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04-09-2018, 01:32 PM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 9
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Question about charging battery
Hello, Have a 2002 Flagstaff for a few years now and am still learning so forgive me if this question seems silly. I just put my group24 battery back into my camper after storing it inside for the winter. Should I charge it with an automotive battery charger or is plugging the camper in to shore power at my house sufficient enough to recharge/maintain it? Thanks in advance.
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04-09-2018, 01:36 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 672
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Just plug it into the camper. Your charging system should work fine.
If the battery sat for very long with no juice in it then it may not hold a charge any longer.
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04-09-2018, 01:39 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Warsaw,NC
Posts: 7,184
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Your camper should charge the battery just fine. Or you can charge the battery with a battery charger. I brought some new batteries a couple of years ago and just let the camper bring the batteries up to full charge
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04-09-2018, 01:49 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: x
Posts: 12,423
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You will get to a full charge faster using your battery charger. The converter will recharge the battery just at a slower rate then a stand alone charger
__________________
Retired Navy
Jake my sidekick (yellow Lab) 10/04 - 05/20
2017 RAM 2500 CC 4X4 Cummins Diesel
2016 Flagstaff 26 FKWS
AF&AM & El Korah Shrine of Idaho
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04-09-2018, 03:41 PM
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#5
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 9
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Thanks for the info. I will leave it plugged in for a while and let it charge.
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04-09-2018, 05:44 PM
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#6
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Member
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 82
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Be sure to check water level in flooded batteries as well. Add water AFTER it has been charged unless the cells are very low. Only use distilled water and Don’t overfill. Hard to describe without pics tithe water should not touch the bottom of the fill hole. If you are going to charge using a charger, a multistage charger will yield the best results.
Rich and Doll
RVLife247.com
__________________
2018 fR3 30ds. Victron multiplus 2 2x120 24 volt lifepo4
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04-09-2018, 09:58 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: North of Seattle, WA
Posts: 17,288
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeaDog
You will get to a full charge faster using your battery charger. The converter will recharge the battery just at a slower rate then a stand alone charger
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Yes, a external battery charge might charge faster but it needs to be larger than the normal charge rate of the onboard converter to do so. Also needs to be monitored so battery doesn't heat up and gas/boil. Fast charging that causes cells to create excess gas can shorten battery life.
Most converters do this automatically and don't cause water loss.
__________________
"A wise man can change his mind. A fool never will." (Japanese Proverb)
"You only grow old when you run out of new things to do"
2018 Flagstaff Micro Lite 25BDS
2023 f-150 SCREW XLT 3.5 Ecoboost (The result of a $68,000 oil change )
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04-10-2018, 06:30 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: x
Posts: 12,423
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TitanMike
Yes, a external battery charge might charge faster but it needs to be larger than the normal charge rate of the onboard converter to do so. Also needs to be monitored so battery doesn't heat up and gas/boil. Fast charging that causes cells to create excess gas can shorten battery life.
Most converters do this automatically and don't cause water loss.
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You must be talking about old technology battery chargers like the old converters, I have three stand alone battery chargers and they all do exactly what a converter does (with different rates of charge) just at a faster rate and don't boil batteries.
__________________
Retired Navy
Jake my sidekick (yellow Lab) 10/04 - 05/20
2017 RAM 2500 CC 4X4 Cummins Diesel
2016 Flagstaff 26 FKWS
AF&AM & El Korah Shrine of Idaho
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04-10-2018, 05:27 PM
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#9
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Bene Gesserit Rule
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Victoria, Australia
Posts: 846
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Myfamilycamper
Hello, Have a 2002 Flagstaff for a few years now and am still learning so forgive me if this question seems silly. I just put my group24 battery back into my camper after storing it inside for the winter. Should I charge it with an automotive battery charger or is plugging the camper in to shore power at my house sufficient enough to recharge/maintain it? Thanks in advance.
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A battery charger will charge it faster, but without management. A converter/charger will do it slower but manage the rate. If you have a really good charger/converter, like a 35 amp 7 stage device, this will do the best job. It will toss heaps of power into it to get it off the floor, than in regulated stages, lower the charge rate until the battery is ready to 'float'. This type of charge can often (and did in my case) recover a battery that has been discharged beyond what should be its recoverable limit.
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04-10-2018, 06:41 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Wisconsin/Florida
Posts: 1,905
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Murbella7
A battery charger will charge it faster, but without management. A converter/charger will do it slower but manage the rate. If you have a really good charger/converter, like a 35 amp 7 stage device, this will do the best job. It will toss heaps of power into it to get it off the floor, than in regulated stages, lower the charge rate until the battery is ready to 'float'. This type of charge can often (and did in my case) recover a battery that has been discharged beyond what should be its recoverable limit.
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There are two type of common stand-alone battery chargers-manual and automatic. They serve different purposes. A manual charger does not require a battery to show a charge, whereas, an automatic charger must have some charge to begin with. A manual charger is a dumb charger. It doesn't know when to stop charging. An automatic charger is able to sense a full charge and diminish the charge rate to float.
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04-10-2018, 10:43 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 2,832
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If it is a group 24 then no matter what size charger you put on it...it will not ACCEPT more than about 15-20 amps in bulk mode so anything more is overkill that accomplishes nothing. Since they have 75 amps to refill when DEAD , a 50% dishcharged one will only accept a BULK charge of 20 amps for an hour or so before it ramps down into absorbtion mode until amps are 1-2 and you are full. I see no advantage in an old fashioned bulk charger over a 3 stage of 20 amps or more in the RV. Even if 80% discharged, you'll be "full" in 6 hours or so with a 20amp 3 stage..
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04-11-2018, 08:15 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: SouthWest Michigan
Posts: 5,977
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Myfamilycamper
Hello, Have a 2002 Flagstaff for a few years now and am still learning so forgive me if this question seems silly. I just put my group24 battery back into my camper after storing it inside for the winter. Should I charge it with an automotive battery charger or is plugging the camper in to shore power at my house sufficient enough to recharge/maintain it? Thanks in advance.
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Back when we had an old TT,,,
I always charged the Battery before I reinstalled it !!!
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04-11-2018, 08:27 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Central New York
Posts: 308
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The converter in your 15+ year old camper may be no more than a single stage charger. Newer converters and chargers are mostly multi-stage, often 3-stage.
I'd use a quality automatic multi-stage unit regardless of how small. I see no advantage to a big charger doing a fast charge...actually to the contrary.
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04-11-2018, 08:29 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 10,907
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In the winter, I put my TT and tractor batteries in the basement. I use a smart Battery Minder like this one:
Over the winter, I put it on my TT battery for a few weeks, then swap it to my tractor battery for a few weeks. Back and forth all winter. When it's time to mow grass and/or go camping, batteries are fully charged.
__________________
1988 Coleman Sequoia - popup (1987-2009) - outlasted 3 Dodge Grand Caravans!
2012 Roo19 - hybrid (2012-2015)
2016 Mini Lite 2503S - tt (2015 - ???)
2011 Traverse LT, 3.6L, FWD
2009 Silverado 1500 Ext Cab, 5.3L, 4x4, 3.73
2016 Silverado 2500HD Dbl Cab, 6.0L 4x4, 4.10
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04-11-2018, 08:33 AM
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#15
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 15,266
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The smart chargers are a great solution BUT; You need to carefully read the specs on smart chargers with desulfate functions as that function on some is a time based function and resets each time you move it. If you are counting on that function, you may be best to not move it.
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2015 Freedom Express 248RBS
TV 2015 Silverado HD2500 Duramax
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04-11-2018, 08:37 AM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 10,907
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flybob
The smart chargers are a great solution BUT; You need to carefully read the specs on smart chargers with desulfate functions as that function on some is a time based function and resets each time you move it. If you are counting on that function, you may be best to not move it.
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Never thought of that. It does go to desulfate when I move it, but I've never hung around to see how long it stays there. I'll re-read the manual when I get home.
__________________
1988 Coleman Sequoia - popup (1987-2009) - outlasted 3 Dodge Grand Caravans!
2012 Roo19 - hybrid (2012-2015)
2016 Mini Lite 2503S - tt (2015 - ???)
2011 Traverse LT, 3.6L, FWD
2009 Silverado 1500 Ext Cab, 5.3L, 4x4, 3.73
2016 Silverado 2500HD Dbl Cab, 6.0L 4x4, 4.10
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04-11-2018, 08:41 AM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: SouthWest Michigan
Posts: 5,977
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I keep a Battery Maintainer on my tractor in the barn,,, I use it to blow snow,,,
so I have to leave the battery in it !!!
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04-11-2018, 08:46 AM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Central New York
Posts: 308
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rockfordroo
In the winter, I put my TT and tractor batteries in the basement. I use a smart Battery Minder like this one:
Over the winter, I put it on my TT battery for a few weeks, then swap it to my tractor battery for a few weeks. Back and forth all winter. When it's time to mow grass and/or go camping, batteries are fully charged.
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