TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post - When Towing The TM Which Regulator Controls Battery Charging?

Philip · 08-27-2009, 08:41 PM

To Jerry Miller & Bill,

Thank you for educating me on the workings of the TV & TM charging regulators. From this it appears that I will not be able to use Gell Batteries without extensive changes to the charging systems which I feel are not worth the effort/expense. I am going to continue to investigate the possibility of using AGM batteries with little or no system changes.

The three stage charging regulator supplied with the TM is a WFCO unit. I plan to talk to them and get the voltage points for the three charging stages. I don't have much hope that the voltage points are adjustable for different battery types but I will find out. Perhaps the existing setpoints are reasonably accceptable for AGM batteries and will not affect battery life too much. If the TM charger proves acceptable my only concern will be the bulk charging voltage for the TV regulator. It may not be too harmfull if the battery is in the Bulk or even Absorption phase of charging but I would assume that it would be harmful if the battery was in the Float phase. Perhaps the battery would rarely reach the Float phase with the relatively short times, compared to what is normally required to reach float on a larger capacity battery, you are towing the TM. I will have to make a judgment on that.

I am interested in a high capacity/high quality deep cycle battery since I will be living in the TM for extended periods(three or more months at a time) and plan to dry camp a fair portion of this time. I want the reduced maintenance and durability/long term capcity of a high quality battery. However, I don't want to waste the battery due to a poor charging regimen. These batteries are expensive.

In any event I will at the very least have to get a battery monitor that keeps accurate tabs on amps in/out of the battery to keep tabs on battery charge level. It is not possible to know charge level from battery voltage unless you let the battery rest something like 24 hours or more with no load or charge. This is a luxuary I will never have so I must get a good battery monitor - at the least!!

Thank you again for the help,

Phil Friess

08-27-2009, 08:41 PM	#10
Philip Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 129	To Jerry Miller & Bill, Thank you for educating me on the workings of the TV & TM charging regulators. From this it appears that I will not be able to use Gell Batteries without extensive changes to the charging systems which I feel are not worth the effort/expense. I am going to continue to investigate the possibility of using AGM batteries with little or no system changes. The three stage charging regulator supplied with the TM is a WFCO unit. I plan to talk to them and get the voltage points for the three charging stages. I don't have much hope that the voltage points are adjustable for different battery types but I will find out. Perhaps the existing setpoints are reasonably accceptable for AGM batteries and will not affect battery life too much. If the TM charger proves acceptable my only concern will be the bulk charging voltage for the TV regulator. It may not be too harmfull if the battery is in the Bulk or even Absorption phase of charging but I would assume that it would be harmful if the battery was in the Float phase. Perhaps the battery would rarely reach the Float phase with the relatively short times, compared to what is normally required to reach float on a larger capacity battery, you are towing the TM. I will have to make a judgment on that. I am interested in a high capacity/high quality deep cycle battery since I will be living in the TM for extended periods(three or more months at a time) and plan to dry camp a fair portion of this time. I want the reduced maintenance and durability/long term capcity of a high quality battery. However, I don't want to waste the battery due to a poor charging regimen. These batteries are expensive. In any event I will at the very least have to get a battery monitor that keeps accurate tabs on amps in/out of the battery to keep tabs on battery charge level. It is not possible to know charge level from battery voltage unless you let the battery rest something like 24 hours or more with no load or charge. This is a luxuary I will never have so I must get a good battery monitor - at the least!! Thank you again for the help, Phil Friess