BATTERY CHARGERS

HarryG · Member

BATTERY CHARGERS

Delta18 · Guru

I don't know what is the "best" one but this is what I use. Works fine, not too expensive & lightweight. Battery Charger.jpeg

exa41 · Guru

I have a Projecta 7 stage charger in the coaster ,connected permenantly so soon as I plug into 240 volts ,it's on .it's has a remote panel that I have mounted just above the drivers seat that tells me the battery condition whilst driving.

Olley46 · Guru

This is the one I use,soon as 240 volt is turned on it is in action.

Lance C

Santa · Guru

I have 2 x CTek MXS15 chargers, 1 mounted in the the Kea keeps my 2 x 100 AH house batteries charged and the second I use as a home charger.

They seem to be an easy to use reliable unit.

https://www.autoelec.com.au/ssl/public_autoelec/store_v4/product_detail.asp?id=766&cat=45

iana · Guru

I use Projecta at work, and have a small Ctek at home. My choice would be the 25 Amp Projecta. The reason I recommend this one is that there is more info on the front panel of what's going on, also you can get a remote heat to mount else where so you can see its status. It also has over heat protection and will shut down if the thermocouple connected to the battery gets too warm. As with anything you get what you pay for.
One other point, these new chargers don't like charging ( or won't charge) a dead flat battery. A dead flat battery will need to have a kick start from the old style "pump power in" type. So i/2 hour on the old type battery charger then switch over to the new charger. So keep that old charger just in case.

PeterD · Guru

You have 360 Ah of batteries. If you are going to use a generator when free camping you should be looking at a charger of up to C/4 which amounts to one with 90 A output. Most of the chargers recommended are way too small. At any rate I would suggest you get a charger with 50 A output and certainly not smaller than 35 A output. I am loath to recommend a particular brand or model. Just look around for one that looks suitable that you can easily get warranty for the unit and come back to ask the suitability of it.

HarryG · Member

Thanks for the info. The solar panels charge up to 13.7v during the day, but cuts out around 3am at 10.70v. Then the cycle is repeated each day. Maybe 10.70v means that the batteries are nearly flat. The monitor shows that the batteries at this time are at 70%????

oldtrack123 · Guru

HarryG wrote:
Thanks for the info. The solar panels charge up to 13.7v during the day, but cuts out around 3am at 10.70v. Then the cycle is repeated each day. Maybe 10.70v means that the batteries are nearly flat. The monitor shows that the batteries at this time are at 70%????

Hi Harry

If the batteries are really being pulled down to 10.7v ,they probably are stuffed!!

Lead acid batteries should NEVER be taken that low or they will have very short life

You have a problem with your set up which SHOULD be corrected before you buy the NEW batteries that you probably need

In doing that, I would also suggest that you have low voltage battery cutout fitted

One that disconnects the batteries when they fall to around 12V

PeterQ

PeterD · Guru

HarryG wrote:
The solar panels charge up to 13.7v during the day, but cuts out around 3am at 10.70v.

Does the voltage go up to over 14 V and then settle back to a float voltage of 13.7 or is 13.7 V the highest the battery goes?

meggsy · Veteran Member

PeterD wrote:
You have 360 Ah of batteries. If you are going to use a generator when free camping you should be looking at a charger of up to C/4 which amounts to one with 90 A output. Most of the chargers recommended are way too small. At any rate I would suggest you get a charger with 50 A output and certainly not smaller than 35 A output. I am loath to recommend a particular brand or model. Just look around for one that looks suitable that you can easily get warranty for the unit and come back to ask the suitability of it.

I totally agree with Peter most people undercharge (not voltage charge level but current capacity) their batteries. The generally accepted requirement is a 20 amp capacity charger for each 100 Ah battery, a 40 amp charger for 200 Ahrs. I would suggest that you look seriously at getting a Quality DC to DC charger to ensure your batteries are appropriately "conditioned" whilst you drive I would also suggest that you set up a voltage sensing relay that drops the house batteries off line at 11.3 volts or thereabouts. Remember that lead acid batteries of any type, that is Flooded AGM or calcium, are only good for providing their rated voltage, on load, for about 25% of their capacity thereafter the voltage deteriorates rather quickly. If using a generator to top up the batteries then use it to operate the 240 volt charger the DC outlet on the gene does not have enough capacity usually limited to 7 - 10 amps.

Hope its not too confusing