Battery minder?

Mike Lewis · 10-04-2019, 08:48 PM

For those of you who store your Escapes during the winter: can you recommend a battery minder to keep the 6V batteries charged? I'm not sure what will work well with Interstate GC2 batteries. Thanks.

Viajante · 10-04-2019, 11:16 PM

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tende...%2C1234&sr=8-4

This is a good one. Just connect it to the same positive and negative posts as the trailer cables.

padlin · 10-05-2019, 05:30 AM

If you are going to have power run out to the trailer for the Minder can't you just let the on board converter/charger do the job?

sclifrickson · 10-05-2019, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by padlin

If you are going to have power run out to the trailer for the Minder can't you just let the on board converter/charger do the job?

Maybe he’s going to pull the batteries?

Mike Lewis · 10-05-2019, 07:53 AM

Thanks. Yes, I pulled the batteries. I'm storing them in the garage for the time being and want to keep their charge topped off. I've talked myself into replacing them with lithium batteries, fool that I am ($$$). Eventually I intend to use the old batteries in my ham radio station at home, connected to a solar panel.

jnfrombigt · 10-05-2019, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

Thanks. Yes, I pulled the batteries. I'm storing them in the garage for the time being and want to keep their charge topped off. I've talked myself into replacing them with lithium batteries, fool that I am ($$$). Eventually I intend to use the old batteries in my ham radio station at home, connected to a solar panel.

Mike Are you changing out the converter? I have a Battle Born that I would like to use on long trips but I'm afraid to tie it in with he WFCO converter. Most of our trips the 100amp AGM is just fine but I think for longer trips I could benefit from the extra usable capacity of the lithium.

Mike Lewis · 10-05-2019, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnfrombigt

Mike Are you changing out the converter? I have a Battle Born that I would like to use on long trips but I'm afraid to tie it in with he WFCO converter. Most of our trips the 100amp AGM is just fine but I think for longer trips I could benefit from the extra usable capacity of the lithium.

I don't intend to change out the converter at this time. I spend most of my camping without hookups, and I am upgrading the solar controller and installing a B2B charger. I'm hoping this will be enough to keep my batteries charged.

Mike Lewis · 10-06-2019, 07:26 AM

Follow-on question: After storing batteries for several months connected to a battery tender, do you notice any significant decrease in electrolyte levels in the batteries? I'm wondering if the batteries will need maintenance during storage. I hope not.

padlin · 10-06-2019, 07:40 AM

The one year I pulled the 6v'ers I would hookup the trickle charger about once a month, in about 30 minutes it would indicate charge complete. I do not recall noticing a fluid level drop, but that was 5 years ago.

rubicon327 · 10-06-2019, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnfrombigt

Mike Are you changing out the converter? I have a Battle Born that I would like to use on long trips but I'm afraid to tie it in with he WFCO converter.

I don’t know if this would meet your needs or not but the Progressive Dynamics WildKat main board was an easy swap within the existing WFCO 8955 enclosure and has a jumper for a lithium profile.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f3...tml#post237217

Viajante · 10-06-2019, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

Follow-on question: After storing batteries for several months connected to a battery tender, do you notice any significant decrease in electrolyte levels in the batteries? I'm wondering if the batteries will need maintenance during storage. I hope not.

No maintenance during at least 6 months of storage in my experience. The battery minder referenced in Post 2, above, quits charging for long periods when the battery is charged and comes on again when the voltage drops below a certain level.

Mike Lewis · 10-06-2019, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubicon327

I don’t know if this would meet your needs or not but the Progressive Dynamics WildKat main board was an easy swap within the existing WFCO 8955 enclosure and has a jumper for a lithium profile.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f3...tml#post237217

Thanks for the info. That looks like a good option for upgrading the WFCO power panel without changing out the whole thing. I'll keep this in mind when I get to that point.

Lanark Camper · 10-06-2019, 09:11 AM

I can also recommend the Battery Tender. I have used it on boat batteries for 6 months at a time, didn't need to add water, and that was over the Florida summers.
I use them on my motorcycles whenever they are parked. Without the Battery Tender I get 2 years from a motorcycle battery, with one I can go 5 yrs. Seems to stop sulfation.

Bob

jnfrombigt · 10-06-2019, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubicon327

I don’t know if this would meet your needs or not but the Progressive Dynamics WildKat main board was an easy swap within the existing WFCO 8955 enclosure and has a jumper for a lithium profile.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f3...tml#post237217

I was thinking of the PD converter. Can it be switched between an AGM profile and Lithium and then back?

jnfrombigt · 10-06-2019, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

Thanks for the info. That looks like a good option for upgrading the WFCO power panel without changing out the whole thing. I'll keep this in mind when I get to that point.

There are some fairly good videos on the converter swap to a Progressive Dynamics in a WFCO panel. Also, I have way too many BatteryTenders (3) what I did to facilitate connect/disconnect was connect an SAE connector with 10awg wire to the battery. The BatteryTenders come with interchangeable connectors including SAE.

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