Easiest way to charge?

[She]

I may have asked this before but I need a refresher now because its getting closer and closer when I am finally going to get a van. During the day I will not be using my van. Whats the EASIEST way to charge my battery for the night? I will either be using a heater(200 watt) or a small and I mean the smallest dehumidifier in the summer. Maybe the fan too. I have the battery /electric&nbsp;fan. Small stuff I won't be charging at all in the van. I will be work camping. So my computer,small&nbsp;batteries and phone will be charged before I leave work.&nbsp;I do this now. I also drive for work so the boss can't say anything about his electric bill.&nbsp;Correct please if Im wrong. I was hoping to attach a extra battery to my&nbsp;alternator.&nbsp;I was told because Im not going to be driving around a lot it may ruin my batteries? If I use solar whats the best watt for me and I need to put it on the&nbsp;windshield. Please in simple terms ...numbers confuse me no matter how often I reread something. Thanks!<img src="../images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br />Edit..also all my lights are led and using small batteries too. In case anyone asks.

 

[slakrboy]

Running a 200W heater will suck your batteries dry pretty fast, no matter what type of charging mechanism you use.&nbsp; Granted, in such a small space as a van you will not leave it on for that long because it will get very hot.&nbsp; Have you ever thought about a Mr. Heater Little Buddy catalytic heater?&nbsp; They use the little propane bottles and are safe for indoor use.<br /><br />As for battery charging, the easiest(?) way is probably a second battery connected to your alternator.&nbsp; There are many places on the web dealing with this.<br /><br />In my case, I have a Teardrop camper that I installed solar panels on and I did everything myself.&nbsp; That was pretty expensive in terms of panels, controllers, and the battery.&nbsp; I also have a Honda Pilot that I have converted to a camper, and I have that hooked up to the alternator via a continuous-duty solenoid.&nbsp; I had to have that installed by a mechanic.&nbsp; Both systems work, but they are for different purposes.&nbsp; <br /><br />The teardrop I use when camping with my wife, and it powers an entertainment center + charges phones and iPad.&nbsp; The Pilot I use when traveling or hunting by myself.&nbsp; It mainly just charges the phone and iPad, plus runs a fan.<br /><br />In real terms, I can get about 7 hours of continuous use out of the TV/media PC/fan before I drain the battery in the teardrop (don't ask how I found that out).&nbsp; However, I have more panels than I need so the battery charges up very fast, about 4-5 hours for full charge (this is on a 75 AH AGM battery). &nbsp; <br /><br />In the Pilot, I have never really used the battery up because charging the phone and iPad don't use that much power.&nbsp; If my math is right, I should get about 10 hours out of the battery (35 AH AGM battery).<br /><br />As a general rule, you only get about half the rated AH before the battery is considered "dead", and that is on a fully charged battery (a whole other article in itself).&nbsp; Hope this helps.