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Old 08-17-2019, 05:06 PM   #21
Bus Geek
 
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And then getting a large **deep cycling** back up to 100% Full every day as quickly as possible

is an entirely different product category. Will handle trickle/float just as well.

Properly caring for your batteries - and buying the right ones to start with - means they can last well over a decade.

You should never need to "recover" and old unit, very rarely worth bothering.

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Old 08-17-2019, 06:25 PM   #22
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https://www.walmart.com/ip/Promarine...saAvD5EALw_wcB
I use the charger to handle my bank of 4 29DC batteries when on shore power. It can also handle AGM and gel batteries. 20A is enough for deep cycling. It also does multi stage charging. You can even mount it outside in your battery box if you like because it is sealed for marine use. It is working well for us.
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Old 08-17-2019, 09:57 PM   #23
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$9 buck/boost adapters work

I've been using a $9 buck DC adapter to keep the vehicle/starter batteries in good shape for the last 2-3 years (24V lithium/house/solar & 12V vehicle/starter system) without a problem.

(one like this)

you can set the voltage to whatever you'd like and just leave it on... I have mine set to about 14V. I use the vehicle/starter 12V system to run a few small things + water pump and it only charges when the sun is out (or I manually route power to it). Will pump a few hundred watts for a bit then trickle down to negligible (<10W) over a couple hours...

I have killed the starter batteries several times due to rewiring // some accident that left them unplugged and was able to start the T444E 7.3L PSD with 1-2 of those $60 lithium jumpstarters available on amazon.

I've helped jump other trucks/vehicles with one, too. IMO everyone should have one (or two if you buy relatively cheap ones like I did that only do 200-300A) for emergencies.

(here's a 1000A one from my favorite brand for reference)
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Old 08-18-2019, 10:32 AM   #24
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I have 26 chargers. Will someone please help choose which one to use lol.
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Old 08-18-2019, 10:40 AM   #25
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I read the specs for the powermax charger linked. The specs sound great except not see anything mentioned about power factor corrected design. If memory serves the Iota chargers are PFC. I’m not a engineer, is it standard now to have PFC design built in? I’ve read one can have around 30% less run time on the generator.
I’ve checked that PFC is standard on “combi” inverter/chargers such as outback, magnum, Victron.
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Old 08-18-2019, 10:53 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Doktari View Post
I read the specs for the powermax charger linked. The specs sound great except not see anything mentioned about power factor corrected design. If memory serves the Iota chargers are PFC. I’m not a engineer, is it standard now to have PFC design built in? I’ve read one can have around 30% less run time on the generator.
I’ve checked that PFC is standard on “combi” inverter/chargers such as outback, magnum, Victron.
Iota makes both PFC and non-PFC versions. Definitely want to make sure that you get the PFC version.
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Old 08-18-2019, 02:11 PM   #27
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Originally Posted by Rock-N-Ruth View Post
For future visitors when the link breaks, that's a ProMariner Sport

Their Pronautic P line is much better if you need user-adjustable profiles, not just canned choices but custom tweaking for future chemistries.

Same as Sterling Power ProCharge Ultra

yes they cost more
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Old 08-18-2019, 02:18 PM   #28
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Originally Posted by Triskite View Post
I've been using a $9 buck DC adapter to keep the vehicle/starter batteries in good shape for the last 2-3 years (24V lithium/house/solar & 12V vehicle/starter system) without a problem.



you can set the voltage to whatever you'd like and just leave it on...
Good stuff, but avoid this approach for House.

There are many chemistries whose lifetime cycles will be greatly reduced by charging too long, better to use a proper charger on a large, expensive deep cycled bank.

For Starter batt no problem, and FLA in general, just need to make sure to keep the water topped up.

Any old power supply / DCDC converter etc can work for LI chemistries, but I would require an automated stop-charge controller cutting a relay or something, do not trust my memory/attention with a bank costing thousands.
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Old 08-18-2019, 08:35 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by o1marc View Post
So after all the work refurbing my charger I've come to the conclusion it is not working, even though it buzzes loudly on the 30/50 setting. Shows nothing on the DMM and doesn't spark when touching the clamps.
What kind of charger am I looking for that isn't going to break the bank.
I saw this one at O'Reilly, but wanted to research first before plunking down $100 on the wrong one.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Schumacher-...UAAOSwXnxcHayK
Before discarding, said charger, connect a newish battery to it and see if it charges that battery. I once received a battery charger that was supposed to be dead. But, when I hooked it up to a stack of (In Parallel!) four batteries, it proceeded to charge like crazy. We eventually discovered the battery he was trying to charge was BEYOND dead or had a dead short in it and the battery charger was protecting itself by not energizing!
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Old 08-19-2019, 03:28 AM   #30
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o1marc,
do you have a multimeter so you can test what's going on with the charger? you can use a large spool of small wire as a power resistor if you don't have something better suited & test voltage coming out of the thing...

a lot to unpack in this thread to point you in the right direction. it really depends what your power system setup & usage requirements will be.
I highly recommend getting a battery tester before buying any new batteries. And a multimeter. you can find each for $10-20 on amazon.

when I buy a new battery (starter or deep-cycle) I always bring the battery tester (Solar BA5 and another I don't remember the name of (check-a-volt?) to the store - it typically requires testing 4-5 batteries to find 1 acceptable battery. for example, it will say on the battery it's supposed to be 1200CCA but test at 600, the next one will test at 768, the next at 900, and finally you'll find one that tests at 1265 (above spec). this has happened to me even when the voltage matches (indicating they're charged similarly).

depending on your use buying a $15 tiny window solar-panel vehicle battery charger/trickle charger could be enough - but house batteries are a totally different story. also on the subject of vehicle/starter batteries - you do not need to spend $200+ to salvage a sulfated (really dead) battery. I've fixed half a dozen just using an old DC power supply & epsom salts (I know there's controversy on the subject but I don't argue with results). I made a youtube video of how to do this search my username 'Triskite', vid from 2014

In general I think most battery chargers/maintainers similar to the one you linked are overpriced and kind of a waste of money (except for the NOCO brand but even then...). They generally only do a few voltage steps and have very little room for customization to match your specific battery profile. You'd be better off buying a solar battery charger & a DC power supply on ebay/amazon. It would be cheaper, too.

I'd post links but it won't let me due to my low total post count.

For reference, we started out with 8x of the Deka/Duracell Sam's Club 200AH deep-cycle golf car batteries - but lead acid is an absolutely tragic battery chemistry to live with long-term if you have steep power requirements (we are off-grid with no generator and lots of smarthome stuff // electronics, and go in all-seasons including negative degree winter with our water lines active & anti-freeze protection requiring power).

Now we run 16x 200AH 3.2v LiFePO4 (8s2p, CA180Fi model) with the Duracell GC2s in parallel (they act as an emergency backup // enable me to change wiring on the lithium circuit without losing power). For non-solar battery charging the best I've been able to find with variable/adjustable voltage is the Turnigy 1200W 50A Power Supply. (the mosfet on our solar wifi lithium charge controller blew so right now I have IFTTT turn off the smart outlet it's plugged into when any cell voltage gets above a specific level, voltage level is decrypted and sent to cloud by a raspberry pi running openhabian)

Sorry for rambling a bit, it's late and there's a lot to think about with skoolie power
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Old 08-19-2019, 12:24 PM   #31
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Sorry missed the part about the dmm. What do you mean it shows nothing?
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