Charging while hooked to shore power? - Winter Storage

[Mooman57]

Sent: 11/8/2004

Hi everyone,

Just a few questions.

While plugged into shore power at home are both of my batteries in my '76 D21 Brave being charged?

Will it hurt to leave it plugged in all winter?

I live in southwestern PA and it can get pretty cold in the winter, should I leave the batteries in my Winnie?

I just bought the batteries about 3 months ago, one regular for starting and one deep cycle for house power. I don't want to ruin them over the winter.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,
Mooman56

[Photoman]

Sent: 11/8/2004

I would definitely bring them inside for the winter.  I had a brand new deep cycle ($99) battery from Sam's freeze on me last winter because it wasn't charged up.  Split out the side.  Was an expensive lesson.  I would also fill the gas tanks and add Sta-Bil gas additive to keep the gas fresh and prevent condensation.  Good luck!  Photoman

[LJ-TJ]

Sent: 11/8/2004

Mooman56 I agree with Photoman on both counts. T.J.

[Mooman57]

Sent: 11/11/2004

Thanks guys!

I think I will store my batteries inside over the winter.
Now, do I just leave sit all winter and charge them in the spring,
or "trickle" charge them all winter, or just give them a good regular charge maybe every 3-4 weeks?

If I need to trickle charge them, does anyone have any suggestions on what type of charger is the best one to use?

Also, I still would like to know if one, none, or both batteries are being charged while I have my RV "plugged in" at home.
As far as I know the entire electrical system in factory stock.
I'm just not sure if the house battery gets charged while plugged in and the starting battery gets charged from the engine alternator, or if maybe both batteries get charged from the engine alternator or both by being plugged in.
I'm just not sure.
Can anyone tell me?

Thanks again,
Mooman56

[Sea Hag]

Sent: 11/11/2004

If you have the batteries inside a heated area so they can't freeze you don't need to charge them until spring although it won't hurt anything if you want to trickle charge them once in a while .
    The converter should just charge the coach batt. when plugged in to shore power , depending on your set up .
    You should still be able to use the converter 12volt power for the coach lights Ect. even without the batt installed , but I would insulate the positive terminal cables so they won't cause a short in the converters charging circuit .  Sea HaG

[Mooman57]

Sent: 11/12/2004

Thanks Sea Hag!

I'm glad you mentioned about isolating the cables, didn't think about that.

Mooman56

[Derrek]

Sent: 11/12/2004

I have a 6 amp battery tender float charger (www.batterytender.com ) that works great!

I can plug this in directly and allow it to keep my batteries charged while the coach is being stored, rather than having the converter overcharge the batteries.

I purchased the battery tender used on Ebay for a great price, but before I would go out and spend over $100 for a new one, I would consider buying an entire new converter with a built in "Charge Wizard" float type battery charger. If your converter is original you would be able to "kill two birds with one stone", by getting a new converter and a float battery charger in one.

Here is a website with more info on converters with the "charge wizard"......
http://www.bestconverter.com/

Check for used converters with this feature on Ebay. You may be able to get a good deal on a used one.

Derrek

[Mooman57]

Sent: 11/14/2004

Thanks Derrek,

I'm going to take the batteries out today and store them in my basement.
My basement stays nice and warm, so they'll be safe until Spring.

Thanks for the info and suggestions everyone!

I'm going to go on-line and check eBay and some manufacturer's websites and see what I can come up with on the chargers.

This is my first RV and we were only able to take it out a couple of times this Fall, so I'll be impatiently waiting 'til Spring!!!

Now, gotta get the RV's furnace working, I don't think it's been used in years!  I'm sure I'll be out there tinkering all Winter!!!

Thanks guys, I really appreciate everyones help.
You'll probably be hearing from me again!!!

Later,
Mooman56

[doc]

Sent: 11/14/2004

Why wait till spring, winter camping is great fun

[Mooman57]

Sent: 11/14/2004

Hey doc,

I probably won't be able to wait 'til Spring anyway!  I just gotta get the furnace working first!!!
Later,

Mooman56

[mightybooboo]

Sent: 11/15/2004

I use batteries in my home backup system,they live on the service porch out back,it gets into the 20s during winter.The higher the charge stored,the lower the temp they can take before freezing.I charge fully every 30 days.I read somewhere lead acid batteries can lose up to 1% of charge per day,at 30 days thats 30% discharged,and time to restore that energy.The further you discharge,the shorter your battery will last.So trickle charge and keep it fully charged,or bulk charge and get capacity up regularly.
Thats my take on it,FWIW.
BooBoo

[mightybooboo]

Sent: 11/15/2004

"I probably won't be able to wait 'til Spring anyway!I just gotta get the furnace working first!!!"

Just get an electric heater and go to  the campground with hookups,you will be just fine!
BooBoo

[Froggy1936]

Moonman56   Opps  the furnace will not work without the battery's  So if you plan on fireing it up you will need the coach battery,s hooked up  Also the refrigerator when operated on 110 ac or propane will also not work without the coach battery,s connected  Sorry for the bad news    Frank