Battery Charger

[CROWNOFSHANE]

FIRST POST! My daughter has her Skoolie stored in my back yard (1975 Crown). Since I don't drive it, the batteries are drained. I'd like to buy her a charger so that when she returns, she will have it to keep and use if needed later on. My question is - what is the best charger to buy? I know her batteries are large and heavy and that is all I know. HELP!!!

[rffffffff]

Depends if you’re talking about the starting batteries or the house batteries. Not sure I have the answer for either but knowing which batteries you’re talking about and the type of batteries is kinda critical.

[CROWNOFSHANE]

Will check. I know there are two rather large batteries is all. I just want her to have something onboard incase the batteries have an issue when shes parked someplace and needs a 'jump' or something.

[s2mikon]

Most Crowns of that vintage have 2 8d batteries. They also have a set of disconnects in the battery box. Pull and turn to operate them. This helps stop battery drain.

[TheHubbardBus]

Get a trickle charger / battery maintainer that you can just leave plugged in all the time the vehicle is not being driven. They will maintain the battery at a full state of charge w/o overcharging, turning on & off automatically as needed. Letting batteries discharge by sitting unused significantly shortens their lifespan.


Here's a model from a very well respected brand. Not only does it do the above, at 5 amps max (most trickle-only chargers are ~1.5), it can be used both as a battery maintainer & a charger for batteries that have been drained down. (NOTE: I'm sure there are plenty other options, probably for a better price. I'm just posting what I'm familiar with.)



https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tende...NrPXRydWU&th=1

[CROWNOFSHANE]

Is there a need to charge both batteries or is one needed to be on the trickle charger? I am hearing of the 'house battery' so i assume that one runs the electricals whilst the other is the 'start engine' battery so-to-say?

[rffffffff]

Most of the time both batteries are for starting the engine, house batteries would be elsewhere. I would agree with the battery tender or something of that nature for those batteries. They should be in parallel so connecting either is the same as connecting both for the most part.

[s2mikon]

2 8d batteries are about 500 dollars so don't be penny wise and pound foolish about the charger maintainer. After ruining a set of 8d batteries with a cheep small charger from autozone I ordered a progressive dynamics 9100 series with charge wizard. It mimics how your alternator would keep the battery charged by varying the charge rate. It also has a anti sulfating mode that ramps up voltage for a few minutes each cycle. It has been good to my batteries. I only have to add water about every 6 months, and not much at that. I also use one for the house batteries.

[Ronnie]

I have been very pleased with "Battery Tender" brand and have been useing them for years.


Has the bus been converted or is it still just a bus? If still a bus then not likely to have house batteries


Crowns are pretty special take good care of it.

[cadillackid]

I use a Victron IP67 25 amp charger, it can be set up for multiple types of batteries.. and it will go into a Tender mode when the batteries are fully chartged.. I mounrted mine right in my battery box so I just pull out the cord and plug it in when i need it.. I have it set up to charge my 2 AGM house batteries but it can be programmed for standard lead acid, FLA, etc.. .. since it both charges and maintains it is good for times when you are keeping your batteries up but also will provide 25 amps if you do acidentilly run them low.



the battery-tender brand ronnie uses is also a great option if you want something to simply maintain batteries that are already charged.. I have used that brand for classic cars and they did a fantastic job of keeping batteries up over the winter.

[s2mikon]

One of the things I also did with my system was to add anderson sb50 power pole connectors at the front and rear of the bus and made 2 20 foot 8 gauge jumpers so I can plug my tractor or my car or truck into the system to keep it topped up. Sometimes my tractor does not get used for a couple of months at a time and this is a good way to keep it fully charged up.

[Simplicity]

Reviving this thread to add a few details.

The thread didn't really talk about how many amps posters are using to charge or maintain their batteries, so I did a little research.

I know my old battery charger has 2a normal and 10a start settings, and the 10a is supposed to only be used for 20 seconds or so when cranking.

Since all I'm looking to do is maintain my batteries, no charging at this point, and I want the maintainer small enough to fit into my battery compartment so I can simply plug it in when I park.

I don't live in a really cold climate, and I'm not planning on using my bus in a really cold climate. The coldest it gets in the Seattle area is high 20s. Yet, the colder it is, the less efficient a battery is at taking a charge.

Here's a pretty informative article on batteries, charging and cold climates. https://www.interstatebatteries.com/...th-jeff-barron

I was looking at a .75a Battery Tender maintainer, which would maybe work. Yet, since I won't be starting and driving the bus much during winter to really keep it fully charged, I need something that has some extra umph when it's around freezing. So, I'm going with the 4a model.

If it doesn't need all 4a, cool, but if I'm doing any kind of KOEO testing, at least it will help keep it charged during that too.

Hope this helps someone.

Best of luck.