Looking for recommendations for the best charger / battery maintainer to use for my 2 100ah lead acid battery's. Looking into the noco g15000 15amp charger. However I will have a 30 amp outlet to work with.
Shore power battery charger
- Thread starter grahampa
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I would suggest getting a converter and wiring it for portable use. You can purchase one cheaper than the charger you mention.
Here's a 35 Amp 4-Stage Converter/Charger sold by Best Converters:
http://www.bestconverter.com/Inteli-Power-PD9130A_p_11.html
Just attach a power cord and cut off the ends of a cheap set of jumper cables for battery clamps.
Here's a 35 Amp 4-Stage Converter/Charger sold by Best Converters:
http://www.bestconverter.com/Inteli-Power-PD9130A_p_11.html
Just attach a power cord and cut off the ends of a cheap set of jumper cables for battery clamps.
The word 'best' is a moving target.
What is best for you might be unsuitable for me. And vice versa.
Do you want a portable carry-around charger? Or do you want one that will be installed in a van or RV? Do you need plug-n-play or do you want to be able to adjust the settings? Do you just need a maintenance level of charge for storage or do you need to replenish the charge quickly while plugged into a generator after heavy use of the batteries?
Help us narrow our suggestions by focusing on what you need or want.
The 15 amp rating on a charger at 12v is not the same as the amp rating at 120v for your shore power connection, because a 15 amp, 12v charger might typically pull 2 or 3 amps at 120v from the outlet.
What is best for you might be unsuitable for me. And vice versa.
Do you want a portable carry-around charger? Or do you want one that will be installed in a van or RV? Do you need plug-n-play or do you want to be able to adjust the settings? Do you just need a maintenance level of charge for storage or do you need to replenish the charge quickly while plugged into a generator after heavy use of the batteries?
Help us narrow our suggestions by focusing on what you need or want.
The 15 amp rating on a charger at 12v is not the same as the amp rating at 120v for your shore power connection, because a 15 amp, 12v charger might typically pull 2 or 3 amps at 120v from the outlet.
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Whatever you choose get a "Deep Cycle" charger as they are different. I've mentioned before I have a 10 amp deep cycle by sears & this multi volt by stanley WRNING LINK AHEAD https://www.stanleytools.com/produc...volt-to-48-volt--golf-cart-and-vehicle/gbcpro
Seminole Wind
Well-known member
what you want is a constant currant charger with at least 3 charge stages, bulk, absorb and float. it is very nice with flooded lead acid batteries to also have the availability of an equalization stage. i highly recommend getting a charger that is fully adjustable as each battery manufacturer has skightly different set points for the bulk and float voltages, temperature compensation is wise also.
neither of the above mention chargers (in previous post responses) off these features. while the first "converter" that was recommended above does have a couple of "stages" and offers a float voltage. i have personally tested a couple of these and they are not constant current chargers. the amperage starts to drop long before the bulk/absorption voltage is reached and is non adjustable. the second mentioned charge seams to not want to make the charge profile info available, at least i have not found it.
i try to get the largest charger i can manage up to about 50% of the amp hour capacity of the battery bank. the bigger the better.
the chargers i have come to rely on and have installed in multiple systems are the sterling/promariner chargers. they are available from about 20 amps to 60 amps (for 12 volt nominal systems) and are power factor corrected (means you can run them on a smaller generator)
they are not cheap, running $300- 500 depending on output but they are true constant current chargers fully configurable to the battery manufactures specs with temp compensation and offer an equalization stage as well. you can also derate them to run off a smaller generator if needed but still have full charge capacity when more power is available. once the batteries are fully charged and in the float mode the charger acts like a power supply and provides up to the ra ted amperage to run system loads while still maintaining the batteries in the float stage. pretty hard to beat.
and if you want you can choose to wire them with jumper cables and an extension cord instead of hard wiring them into your system and now you have a portable charger. i did just this at the RTR and was able to help several folks recover lost capacity by doing equalization charges with the charger running off my little honda inverter gen
i think these chargers come darn close to "best" regardless of the application. and yes they are fully capable of being configured for lithium. so you could even say they are future proof...
neither of the above mention chargers (in previous post responses) off these features. while the first "converter" that was recommended above does have a couple of "stages" and offers a float voltage. i have personally tested a couple of these and they are not constant current chargers. the amperage starts to drop long before the bulk/absorption voltage is reached and is non adjustable. the second mentioned charge seams to not want to make the charge profile info available, at least i have not found it.
i try to get the largest charger i can manage up to about 50% of the amp hour capacity of the battery bank. the bigger the better.
the chargers i have come to rely on and have installed in multiple systems are the sterling/promariner chargers. they are available from about 20 amps to 60 amps (for 12 volt nominal systems) and are power factor corrected (means you can run them on a smaller generator)
they are not cheap, running $300- 500 depending on output but they are true constant current chargers fully configurable to the battery manufactures specs with temp compensation and offer an equalization stage as well. you can also derate them to run off a smaller generator if needed but still have full charge capacity when more power is available. once the batteries are fully charged and in the float mode the charger acts like a power supply and provides up to the ra ted amperage to run system loads while still maintaining the batteries in the float stage. pretty hard to beat.
and if you want you can choose to wire them with jumper cables and an extension cord instead of hard wiring them into your system and now you have a portable charger. i did just this at the RTR and was able to help several folks recover lost capacity by doing equalization charges with the charger running off my little honda inverter gen
i think these chargers come darn close to "best" regardless of the application. and yes they are fully capable of being configured for lithium. so you could even say they are future proof...
I suppose by best I mean the most reliable one to leave on board and installed on my van so when my solar drains me or in the dark of winter I can still keep a full charge. I think a converter charger sounds like my best option. Probably just hardwire it into the system with a big fat on off switch if needed
Just to clarify the terms:
A converter/charger usually provides the ability to charge your 'house' batteries when on shore power and also provide clean DC power to the 12v lights, fans, and fresh water pump in an RV even when there is no battery connected, as long as you are plugged in. This unit will not provide 120v to the outlets when un-plugged from shore power. These are fairly inexpensive.
An INVERTER/charger does essentially the same job, but also provides 120v power to the outlets when un-plugged from shore power, and in some cases, has a rating high enough to power a microwave, blender, crockpot, or toaster when you are on battery power. They generally cost a lot more.
Often the converter/charger will include the 'power center' which are the 120 volt circuit breakers for things like the A/C unit, the microwave, the 120v side of the fridge, the household outlets, and maybe electric water heating and TV etc. In a typical RV, it is usually just referred to as the 'converter'.
A converter/charger usually provides the ability to charge your 'house' batteries when on shore power and also provide clean DC power to the 12v lights, fans, and fresh water pump in an RV even when there is no battery connected, as long as you are plugged in. This unit will not provide 120v to the outlets when un-plugged from shore power. These are fairly inexpensive.
An INVERTER/charger does essentially the same job, but also provides 120v power to the outlets when un-plugged from shore power, and in some cases, has a rating high enough to power a microwave, blender, crockpot, or toaster when you are on battery power. They generally cost a lot more.
Often the converter/charger will include the 'power center' which are the 120 volt circuit breakers for things like the A/C unit, the microwave, the 120v side of the fridge, the household outlets, and maybe electric water heating and TV etc. In a typical RV, it is usually just referred to as the 'converter'.
Seminole Wind
Well-known member
grahampa said:
just be warned, every "converter charger" i have laid hands/eyes on did not have proper voltage regulation and would cook and sulfate batteries if left on in storage.
dont trust the "advertisement" look up the actual specs and confirm the charge voltage is right for your particular battery and that it stay at full voltage untill it steps down to a float voltage and confirm the float voltage is correct for your battery.
good luck
Some of the newer converters (charger/converter/power center) have 2 or 3 normal stages PLUS a storage mode.
If the converter sees no activity on the DC or AC lines for 24 hours, (the number varies) they will drop to 13.2v float mode. After 21 days in storage/float mode (again this varies) the charger will jump to equalization mode for an hour or two.
The older converters just held a trickle charge indefinitely and would sure cook a battery dry if left un-attended.
If the converter sees no activity on the DC or AC lines for 24 hours, (the number varies) they will drop to 13.2v float mode. After 21 days in storage/float mode (again this varies) the charger will jump to equalization mode for an hour or two.
The older converters just held a trickle charge indefinitely and would sure cook a battery dry if left un-attended.
I ended up going with the progressive Dynamics brand 30amp converter.
Progressive Dynamics PD9130V Inteli-Power 9100 Series Converter/Charger - 30 Amp https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OR41J8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_C-XOCbT5Z556R
am a bit confused and don't remember actually placing the order for this item, does the converter connect directly to my battery to charge it? Does it take the 120v power and turn it into 12 v? I have a very large Chicago electric box with a 30 amp breaker on it as well that I'm not exactly sure where to put, was thinking on the back driver side door because that's where my batteries are anyway. Plus I don't want it sticking out on the side it's about 3" by 4" by 8"
Progressive Dynamics PD9130V Inteli-Power 9100 Series Converter/Charger - 30 Amp https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002OR41J8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_C-XOCbT5Z556R
am a bit confused and don't remember actually placing the order for this item, does the converter connect directly to my battery to charge it? Does it take the 120v power and turn it into 12 v? I have a very large Chicago electric box with a 30 amp breaker on it as well that I'm not exactly sure where to put, was thinking on the back driver side door because that's where my batteries are anyway. Plus I don't want it sticking out on the side it's about 3" by 4" by 8"
The converter will hook to the batteries. It will have a 12v and a 120v output thats typically ran to a breaker box. Then of course it will have a 120v input from both shore power and a generator.
Yes it uses 120v to charge battery. It doesnt merely convert 120v to 12v its acting as a proper battery charger with multiple stages.
Yes it uses 120v to charge battery. It doesnt merely convert 120v to 12v its acting as a proper battery charger with multiple stages.
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