Charging Battery - 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 04-20-2017, 10:23 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
daveandbonscott's Avatar
 
Name: Dave and Bonnie
Trailer: Boler
British Columbia
Posts: 104
Charging Battery

Ignorance requires answers. Is there any problem charging a 12 volt deep-cycle battery using an inexpensive small 12 volt electric battery charger that usually is used to slowly charge a regular 12 volt automotive battery?
daveandbonscott is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2017, 10:29 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
ZachO's Avatar
 
Name: Z
Trailer: Sasquatch
Montana
Posts: 2,556
Nope, no problem. 12V=12V. Other than that, there are minor things to consider, but nothing major.

A 12V battery charger will work great.
ZachO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2017, 11:27 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
C&G in FL's Avatar
 
Name: Carl
Trailer: 2015 Escape 5.0TA
Florida
Posts: 1,691
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by daveandbonscott View Post
Ignorance requires answers. Is there any problem charging a 12 volt deep-cycle battery using an inexpensive small 12 volt electric battery charger that usually is used to slowly charge a regular 12 volt automotive battery?
Only problem is that it may take a very long time, depending on how much the battery is discharged.
C&G in FL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2017, 12:15 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Raspy's Avatar
 
Name: John
Trailer: Roamer 1
Smith Valley, Nevada
Posts: 2,880
Quote:
Originally Posted by CPW View Post
Only problem is that it may take a very long time, depending on how much the battery is discharged.
Yeah. But we don't know the actual output of the charger in question.

It's funny how the answer is "yes, it's fine", and of course it is, but if it's a smart charger and the battery is dead, it won't come on. If it's a ferro-resonant charger and it is left connected for a long time it will boil the battery dry.

If it's just to charge up a battery enough to get the lawn mower started on Saturday morning, it's absolutely fine. If it needs to carry a continuous load in a trailer, maybe not so much, etc.
__________________
I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt.
Raspy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2017, 03:57 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Name: Steve
Trailer: Scamp 13
California
Posts: 1,890
Its like everything else it depends. Battery chargers are designed to charge battery's.

Battery chargers with trickle function will not only charge the battery but will reduce current once the battery get close to being fully charged.

Battery chargers with smart technology will charge the battery, reduce charge at the proper time and then go into maintenance function to keep the battery fully charged and not cook out the battery fluids when the battery isn't being used.

Battery chargers may tolerate using power while charging but they are not designed for that purpose. You really want a converter charger with smart wizard technology for that.

For the first 2 chargers you are the wizard its up to you when to start charging and to take it off so you don't do harm to the battery or trailer.

You can go cheep and do the work and take on the responsibility with a cheep battery charger or spend big dollars for the charger to do the baby sitting for you.

For me I changed out the converter/charger to one with smart technology and leave my trailer plugged in 24/7. I check the water level twice a year and add a teaspoon or so. The trailer is ready to go, battery always fully charged and I don't have to worry about it. Back in the day I had a pop up trailer with very basic battery charge capability and it was just a pain in the arse. Cooked the battery too many times and left many times with a dead battery. I have more spendable cash these days, older and wiser, so I bought and installed a battery sitter for me.
stevebaz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2017, 04:18 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
C&G in FL's Avatar
 
Name: Carl
Trailer: 2015 Escape 5.0TA
Florida
Posts: 1,691
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raspy View Post
Yeah. But we don't know the actual output of the charger in question.
The OP stated that is was a small, inexpensive charger designed to charge a battery slowly. I would believe that the implication in the OP's question is that it is a trickle charger, which typically puts out 2 amps. In any case, given the description, it would be reasonable to state that if the battery would take a charge, it would take a very long time. When I connect a Battery Minder to my lawn tractor's battery, which is small, it sometimes takes 30 hours until the battery is fully charged.
C&G in FL is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-20-2017, 10:03 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Raspy's Avatar
 
Name: John
Trailer: Roamer 1
Smith Valley, Nevada
Posts: 2,880
Quote:
Originally Posted by CPW View Post
The OP stated that is was a small, inexpensive charger designed to charge a battery slowly. I would believe that the implication in the OP's question is that it is a trickle charger, which typically puts out 2 amps. In any case, given the description, it would be reasonable to state that if the battery would take a charge, it would take a very long time. When I connect a Battery Minder to my lawn tractor's battery, which is small, it sometimes takes 30 hours until the battery is fully charged.

You're probably right. But the cheapest small battery chargers that I know of are from Harbor Freight. Small and cheap meets the definition given. They are not tenders, they are ferro-resonant chargers. They'll charge a battery from completely dead and eventually ruin it if left on.
Again, we just don't have enough information to make an informed answer, but the best thing to do is hook up what he has and see if it will do the job. Worst case it will be slow or not come on.

I have to keep several chargers around just to accomplish what I need to with my batteries. Since I have decided to take good care of them, I also have eight tenders running all the time.
__________________
I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt.
Raspy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2017, 07:18 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 1,704
When it comes to leaving a charger ON the battery continuously, it's these chargers below or NOTHING! The only difference is, the "Battery Minder" I have will charge up to 8A (good for a battery where you left the lights on etc.) or it can be bumped down to 2A if you prefer. And it desulfates. I rotate this charger around on the Scamp, lawnmower and a Corolla I keep parked in the garage that doesnt get alot of drive time. Otherwise, my other chargers are the "Battery Tenders". Since using these, I've never lost another battery to "short life"! I leave these chargers on 24/7!

BUT, they're are designed to do so!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CITK8S..._t1_B00068XCQU

BatteryMINDer® Plus Charger Model 12117: 12V 1.33 AMP Charger-Maintainer-Desulfator
Darral T. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-22-2017, 11:49 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Name: Elliott
Trailer: Bigfoot
Everywhere
Posts: 462
I've had really good results with the Schumacher charger (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQSIWK/). A bit more expensive, but charges at 12A and has a good desulfation mode that's revived car batteries that were in pretty bad shape.
Defenestrator 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
Charging Battery and running battery lights when plugged in Nor_Cal_Todd Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 2 08-25-2010 01:44 PM
Charging Eggmeons battery from the tug Paddy Morris Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 3 05-28-2006 03:20 PM
Battery Charging JOE DRISSEL Electrical | Charging, Systems, Solar and Generators 23 01-08-2006 04:03 PM
battery charging advice Legacy Posts Electrical | Charging, Systems, Solar and Generators 3 06-18-2003 04:11 PM
Battery Charging with EU2000 Legacy Posts Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 5 03-29-2003 01:25 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 08:52 AM.


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