Battery Tender / Battery Maintenance

[Darral T.]

Some of the chargers I'm looking at are "waterproof" so it's safe to use them outside. Think of it this way on "storing" your battery. Your car battery stays outside year-round and it doesnt hurt it when it's charged. The same with the deep-cycle RV....especially with the Tender or equal in place keeping it topped off. I speak from Tennessee weather...temps going down to single-digits for a short spell...avg apx 30 deg in the winter. In Minnesota or other extremely cold places? I would check on how much cold your particular charger can take and go from there.

I've never used a "smart" charger on my Deep-cycle Scamp battery yet... charging it as suggested apx 1 day every month. This battery is going on 5 yrs old and doesnt have a problem taking or staying charged. I have a plugin voltmeter that can keep a watch on the voltage for you. They have them at Walmart. I keep one in my Scamp. Here's one on Ebay and Harbor Freight has one identical but cheaper:
Tooluxe LED Car Battery Tester Alternator Tester Fits 12V Cigarette Lighter | eBay

Originally Posted by Karen L.

One last question... Should the battery be taken out & stored inside, or is it O.K to leave it on the trailer with the minder/tender in place?? Thank you for all your help! I had always wondered what a "float charger" was, now I think I know!! Silly me, I'd thought it had to do with boats!!! Had visions of it floating on the watwer next to a boat!!! (I do know my battery is a Marine/RV battery!)

[beemerphile1]

Originally Posted by Karen L.

Thanks all for your imput!! Was all set to go to Wal Mart.. then saw the link to purchase for $19.99, then the comment re Harbor Freight!! I will check with all!! Thank you SO MUCH!!

The HF trickle charger is NOT a battery maintainer as compared to the Deltran Tender and the BatteryMINDer. I would not trust any battery connected long term to the HF trickle charger.

A trickle charger supplies continuous small amperage constantly.

A battery maintainer varies the voltage, amperage, and monitors the state of charge.

Originally Posted by Karen L.

...Should the battery be taken out & stored inside, or is it O.K to leave it on the trailer with the minder/tender in place....

Doesn't matter one bit, inside or out. Protect the maintainer from weather. Disconnect the negative cable from the battery to trailer. The maintainers have an output between .75 amp and 1.5 amp. If the trailer has parasitic loads like a CO or LPG detector the maintainer may be overtaxed.

[beemerphile1]

Originally Posted by Randy P.

...I found a good deal on a BatteryMinder at Northern Tool. It's Model #12117: 12 Volt 1.33 Amp Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator for $19.99. (Reg. $49.99).

BatteryMINDer Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator — 1.3 Amp, 12 Volt, Model# 12117 | Battery Maintainers| Northern Tool + Equipment

Randy

Thanks for the link, I just ordered a BatteryMINDer to add to the other six chargers I own. I have been intrigued by the pulse desulfation mode of the BatteryMINDer. Now I get to try it out.

If you use keycode 197926 for an additional $5 discount the cost is only $14.99 plus shipping.

The #12117 has been discontinued and is replaced by the #1500. The model #1500 has temperature compensation and slightly more amperage than the model #12117. I don't consider either to be important in a battery maintainer. My big charger has temperature compensation which can be helpful when putting BIG amps into a battery.

[Randy P.]

Originally Posted by beemerphile1

I have been intrigued by the pulse desulfation mode of the BatteryMINDer. Now I get to try it out.

If you use keycode 197926 for an additional $5 discount the cost is only $14.99 plus shipping.

Doh, now I find out. Oh well, I did get free shipping so it all works out. Either way, for the cost it's a bargain.

I too am interested in the desulfation mode of the BatterMINDer. Some report very good results so I thought it was worth a shot. For 20 Dollars....fogetaboutit.

And I agree, the difference between the 1500 and 12117 is minimal. In addition to the items you listed, the 1500 does have a 1 ft. longer cord. Nice? sure. Worth the extra 30 bucks? Not to me. I have extension cords if it comes to that.

[Perry J]

[QUOTE=beemerphile1;497624]The HF trickle charger is NOT a battery maintainer as compared to the Deltran Tender and the BatteryMINDer. I would not trust any battery connected long term to the HF trickle charger.

Can you explain why I lost only one ATV battery in 10 years with the HF battery maintainer.
For 6 years I had 6 ATVs sitting months at a time without use.
Now I have 3 sitting for months at a time without any use.
I've lost one battery because the maintainer came unplugged.
One of the biggest expenses owning ATVs seem to be buying batteries.
I've bought one in 10 years.

[CampyTime]

I have two battery tender brand maintainers. Both purchased at Wally. My scamp battery is on the more expensive 60 dollar one and I keep that plugged in all winter, battery sitting on a wooden shelf in the basement. It has a mode to keep battery maintained once fully charged.

The other one is in my garage and I switch it off between the generator battery and lawn tractor battery. Both battery tender brand, both work great.

Only problem I ever had was using a black and decker one when I first started camping with my old pop up. Died second season.

I would not want to keep my trailer plugged in all winter just to charge battery. However the PO of my scamp did do just that and I think other folks do too. My reason: would worry about shortening life of converter but I might just be making that up with concerns unfounded.


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[Jared J]

Ugh. Not the wood myth again.

Batteries can sit on concrete, and will actually discharge LESS, due to the floor usually being cooler. In fact, they could sit in standing water on concrete, as long as the cells and terminals aren't flooded.

Unless you still use a wood case, rubber cased, or tar coated battery, concrete will not drain it.



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[Joe Z]

Originally Posted by Jared J

Ugh. Not the wood myth again.

Batteries can sit on concrete,
Unless you still use a wood case, rubber cased, or tar coated battery, concrete will not drain it.



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I usually set the battery on a piece of wood on the basement floor/garage floor..... that's ok?______

[Ian G.]

Originally Posted by Jared J

Ugh. Not the wood myth again.

Batteries can sit on concrete, and will actually discharge LESS, due to the floor usually being cooler. In fact, they could sit in standing water on concrete, as long as the cells and terminals aren't flooded.

Unless you still use a wood case, rubber cased, or tar coated battery, concrete will not drain it.

Jared is 100% correct. Very early automotive batteries were made with a porous rubber case that was allowed the electrolyte to leak some, when placed on concrete the moisture created a short which drained the battery. ALL modern batteries use plastic cases which do not leak and thus no chance for an external discharge except across the terminal posts.

[CampyTime]

The battery sits in an elevated position on a table that just so happens to be wood. Wasn't trying to perpetuate any myths that I've never even heard of to begin with Jared.

The basement sump has flooded in the past; hence the elevated position. And whether or not it's OK, I don't feel good about a battery sitting on the basement floor plugged into a battery tender which is plugged into an electrical outlet.


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[Karen L.]

I blew it! Was so sick thru holidays, didn't get around to ordering! Now $29.99+shipping, discount NOT valid!! Back to looking locally!! I do intend to get one!!

[Joe Z]

I use something on Amazon called Camel...... It's a price watcher that you set what you want to pay for it and when it goes down to that price it notifies you..... Pick a couple chargers on it and set it to camel. I've done it quite a few times and have a multitool setup on it that is $103 and i want to be notified when it goes down to $80
Quite interesting on Amazon

[John & BJ S.]

Darral - One of the first mods I did when we got our Scamp was to install the Charge Wizard on the Progressive Dynamics converter. Love it, and that I don't have to hunt for another piece of equipment when I put the trailer to bed!

Our Scamp mod list is available here.

[Darral T.]

Finally put my battery charger on order today. At the beginning of my original post, some suggested checking into the "Minders" and I did. This one would be an overkill for most I know but it had several features I wanted.

Before that, I had actually considered a Schumaker 10030. It has a 100A jumpstart capability. But just TOO many reviews talking about "cheapness" and undependability of it.

I opted for the 12248 Battery Minder. (link below) The Battery Tender put out the most it could at 1.5 A. This one will pump out 8A if you want it to then 4 and 2A. But one thing I read, it will put out as little as 200mA to to keep a battery charged if necessary! Amazing. And it has the standard "maintain" and "Desulfation" features as well. It also comes with the temp sensor which some feel is useless but can be used as a backup safety feature...especially if you're pumping 8A into a battery trying to bring it up quickly. But another feature I wanted it for that I found wasnt available on some of the other popular maintainer chargers was the capability of charging GEL (SLA) cells.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...f_rd_i=desktop

[Darral T.]

Old John Sch. from Scampers @ Yahoo!! Good to hear from ya. The Wizard is available from Amazon for about 25$. STILL a good choice for that converter. Question though... do you have to plug in the Scamp and run the converter all the time? Or can you simply run a cord to the Wizard and run it independently? I just kinda hesitated leaving my Scamp plugged in continuously. But I think you can prove it hurts nothing!

Hey just went out and looked at your MODS. People here would do well to go out and view your work...it's superb! The door seal got my attention. That's been brought up here too and my buddy from the Piney Rally "TomK" posted a pic of the new seal Scamp is providing now. Looks very promising.

Take care and thanks for posting.

Originally Posted by John & BJ S.

Darral - One of the first mods I did when we got our Scamp was to install the Charge Wizard on the Progressive Dynamics converter. Love it, and that I don't have to hunt for another piece of equipment when I put the trailer to bed!

Our Scamp mod list is available here.

[John & BJ S.]

My Scamp is plugged in whenever it's in the garage.

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[David B.]

Darral, that's the charger that I used in our 13' Scamp (I had removed the converter when it boiled the water out of the battery, and hummed something awful), and now, in conjunction with our solar controller, in our Lil Snoozy. NO problems with them at all.
Dave & Paula

[Darral T.]

Thanks Dave! That's good news as you think enough of it to make a permanent part of the Scamp! Is there anything you've ran into that I should watch for? I've studied up on it pretty thoroughly. The worst thing I read was about the early manual on it. I downloaded a new one that is very readable and easy to understand. But really, I dont see all that much on the charger to figure out. I'm VERY familiar with "smart chargers" in the Radio Control side of life. These are just on a bigger scale.

Another "smart" feature about this charger I failed to mention earlier was, the desulfation technology. They say the "Schumacher" uses "voltage spikes" to desulfate. This BM 12248 (and I'm sure there are others) uses a "high frequency" which is supposedly easier on the battery itself.

Thanks for the encouraging post AND pics!

[garbonz]

I went with a CTEK charger maintainer. 7 amp, many stages, MUCHO GOOD.


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[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Joe Z

I usually set the battery on a piece of wood on the basement floor/garage floor..... that's ok?______

Ok, of course. Needed, no.


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