-
26th May 2016, 03:18 PM
#1
Patrol God
Best way to keep an idle battery healthy.
G'day, All. My uncle had the misfortune to watch his Rodeo go up in flames a couple of years ago.
Fortunately, he was able to acquire an 06-07 GU TD42 ute which already had a canopy and duel battery system installed.
He runs a 60 litre Engel which is great when he goes away, for 6 months of the year, but the battery seems to run down quickly in the off season.
I had a look under the bonnet and found that the second battery is only charged via a solenoid, so there is not much of a circuit that will cause leakage.
My question is this, what would be the best way of maintaining the battery?
My advice is: not to follow my advice.
-
-
26th May 2016 03:18 PM
# ADS
Circuit advertisement
-
26th May 2016, 04:04 PM
#2
Patrol God
A multi stage charger plugged into 240v while the car is dormant.
Or if he uses the car weekly the a dc-dc multi stage charger.. to save unplugging all the time..
You see 7 stage chargers for about $100 these days..
But if he's getting mass voltage drop over a short period I'd say battery is near toast..
-
The Following User Says Thank You to BigRAWesty For This Useful Post:
-
26th May 2016, 06:47 PM
#3
Patrol God
Will let him know, thanks, Kallen.
My advice is: not to follow my advice.
-
-
26th May 2016, 06:55 PM
#4
The 747
I just bought a ctek 3.8A smart charger for $105 to leave plugged in all the time.
-
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Winnie For This Useful Post:
BigRAWesty (26th May 2016), mudnut (26th May 2016)
-
26th May 2016, 07:14 PM
#5
I am he, fear me
Charge it at the end of the Season with a "recondition" mode charger.
Disconnect the Battery until next season.
Maybe a quick top up in the middle of the "off season"
If it loses charge that way then the Battery is toast
Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.
-
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to the evil twin For This Useful Post:
BigRAWesty (26th May 2016), blocko05 (27th May 2016), mudnut (26th May 2016)
-
26th May 2016, 08:55 PM
#6
Patrol Freak
Is leaving the battery hooked up to a solar panel (regulated obviously) going to achieve the same results as a 240v charger? I.e. Maintain/top up the battery level.
My patrol is hooked up to my solar panel and I have been wondering if I can leave it or I should unplug it then just use it to top the battery up every so often.
1999 GU DUAL FUEL 4.5 - 2" OME - 33's KM2s - SNORKEL - CUSTOM DINTS.... Goes by the name Candy (the car not me
)
-
-
26th May 2016, 09:23 PM
#7
Travelling Podologist
What has been missed so far is to ask what sort of battery it is. A 'wet' battery will behave somewhat differently to a an AGM battery. The latter were originally designed for the armed forces who wanted bateries for vehicles & equipment which were only used from time to time, sitting idle in between. Wet batteries have a much higher 'self discharge rate' & need regular charging to prevent them going 'flat' & bringing about their early demise. AGM batteries on the other hand can be fully charged & then left idle & unused for months at a time. An AGM in good condition left in this way will still be at 80% SOC (State of charge) after say 3 months, & 60+% after 12 months. I don't advise leaving one for 12 months, but charging it to 100% every 3 or 4 months would be fine.
If it's a wet battery weekly charging combined with a check of of it's fluid levels will suffice. eaving it connected to a mains or solar trickle charge will also do the job, but still wise to check the fluid regularly
2006 4.2TDi ex-Telstra Remote area Camper. 425w roof mounted solar, 360Ah Aux batts, BCDC1240, Onboard hot & cold pressurised & filtered water, (25 litre hot water calorifier), ARB fridge, ARB freezer, Built in kitchen, heaps of easy access storage, 240v, 3” Genie exhaust + dynotune, 2” lift, 3900kg GVM upgrade, second glovebox, ROH Blaktrak steel wheels, Bridgestone D697's (now Toyo RT's), Redarc gauges/pillarpod, Hema HX-1, Icom 450 CB, dual rear view cameras, Onboard 30amp Victron mains charger, second glovebox, dual seat conversion, TPMS, Boss PX7 onboard air with 9 litre tank, 350w inverter, Steel bullbar, Harrop Eaton diff lock (front), Warn winch, Snorkel, Dual spares , 160 litre water tank, 180 litre fuel in two tanks (approx 1200km range) 2010 Tvan Tanami. (incl another 70 litre water tank) with matching wheels/tyres (& 3rd spare)
A Nomadic Life (Blog)
-
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Cuppa For This Useful Post:
BigRAWesty (26th May 2016), mudnut (26th May 2016)
-
26th May 2016, 10:53 PM
#8
Patrol God
Originally Posted by
lhurley
Is leaving the battery hooked up to a solar panel (regulated obviously) going to achieve the same results as a 240v charger? I.e. Maintain/top up the battery level.
My patrol is hooked up to my solar panel and I have been wondering if I can leave it or I should unplug it then just use it to top the battery up every so often.
It would but again for best results a dc-dc multi stage charger is best..
-
-
26th May 2016, 11:01 PM
#9
Travelling Podologist
Originally Posted by
bigguwesty
It would but again for best results a dc-dc multi stage charger is best..
Sorry Kallen, but that just isn’t so. A solar regulator is a multi stage charger & a battery doesn’t care if it’s charge is coming from the sun, an alternaor (via dc to c charger) or from a mains powered multi stage charger. In respect to the OP’s question, the least useful would be a dc to dc charger which requires the vehicle to be used to do it’s job.
2006 4.2TDi ex-Telstra Remote area Camper. 425w roof mounted solar, 360Ah Aux batts, BCDC1240, Onboard hot & cold pressurised & filtered water, (25 litre hot water calorifier), ARB fridge, ARB freezer, Built in kitchen, heaps of easy access storage, 240v, 3” Genie exhaust + dynotune, 2” lift, 3900kg GVM upgrade, second glovebox, ROH Blaktrak steel wheels, Bridgestone D697's (now Toyo RT's), Redarc gauges/pillarpod, Hema HX-1, Icom 450 CB, dual rear view cameras, Onboard 30amp Victron mains charger, second glovebox, dual seat conversion, TPMS, Boss PX7 onboard air with 9 litre tank, 350w inverter, Steel bullbar, Harrop Eaton diff lock (front), Warn winch, Snorkel, Dual spares , 160 litre water tank, 180 litre fuel in two tanks (approx 1200km range) 2010 Tvan Tanami. (incl another 70 litre water tank) with matching wheels/tyres (& 3rd spare)
A Nomadic Life (Blog)
-
-
27th May 2016, 05:46 AM
#10
Patrol God
Originally Posted by
Cuppa
Sorry Kallen, but that just isn’t so. A solar regulator is a multi stage charger & a battery doesn’t care if it’s charge is coming from the sun, an alternaor (via dc to c charger) or from a mains powered multi stage charger. In respect to the OP’s question, the least useful would be a dc to dc charger which requires the vehicle to be used to do it’s job.
Sorry your right. I should have put more into the answer.. lol
I was going "best option" along the line of the solar with a dc-dc charger is more versatile, once setup it can be used anywhere..
But yes when at home if the car I'd sheded for lma long time then the 240v wins
-
Reply With Quote
