Battery Chargers - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 08-20-2003, 05:27 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
Battery Chargers

I was in the Durango WallyMart recently and noticed a display of Vector battery chargers with outputs ranging from 1.5Amps to 100Amps. They are all "smart" three-stage chargers and some of them (12Amps and up) have the capability to check your alternator output and, more importantly, can desulfate a battery (repair the damage done by over-discharge). I was very impressed with the whole line and the prices.

This is the first time I have seen an inexpensive ($17) small smart charger that can be used for battery maintenance during long-term storage -- it even has three ways to connect to the battery (clamps, hardwire or cigar lighter plug). Were I to put the RatHaus in longterm storage (heaven forbid!), I would put one of these on it with the converter unplugged (presuming I had a converter, which I don't).

One of these smart chargers beats the heck out of replacing or upgrading a converter to properly charge the battery.

Max
Amps -- Price($)
1.5 ----- 17
6 ------- 25
10 ------ 40
12 ------ 50
20 ------ 58
35 ------ 69
100 ----- 90

At the Durango WM, the chargers were located by the auto maintenance desk.

Vector also makes inverters and JumpIt-type battery sets and sells remanufactured stuf online.

http://www.vectormfg.com/site2/frontpages/company.htm#

Pete in the RatHaus



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2003, 05:53 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
Pretty impressive prices. I'm going to wander by Walmart on the way home to see if something grabs me.

To state what may be obvious to most of our members; Desulfating (sometimes called equalization) a battery is a 4th charging phase that's not often available in regular chargers. It involves a relatively high current (15.5 - 16.2 vDC). Some 12 volt equipment including bulbs can be damaged by this high a voltage so should be taken out of the loop while desulfating. Also, what I read suggests that this is for lead-acid batterys only. Gel batteries shouldn't be desulfated.



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2003, 05:54 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
If you do replace the onboard charger ...

Hello Pete, I also did not like the way the original converter did battery recharging. I also considered doing what you are considering, however, in the end, I went with the Parallex replacement. If you do just replace the charger, here is a picture of the back side of the fuse panel. The heavy red wire is the output from the battery charging ckt and distributes power to the three right hand fuses (the filtered output). Remove and tape & store this lead and then tie the stand alone +12VDC charger lead to this lug. That will still keep the battery and filtered devices on the same ckt and remove the "old" single stage power source from the fuse panel. I have included a picture of the old converter and the new one. By the way, you can pick up Parallex converters on e-Bay for around $150. - John -

<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3f44b2c0ea61eOriginal Converter.jpg/>

<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3f44b2dd5f37eParallex Converter.jpg/>



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2003, 02:31 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 18,870
What I did was rip the 12VDC fuse distribution panel out of my early '90s Magnatek converter, strapped the two busses together and gave the rest to an RV repair shop for parts (that was all the heavy and bulky stuf), so my 91S13 runs totally on battery. If I have shore power, I hook a charger directly to the battery to keep the system up (in keeping with my campaign to lower my traveling weight, the charger weighs considerably less than the converter. Not having an a/c, I also replaced the original shore power cable with a lighter extension cord).

In the process, I lost the filtering that was part of the entire converter arrangement, but I haven't noticed any effects from the loss (power supply on my Dell laptop is fed by inverter, usually from truck battery), but I usually only run lights or my fantastical fan. I don't have a radio or TV, and the GPS is in the truck.

Pete in the RatHaus



Legacy Posts is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
battery


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
We need a new battery CarolnJim Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 4 02-18-2010 03:41 PM
Converters Batteries Chargers Ami P Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 2 05-09-2009 04:34 PM
Canadian Tire 3 Stage Chargers Booker B. Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 13 03-29-2008 12:37 PM
Hooking up boler battery to Tug battery Andy H Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 3 08-02-2007 12:59 PM
Convertors/battery chargers Gina D. Electrical | Charging, Systems, Solar and Generators 8 03-17-2007 10:01 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:44 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.