Battery blending

[ronsmith100]

I put an extra battery in my casita
There was a sale on deep cycle marine batteries in Page (lake Powell boating). It is a sealed type... large amps I don't need but has a heck of a long sit-life.

The two are on a switch. OFF, 1, 2, both. (I am never going to click it to both probably as the two batteries are incompatible age and type and I cant go to off becasue - I think - it would be detrimental to the break away trailer brake stuff)

I charge the new big boy battery with a charger with a "deep cycle" setting.. I charge the Casita Battery through normal means (shore power and driving).

My question is,

1- can I tow with the new battery on?
2- can I plug into shore power with the new battery selected?
In other words will the casita's built in converter/charger charge that big duke without harm to either?

Ron

[Pete Dumbleton]

The best answer you will get to converter questions is to call the converter manf with the model and serial #s off the ID plate. The egg manfs use off-the-shelf RV equipment, including the converters.

That said, quite likely the converter will charge either battery just fine, presuming they are just standard lead-acids at about 8 amps max. Don't leave either connected to the activated converter during long-term storage unless you KNOW you have a multi-stage smart charger with a float mode in the converter or you risk overcharging/wrecking them.

Likewise, if your switch is wired properly, either battery should charge when towing.

You are right, switch should be in 1 or 2, never Off when moving (brakes are likely fed from the batteries and you might check if it's both or just one) and never Both because if one batt is very dissimilar from the other, there may be problems.