house battery and shore power?

[grin]

I am planing my house battery system in my E250. I will be setting it up according to evldave's instructions. I won't be adding solar right away, so I want a way to keep the battery topped off while it's in my driveway, or to be used as a power supply if we are at a campground with shore power.

Is there a quality but inexpensive product recommendation that you guys can make for this purpose?

Thank you!

 

[pir8p3t3]

I run one of these. Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but i like that it switches to battery if you lose input power, and charges the battery when power is available.

http://www.westmountainradio.com/product_info.php?products_id=pg40s

 

[CaliMobber]

http://www.amazon.com/Optima-150-34...411506032&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=optimacharger

maybe you can just wire up an optima charger and run off the batteries and have the charger charge it back up? most good quality chargers are very expensive.
The optima charger is about the best value there is for a lower price range

 

[DiploStrat]

Would help to know more about what you are trying to do.

If you are planning any 110v AC loads, then install an inverter/charger. I like Magnum, but there are other brands.

If you won't be using AC, then simply install the charger of your choice. CTEK has a lot of fans, but again, there are others.

If you are going to be using shore power much, especially in a vehicle that is parked in a drive way for extended periods, then I would recommend going with some form of intelligent relay instead of a key controlled relay. This way you can charge your starter battery at the same time. Blue Sea makes a nice line that they call Automatic Charge Relays.

 

[Abqlloyd]

Battery Tender will keep it charged. $40 for the waterproof version.

 

[spencyg]

I just have a dual bank charger permanently installed. One bank lead from the charger keeps the house batteries topped off, and the other bank lead keeps the starting bank topped off. Each bank has a maximum 10A charge output so if I'm plugged in, the first 10A of usage don't touch the batteries. I don't have the 110VAC sockets tied into shore power, and if I need to charge something while plugged into shore power, I just turn on the inverter and figure the draw off the batteries will be mostly covered by the incoming charge current. It isn't perfect but its been working for me just fine the last 6 or 7 years.

SG

 

[Abqlloyd]

I would add that if you plan on leaving it plugged in, use a charger that won't boil away your battery. A good three stage with a float is better than a high amp charger that kills your battery. I like the BT because they can be plugged in 24-7 without worry.

 

[grin]

Thank you guys! I'm getting a lot of good ideas right now. I plan on running 12v only gear. There will be no inverter. Initially, I'll only be charging iPhones and running led lighting and a fan. In the future, I may be running a dc fridge and a small dc tv.

I bought a battery tender years ago, and it's sitting in my garage right now. It was long forgotten until you brought it up here! Sounds like I'll just hook it up to the battery permanently and hardwire it to a marinco plug on the outside of the van. I think the power output of this thing is super low though. Will it charge a depleted battery and still let me pull a load at the same time?

Also, I will probably get a group 31 AGM battery. Is power from the alternator sufficient as is, or should I run it though something like the ctek d250s?

 

[DiploStrat]

Also, I will probably get a group 31 AGM battery. Is power from the alternator sufficient as is, or should I run it though something like the ctek d250s?

Scholars differ on this, but start reading here: http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/controllers.html (The CTEK D250 is a form of Battery to Battery charger, or "alternator controller.") You should also consider carefully the rest of the technical information on that site. You can get differing opinions from the CTEK (less so) and Sterling (more so) sites. Simplest answer - if your alternator charges at above 14v at 70F, then you are probably fine. Depending on the size of your battery, how much you discharge it, and how long and how often you drive, then you may never run the engine long enough for a full charge. In this case, invest in a good, three stage shore charger.

Again, I would recommend a Blue Sea Automatic Charge Relay in lieu of a key controlled relay, especially if you any form of shore power.

 

[Itsavanman]

I used to salvage campers, I have a few power converters kicking around, even gave a few away.. their 110 in and 20-80a 12vdc out, they keep the batteries charged, and power the 12v stuff when flipped to shore power... they can be had for free / dirt cheap and certain ones use a "resonant transformer" which will output 13-14v when AC is as low as 80-90v and anywhere in between... the bigger ones also make great shop jump starters.....

 

[dwh]

Will it charge a depleted battery and still let me pull a load at the same time?

Highly unlikely. If it's a 2 amp unit, certainly not.

I'd say 10a-15a minimum if you want to power some loads and still have enough left over to charge the battery. And even then, it'll take all night - and maybe all the next day as well - to fully charge the battery.

Also, I will probably get a group 31 AGM battery. Is power from the alternator sufficient as is, or should I run it though something like the ctek d250s?

Depends on how deeply you drain the battery and how many hours you drive. Figure 8-12 hours minimum drive time to get that battery back even close to 100% after a 50% drain using just the vehicle's charging system.

But the 250s is only a 20a charger, so while it'll be better, it can still take many hours to get the job fully done.

Best thing about the CTEK is that it will do a proper multi-stage charge, which will do a better job of topping off the battery faster (but maybe not a hell of a lot faster), and a better job of keeping the battery healthy.

 

[schulz11]

Because you are going to be running 12 volt only you may want to look at one of these http://www.iotaengineering.com/dls30.htm. This is what I use on my house battery (Trojan 31-AGM) with the IQ4 option. Not sure if it is a lot of hype but if the battery is depleted a good amount, with the 30 amp charge it doesn't take as much generator time to get it back to charge. It runs all my 12 volt crap at the same time. Personally, I wish I had gone with a dual battery bank charger as said above because you can charge both House and Starter battery but I wanted higher amp charge rate.