how to wire in a battery charger

[John Z]

It is time for me to buy a new 3 or 4 stage battery charger. What brands and types have proven to be good ones. I know a lot of you have inverters with built in chargers, but is it ok if i wire this up so it is would always be on if the genset is running or we are on shore power?

[TomCat]

Hey John,

I'm familiar with the 3 stage system of "Bulk, Absorbtion, and Float, but not with a 4 stage system. What is the 4th stage of charging?

Jay
87 SaftLiner

[John Z]

Hi Jay,

I don't even know. I was looking at chargers a couple days ago, and thought i saw "4 stage" printed on one of the boxes. I am stuck in the old world with a charger you just have to be around to unplug when the battery is charged up.

[Stormcloud]

I just installed a Progressive Dynamics 45 Amp fully automatic (when used with their Charge Wizard) to keep up my bank of 3 deep cycle house batteries....seems to work 100%.  I just monitor the water level occasionally, and the battery voltage is always around 13.6 to 14.4 approximately.

It works for me........

Mark

[skihor]

I got a 24v/2amp for the chassis for I think $48, and a 5 AMP for the (two 6V )= 12V
I think the 12V/5AMP was $78. Made by Shauer both are fully automatic, and true three stage and have worked well. With the 96 watt/6amp worth of solar and the 5Amp charger we're fine on the house batts. We DON'T have an inverter, and we are full time and our 12V needs are small.
The units are small and the 12V has a cooling fan and on/off switch. I just mounted them close hard wired them in and attached them with Velcro. Without any solar and stay mostly at hook up RV parks, I think that a 15AMP would be enough, If your NOT using an inverter. If boondocking very much, or inverting very much and using the Genset for recharging then a higher Amp is needed to cut down the run time, and shorten recharge time.
http://www.chargingchargers.com/chargers/24volt.html

Don & Sheila

[Ncbob]

Hi John,

Are you planning in charging just one bank of batteries with his charger?  Perhaps your 'house bank' of 12V batteries? Since you have a 4104 I'd guess that you're 24V start and have a  12 Volt 'house bank'.

Normally a 3 stage charger will allow you to maintain that bank in good condition...Tom C made a post a short time ago explaining the voltages and the use of a 3 stage charger.  You might wish to look that one up...Tom is an old hand (not necessarily age wise) and is very knowledgable.

It does make a difference as to what type of batteries you're using, lead-acid, AGM's of whatever. And the battery charger should be compatable with that type of battery.

Mark, I know first hand about Progressive Dynamics equipment since I lived in Marshall, MI where they're from.  They build good equipment and I will buy theirs when the time comes. They have a track record of standing behind it too.

There will be more information to follow and most of it based on the best information the poster can offer.
Research everything and make the best decision for you and your situation.

NCbob

[John Z]

I guess i don't feel the need to charge two banks of batteries with the charger. If i need to jump the start batteries, i can tie them into the house bank with the solenoid that i use to chage the house bank while otr.

My 04 is all 12v. The house bank is currently 2 6v golf cart lead-acid in series, and i would like to double that as soon as i have some spare money. With the price of fuel, that could be a while off yet. But i usually run the genset in the morning while making breakfast. We use the toaster, waffle iron, coffee maker, and have an electic heater or two running depending on the weather. I also will plug in the block htr if it is cool enough overnight. I thought it might be wise to be topping off the batteries at the same time.

[Ncbob]

As I mentioned in another post recently, and being a farm boy, Dad used to say...."the cows need milking at 6 in the morning and 6 at night...pay attention there might be a test later".

Looks like you're on top of things...Keep on Bussin'!

NCbob