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Topic ClosedLooking for the best battery charger

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Hunter74 View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Looking for the best battery charger
    Posted: 18 Apr 2016 at 2:03pm
Originally posted by CharlieM

No clue what they're saying. With reason any charger will charge any size battery. A too small charger will take a longer time; a too large charger will take more careful monitoring. The 7.2A charger should work for the dual 6V golfers, but it will take a while if seriously discharged. 


  Thanks for your reply.

        I will probably go with the G7200 as from the math I get online, a 232AH battery / 7.2 amps = 32, so I figure 40 hours or so for a fully charge is discharged a lot,  so if I plug the batteries in on Sunday night/Monday morning when I get home from camping, they should be good to go by the next Thursday night/Friday morning if/when I go camping again.

   Or maybe I'll  get a regular 15A charger for the summer so they are ready to go in a day or so, then invest in the G7200  to keep them charged and ready to go over the winter/storage months when I wouldn't go out as much


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furpod View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Apr 2016 at 3:21pm
Originally posted by Hunter74

Originally posted by CharlieM

No clue what they're saying. With reason any charger will charge any size battery. A too small charger will take a longer time; a too large charger will take more careful monitoring. The 7.2A charger should work for the dual 6V golfers, but it will take a while if seriously discharged. 


  Thanks for your reply.

        I will probably go with the G7200 as from the math I get online, a 232AH battery / 7.2 amps = 32, so I figure 40 hours or so for a fully charge is discharged a lot,  so if I plug the batteries in on Sunday night/Monday morning when I get home from camping, they should be good to go by the next Thursday night/Friday morning if/when I go camping again.

   Or maybe I'll  get a regular 15A charger for the summer so they are ready to go in a day or so, then invest in the G7200  to keep them charged and ready to go over the winter/storage months when I wouldn't go out as much




the charge cycle is not linear. the rate of charge slows down.. way down, the closer you get to 100% SOC. Just so you know. You can't just divide the amps needed by the charging amps.. you can break it down for the first 80%, and then the 20 in 4, 10% increments.. ie: from 80 to 85 % the battery charges at a 10% slower rate, from 85 to 90, 10% slower again.. etc. That last 5% can take as long as the first 80%..
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Hunter74 View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Apr 2016 at 3:28pm
Awesome thanks for all your answers. 

    And now doing more research, I am almost certain my batteries release Hydrogen gas when they are being charged.  Should I be worried about this with charging them in an enclosed garage?  Should I take the batteries outside and charge them on the deck so they are ventilated properly?  This is starting to stress me out lol

   Again I know next to nothing about batteries, but am trying to figure it out.
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furpod View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Apr 2016 at 3:37pm
They will be fine. If you get worried.. crack the bottom of the garage door a couple inches.. But millions of car batteries have been charged in garages.. Not that many have exploded.. Wink
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Apr 2016 at 3:42pm
Thanks.  When I bought the trailer, because I do a lot of dry camping, the dealer said that two 6V were the best for my needs, the only thing they didn't say was that the batteries were not maintenance free.   Almost considering to go back, and tell them to install dual 12V maintenance free batteries.
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furpod View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Apr 2016 at 4:20pm
Even 12v batteries need maintenance. Especially when used the way boondockers use them. The only maint. you will need to do is check the water once in a while. I do it about twice a year.
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Hunter74 View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Apr 2016 at 4:28pm
I guess charging in a garage is a little more "ventilated" then if I charged them in the enclosed batter box they sit in, on the trailer. lol

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john in idaho View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Apr 2016 at 6:56pm
Buy a jug of distilled water and a 50cc syringe.  topping off batteries is way better than maintenance free
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CharlieM View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Apr 2016 at 7:23pm
Originally posted by Hunter74

Thanks.  When I bought the trailer, because I do a lot of dry camping, the dealer said that two 6V were the best for my needs, the only thing they didn't say was that the batteries were not maintenance free.   Almost considering to go back, and tell them to install dual 12V maintenance free batteries.


For dry camping a pair of readily available 12V batteries would be a big step DOWN from the two GC2s. The only known true deep cycle 12V batteries are the GC12s from Batteries and Bulbs and several from Trojan, particularly the the T-1275. Both are intended for the golf cart market so they're more readily available, but not at Wally World or auto shops. 
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OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD
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jato View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Apr 2016 at 11:42pm
Purchased our 2 12V batteries in March and June of 2011.  Both are still holding up real well and are NOT maintenance free.  As furpod stated, and we follow that protocol, check the water level a couple times per year.  I purchased a Sears battery charger at a yard sale about 10 years ago for 15 bucks.  It has all sorts of bells and whistles and charges both 6V and 12 V but I have mainly used the 2amp trickle charger option for my batteries.  Takes about 2 days(per battery) to bring them up to charge after sitting in the garage from October thru most of April.  In the fall before putting them in hibernation mode, it takes about 8 to 10 hours in the 2 amp trickle mode.
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'11 model 177
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"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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