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Old 05-23-2011, 09:59 AM   #1
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Charging Time to Full Charge?

I will spend four days dry camping this Memorial Day weekend and would like to know how many hours/days you plug your RV in to ensure a full battery charge prior to your dry camping trips. I have two 12V deep cell batteries wired in parellel for my Rockwood MiniLite 2306. The batteries held up nicely on a three day day camping trip two weeks ago, but I was very miserly with the power. I plugged the TT in for about sixteen hours in preparation for the last trip but am not sure if that is too little or too much. I believe my next purchase will go for a volt-o-meter, but until then, I would appreciate the benefit of your experience. Thanks.
Greg
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Old 05-23-2011, 11:01 AM   #2
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A good battery charger will have a drop down trickle charge on it so you can't overcharge. Plus, as you are driving to your destination, your TV should be charging the batteries on the TT. At least that's how mine works on the last two TT I owned.
Enjoy the trip!!!!
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Old 05-23-2011, 12:18 PM   #3
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there's a lot of variables.
one is what converter/charger does your trailer has? second, how far down did the batteries discharge?
other variables are brand of battery, temperature, water levels and so on.
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Old 05-23-2011, 12:30 PM   #4
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Using the "on board" converter it can take several days (up to a week) to fully charge a 2 battery bank. That is because as the battery recharges, the charging current is reduced to a trickle (less than 1/2 amp) to avoid overcharging and boiling your battery dry (multiple charging stages).

You can watch the process with a battery monitor like the TM-2025RV system. Initially the battery can take about 26 amps and by the end of the first hour it is at 9 amps. By the end of the day it is about 1 amp. It will stay about an amp or less for several days as it goes into trickle mode.
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