on board battery charger

[kstehnacs]

Need help from the battery/ electrical gurus of the TDR! Will a regular 1. 5 amp vehicle mounted charger work ok to maintain both batteries? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Fishin Guide]

Why do you need a small charger? Does the truck stay parked for long periods of time?



Will it work? Yes it will. In fact, it may be too much. Remember, after you saturate the batteries with a charge, all you do when further charging is create heat and that'll boil off the water within.



Best bet is a battery minder type setup that switches on when needed and off when not. A unit that is adjustable for maximum charge voltage will also correctly charge and extend the life of your batteries.

 

[kstehnacs]

Yes the truck sometimes sits for three weeks in the wintertime. There is no problem with battery drain, I just thought it would be better for the batteries if they were kept at peak voltage. Thanks for the reply, I'll look into a maintainer.

 

[jkern]

You need to get a charger that will "float" the batteries. this means that the output voltage of the charger is the same voltage as terminal voltage of a fully charged battery, which is approx 13. 2 to 13. 8 volts. when charging a battery the only time you have current (amp) flow is when the charger voltage is higher than the battery (IE low batt or fast charger) so when the battery voltage comes up to the float voltage there is only milliamps of current flow thus keeping you battery "topped off"



clear as mud???