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10-04-2019, 08:48 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Santa Rosa County, Florida
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 Tow: 2024 Toyota Tundra
Posts: 3,105
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Battery minder?
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.
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Mike Lewis
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie-- propane
Photos and travelogues here: mikelewisimages.com
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10-05-2019, 05:30 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Southwick, Massachusetts
Trailer: None, sold my 2014 5.0TA
Posts: 7,124
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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?
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Happy Motoring
Bob
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10-05-2019, 07:19 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Port Townsend, Washington
Trailer: 2010 17B “MATT”, then 2017 19 “Lilly”
Posts: 1,584
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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?
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Maybe he’s going to pull the batteries?
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💩-p+☕️+n
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10-05-2019, 07:53 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Santa Rosa County, Florida
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 Tow: 2024 Toyota Tundra
Posts: 3,105
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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 ($$$). Eventually I intend to use the old batteries in my ham radio station at home, connected to a solar panel.
__________________
Mike Lewis
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie-- propane
Photos and travelogues here: mikelewisimages.com
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10-05-2019, 11:44 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: North Augusta, South Carolina
Trailer: 2019 Escape 5.0TA "SCRATCH" First 5.0 TA registered in South Carolina
Posts: 620
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Lewis
Thanks. Yes, I pulled the batteries. I'm storing them in the garage for the time being and want to keep their charge topped off. I've talked myself into replacing them with lithium batteries, fool that I am ($$$). Eventually I intend to use the old batteries in my ham radio station at home, connected to a solar panel.
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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.
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"Everyday's a Holiday"
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10-05-2019, 12:09 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Santa Rosa County, Florida
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 Tow: 2024 Toyota Tundra
Posts: 3,105
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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.
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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
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie-- propane
Photos and travelogues here: mikelewisimages.com
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10-06-2019, 07:26 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Santa Rosa County, Florida
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 Tow: 2024 Toyota Tundra
Posts: 3,105
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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.
__________________
Mike Lewis
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie-- propane
Photos and travelogues here: mikelewisimages.com
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10-06-2019, 07:40 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Southwick, Massachusetts
Trailer: None, sold my 2014 5.0TA
Posts: 7,124
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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.
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Happy Motoring
Bob
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10-06-2019, 07:56 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Burlington Twp., New Jersey
Trailer: 2010 Escape 19
Posts: 7,146
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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.
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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
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10-06-2019, 08:12 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: n/a, Texas
Trailer: Escape
Posts: 728
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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.
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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.
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10-06-2019, 08:56 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Santa Rosa County, Florida
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 Tow: 2024 Toyota Tundra
Posts: 3,105
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rubicon327
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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.
__________________
Mike Lewis
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie-- propane
Photos and travelogues here: mikelewisimages.com
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10-06-2019, 09:11 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Trailer: Escape 17B, July 2019
Posts: 347
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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
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10-06-2019, 09:21 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: North Augusta, South Carolina
Trailer: 2019 Escape 5.0TA "SCRATCH" First 5.0 TA registered in South Carolina
Posts: 620
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rubicon327
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I was thinking of the PD converter. Can it be switched between an AGM profile and Lithium and then back?
__________________
"Everyday's a Holiday"
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10-06-2019, 09:30 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: North Augusta, South Carolina
Trailer: 2019 Escape 5.0TA "SCRATCH" First 5.0 TA registered in South Carolina
Posts: 620
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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.
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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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