A fellow RVer that I met this past weekend has done some research and says that when his RV is not being used he has his shore power on a timer and a LED light on in the RV. Supposedly rather than have a deep cycle battery on a continuous charge from a battery charger when the RV is not being used it is better for battery life to have some drain/charge happening.
Anyone have an opinion or experience agreeing or disagreeing with the above?
Best way to keep deep cycle battery charged while in storage.
Started by
DanoT
, Aug 28 2017 11:15 PM
1 reply to this topic
#1
DanoT
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- LocationSun Peaks, B.C.
Posted 28 August 2017 - 11:15 PM
1991 Dodge CTD, owned since new.
2011 Coyote RV Phoenix pop-up camper, custom made for the Canadian winter.
#2
PaulT
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Need gumbo
- LocationHillsboro, Oregon
Posted 29 August 2017 - 12:32 AM
Many of the better battery chargers, like the Zamp factory charge controller or the Iota with the IQ4, track how long the battery has been on float. After some time like a week or two, these start the cycle over. Older or less smart chargers remain in float indefinitely until manually powercycled or a battery draw down occurs that restarts the charging profile.
My experience with my batteries used for amateur radio emergency backup power and kept in float indefinitely has been that the battery doesn't actually maintain full charge and may not be there when you need it. After losing several 100-150 aH batteries left on these older charger/maintainers, I began unplugging the charger once a week or so, for some time or applying a load long enough to force the charging profile to restart. I haven't lost any more batteries since I started doing that or replaced the simpler charger with a smarter unit.
My guess is that your friend discovered his own method to accomplish that task. Perhaps, someone from a charger or battery manufacturer could provide some better insight.
Paul
My experience with my batteries used for amateur radio emergency backup power and kept in float indefinitely has been that the battery doesn't actually maintain full charge and may not be there when you need it. After losing several 100-150 aH batteries left on these older charger/maintainers, I began unplugging the charger once a week or so, for some time or applying a load long enough to force the charging profile to restart. I haven't lost any more batteries since I started doing that or replaced the simpler charger with a smarter unit.
My guess is that your friend discovered his own method to accomplish that task. Perhaps, someone from a charger or battery manufacturer could provide some better insight.
Paul
I thought getting old would take longer.
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