TrailManor Owner's Forum  

Go Back   TrailManor Owner's Forum > TrailManor Technical Discussions > Electrical
Register FAQ Members List Calendar

 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
Old 07-25-2016, 03:14 PM   #1
SirDrake
Member
 
SirDrake's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Highland, NY
Posts: 25
Default Battery Health & Charging Options

I'm looking for some advice on Battery Health and Charging.
I have read through numerous posts on this forum concerning the TM battery and charging and I have a couple ideas.
I guess what I am primarily looking for is the best way of charging the battery in my TM and keeping it in good health.
We don't do any boon docking, at least not yet, so we use the battery primarily for the refrigerator while traveling.
Most of our trips take 6 hours or less on the road, so running the fridge on battery is feasible.
Also, we camp at sites with full hookups and I like to keep the TM plugged into shore power when parked at home.
I usually pull the battery for winter and store it in the garage.

The TM came with a group 24 marine battery, which I upgraded to a Group 27 a few years ago.
I learned the hard way that the Converter/Charger in the TM, if left plugged into shore power, will cook the battery; I didn't realize that the on board charger was not intelligent.
Needless to say the Group 27 Lead/Acid battery is dead. So I decided to buy an Optima AGM Marine battery to replace the old lead/acid unit (no more fumes, liquid, etc).
I just bought a blue top Optima D34M and now I am trying to decide the best way to maintain it.
https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...-starting/d34m
I read through many, many threads concerning the TM battery. I like the idea of either upgrading the charger in the TM or adding a third party charger to the battery compartment.
The DC Charger that ShrimpBurrito installed sounds interesting too and I believe it was Bill (the moderator) who has a Guest charger in his battery compartment.

Here are my thoughts.
Option1:
I could upgrade the Parallax 7300 on board Converter with the new Ultra III kit.
Found a site that sells 45 and 55 amp kits ranging $198-$213.
http://www.bestconverter.com/Magnete...-Kit_c_64.html
This kit upgrades the charging unit to 3-stage charging capabilities.
Not sure if I need 45 or 55amp though, and would this work well with my Optima battery?
Can I leave the TM plugged into shore power and not toast the battery with this upgrade?
If I go this route, is there a monitoring device I can install to show the stats on the battery?
Anyone have any experience with this kit or similar on board converter/charger?

Option 2:
My other thought was to skip the on board upgrade and install a separate charger in the battery compartment.
Optima sells a portable performance charger, the Digital 400 for $110.
It is designed to work best with the Optima batteries, obviously, and seems to get 5 star reviews online.
https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-us/battery-charger
I was thinking that I could mount it in the battery compartment and run an extension cord to the power outlet behind the refrigerator to power it (when plugged into shore power).
In addition, I was going to install a Three-way Battery Switch in the compartment as well, so I could switch between:
1. Shore Power/TM Charger (for traveling purposes)
2. The Optima Charger (for when I have shore power)
3. Off (battery disconnect)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001V7TL10...84KLCX38&psc=1

If anyone has any input, thoughts, etc I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!

~ John
__________________
~ John & Jessica ~
Highland, NY
Tow Vehicle: 2010 Infiniti QX56 | Prodigy Brake Controller
TrailManor: 2004 2720SL | Kenwood Stereo/Polk Speakers/Sharp 22" LCD/Winegard Wingman/AC/Fiamma Awning/Electric Tongue Jack/Over Sink Cabinet/Shower Mod/Optima D34M Marine Battery
SirDrake is offline   Reply With Quote
 


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Charging batteries AND running the DC fridge on the road: a DC-input battery charger ShrimpBurrito Electrical 90 08-12-2019 07:36 AM
Charging The Batteries From The TV While Running The Refrigerator On Battery Philip Electrical 75 03-08-2015 08:00 AM
Charging the battery with a generator: AC or DC? BobWilson Electrical 15 01-13-2005 08:17 AM
Battery charging Bill TrailManor Technical Library 0 09-30-2004 11:40 AM
Battery life Bill TrailManor Technical Library 0 08-24-2003 09:21 AM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:29 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright 2022 Trailmanor Owners Page.