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Deep Cycle Battery Tips by RV Education 101®

Tips on perpetuation and how to extend the life of your RV or boat deep cycle batteries. By Mark Polk owner of RV Education 101 www.RVeducation101 ...

difference between regular battery charger and deep cycle charger.?

Nov 08, 2007 by kikker1121 | Posted in Boats & Boating

Also, what would be the wake of using a regular battery charger on a deep cycle battery.

The two types of chargers you citation are not quite accurate.

A deep cycle BATTERY can be safely discharged to 50% of its rated capacity (in Amp Hours) while in use. (Other flier is incorrect - discharging batteries to 0% will kill them quickly)

To bring the battery back up from 50% to 100%, there are a several ways:

1) Using a standard (old fashioned) battery charger, which simply applies a voltage (at a rated current) to the battery constantly to put on it up. This is often called a "bulk" charger and works well to bring the battery up cheaply. BUT... these chargers producer damage to the battery once the battery is fully charged. They aren't "smart" and don't turn off the applied around when the battery is fully charged. Because of this, they "cook" the batteries.

or...

2) Using a smart charger, which is the best way to instruct a battery. A smart charger has 3 stages of charging (bulk, absorbtion and float). Bulk charging works like the above old fashioned charger. However, once the batteries reach diversified states of charge (almost full and totally full), the smart charger accounts for this by changing the amps and voltage of the energy it is putting into the battery. Once fully charged, the "knowledgeable charger" or "three stage charger" will taper off its power to the battery, resulting in a battery that is protected from over charging.

If you have extravagant deep cycle batteries (like I do - Trojan T-105 batteries), it is well worth it to invest in a smart charger. (also called a three condition charger)

What you are calling a "deep cycle charger" is probably more accurately called a 3 stage or smart charger. If it does not effort like mentioned above (with the 3 stages), it is NOT a good charger for deep cycle batteries. Don't buy it.

what would be the best deep cycle battery charger for a small pop-up camper?

Jul 08, 2009 by squeekyboard | Posted in Maintenance & Repairs

i have announce a little about solar, 3 stage chargers and so on. i would be using the battery on a regular basis. which charging system would be the crush, and most sustainable charger for me?

Those narrow-minded solar jobs are great for battery maintainance but look closely at the maximum charging rate if you foresee it to charge the battery in a reasonably short period of time - deep cycle batteries range from 650 to 900 amp hours place - a 900 amp rated battery 50% discharged requires 50 amps for 10 hours, or 25 amps for 20 hours, or 5 amps for 100 hours to fully recharge it.

Most campers however rebuke factory equipped with a power inverter which both provides 12VDC for lights and such and also will charge the battery in 24 to 36 hours when the camper is plugged into A/C power.

In the actuality your camper is not equipped with an inverter I would recommend a basic 30 amp "Automatic" automotive battery charger for customary charging needs and if you can afford to equip it with a solar charger also that will eliminate the need to plug the unit in and safe keeping it regularly ( at least 3 days once every 3 months ).