As the holes inside begin to fill up, the incoming electrons need to slow down even more to allow time for the surface holes to become available. It takes a LONG time in this stage to pack all those holes with electrons.

Here is a graph that shows the relationship between battery voltage and capacity.

[moondog2000]

Thank You, that sure explains a lot to me. Thats why my converter will charge high at first for 4 hr then drop to the normal charge rate. I could never understand why my battery charger would charge high at first then drop lower and then seem to stay there forever and then shut the charging down because the battery is at 100%.It was slowly packing all the power in it could.Now I have to figure how I can copy the voltage chart and keep it near the digital read out in my trailer. Now I feel like I understand converters,they are not Greek anymore. Thanks Again Mike

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by moondog2000

Thanks Again Mike

It is "Lou" but you are welcome. If you have a windows PC, right click on the image and select "print" from the menu.

I have that one AND this one laminated and next to my monitor.

NOTE: When the GOOD light goes out it is time to start your generator.
Waiting for FAIR to come on will reduce the life of your battery.

[moondog2000]

Thank you Lou, getting ready to laminate .