Hello,
I have a StarCraft 2406 that has a built in battery charger / converter. I will be leaving with my family for our second camping trip on Friday the 13th with our trailer and my question is.....
How long / days should i leave my trailer plugged into my garage electrical outlet to get a full charge on my battery? I dont understand the amps / watts thing. So if someone could please help me I would appreciate it. I have the owners manual but it doesnt say how long i should have it plugged in for. I do know that it will not damage the battery due to over charging. Any input will be appreciated thanks!
EDIT: By the way, I only have one battery on the trailer and looks like a smaller battery. Not the really longs ones but more like a regualr sized car battery. (Yes its deep cycle).
24 hrs should do it. If you want the best charge, use an good external charger; it will charge at a higher voltage than the converter resulting in more charge.
Geaux LSU
Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints? 11-0, this is unbelievable!!
As the converter most likley came from the trailer manufacturer, it is probably on the less expensive side of things......It is probably more of a "battery maintainer" than a real charger and if your batteries are very low it could take up to 40 hours to bring them up to full charge......On short notice your best bet is an external type battery charger......it will work much faster and give you a better charge......If you plan on keeping your trailer a long time and wish to do some boondocking......you may want to invest in a better converter/charger at the least.
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Be sure to check battery water. If adding, use distilled water only. If not sure of charge, add just enough that plates are covered. Once charging done, THEN fill normally. Liquid expands when charged, so filling uncharged battery result in overflow.
Chuck
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Most of the charge will happen in the first 4 hours, but 24 hours is best to make sure that all the sulfur deposits are removed from the battery plates.
The RV will probably be using 35 amp hours a day to just run the refrigerator and propane detectors. So plan on the battery being dead in 3 nights even if they never turn on a light or run the furnace.
Much faster if they turn on the furnace, as it will use about 7 amps each hour, or the lights at 1.2 amps each light, each hour.
You probably have a standard group 24 battery, with about 70 amp hours of power. A group 27 battery might say 105 amp hours on the top, it's rating. I use 4 golf cart batteries because I wanted to be able to dry camp frequently, most can get by with a pair of batteries.
They will need a generator or shore power to recharge the battery over a long weekend. Yes they could plug into the tow vehicle, and run the engine a bit, but that would take a lot of fuel, and there is not a large volume of oil being pumped by the engine each hour. Idling the engine for long times can lead to excessive camshaft wear.
Higher voltage may give you a faster charge but not "more."
Art D wrote: 24 hrs should do it. If you want the best charge, use an good external charger; it will charge at a higher voltage than the converter resulting in more charge.
At 13.9 volts it takes 39 hours to get from 80% state of charge to 100% state of charge. (quoted from Battery university).
nuke1105 wrote: Hello,
I have a StarCraft 2406 that has a built in battery charger / converter. I will be leaving with my family for our second camping trip on Friday the 13th with our trailer and my question is.....
How long / days should i leave my trailer plugged into my garage electrical outlet to get a full charge on my battery? I dont understand the amps / watts thing. So if someone could please help me I would appreciate it. I have the owners manual but it doesnt say how long i should have it plugged in for. I do know that it will not damage the battery due to over charging. Any input will be appreciated thanks!
EDIT: By the way, I only have one battery on the trailer and looks like a smaller battery. Not the really longs ones but more like a regualr sized car battery. (Yes its deep cycle).
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts solar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries 2500 watt inverter.
I agree 48 hours is good. However for best battery longevity you should always keep the battery charged. If you let it run down between use it will sulfate and lose capacity.
Golden_HVAC wrote: The RV will probably be using 35 amp hours a day to just run the refrigerator and propane detectors. So plan on the battery being dead in 3 nights even if they never turn on a light or run the furnace.
Much faster if they turn on the furnace, as it will use about 7 amps each hour, or the lights at 1.2 amps each light, each hour.
You probably have a standard group 24 battery, with about 70 amp hours of power. A group 27 battery might say 105 amp hours on the top, it's rating.
This poster most likely has a full height RV, which are notorious power hogs compared to typical popups. If your pup is a low wall model, it likely uses ZERO battery juice for the fridge when on LP (but also requires manual adjustment to cooling level). The LP detector draws something like 0.1 amp. pup furnaces draw 3.5 amps when running. IIRC ceiling lights draw about 1.5amp per bulb. Still very easy to run out of juice after 2 nights with furnace set to 55 and a G24 battery. Conserve!
If your converter says WFCO on it, you do not need a separate charger. The WFCO converter has a three stage charger 95% as good as a $100 stand alone.
The 12 volt side of life is great. Here's the short version of how to care for the battery if you have a WFCO:
1. Check battery water/acid level 2 nights before leaving and top up with distilled water.
2. Plug in camper to charge battery that same night.
3. Go camping. Come home.
4. Plug in camper to charge battery for 36 hours after camping.
5. Unplug battery from camper to store (or LP detector will drain it dead).
We can easily go 5 nights with furnace use (55) and ONE G29 battery. But we are energy scrooges - we are camping, after all.
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