What Battery charger do y'all recommend for deep cycle type?

[badmix]

Working on a Trailer project and will have dual deep cycle batteries running parallel. Ill need a way to eventually charge them. I want to mount the charger onboard.

Was looking at this one.

 

[1BEATK5]

i have 2 of those. damn nice chargers/tenders. but i dont have deep cylce. i just have alot of vehicles that sit without use for long periods.

 

[Fordum]

Depends on how serious you need to be.
For critical apps, I use this one.

http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-chargers/12-volt/gel-cell/GU16202.html

The nice parts of it, are the fact that it can be left on indefinitely. Won't boil the battery dry. Plus you can select what type of battery you want to charge on each output.
The two outputs are isolated. Each battery gets what it needs despite what the other one is drawing.

I have mine hooked to my genset. Its a 24V system, which means the positive of one bank is hooked to the negative of the other and it does not care.

Not sure if it could do the same for parallel connected batteries though. You might be better off with a three stage single unless you are going to disconnect them from each other except when needed.

I also have a three bank version that is mounted in my tractor barn.
Each output goes to a different vehicle. One to my riding lawn mower, one to my tractor, and one to my travel trailer.

At least they did. Lightning got it last year, and I have not replaced it yet.
When I do, I am going to make sure I have a common earth ground between the units.
It was a cheaper brand, might have contributed to the damage....

 

[badmix]

I looked at those as well. I went with the Battery Tender Plus for Gel Cell. There are alot of options out there for sure. I went on Battery Tender website, they had a wealth of info on charging in Series and Parallel. Basically I just need one single charger. If I were to do dual banks, Id have disco the batts from each other.

 

[Amtek]

If the trailer is gonna stay outdoors most of the time, you should think about permanently incorporating a solar battery tender/charger. Your batteries will always be topped off and fresh. Especially helpful for camping too.

http://batterytender.com/solar.html

 

[DrkZide]

Are those solar charger weatherproof or would a casing need to be built? I wonder where it would fit. I'd like to get one permanently attached to the truck.

 

[Amtek]

I dont know about these particular ones. But most panels are completely sealed against the elements and the regulator could be mounted inside. I bought a tiny,cheap solar charger from harbor frieight many years ago and mounted it on the dash and wired it up permanently. It puts out about 0.5 watts peak when the sun is strongest. Normally the battery would be dead after about 4-6 weeks of sitting without use. Now it starts up fully topped off even after sitting for a year! A larger panel will be able to charge the battery much faster of course.

 

[Fordum]

FWIW, almost all the local Lamar billboards locally have switched to LED lights and solar panels.
Even the electronic ones. These are huge panels, most billboards have 2 or 3, with the big electronic boards have 4 or 5.

So, on the surface it would seem that the prices have gotten low enough to be cost effective.
But, until I see the figures, I am doubtful.

First, I doubt that even cells this size can supply enough power to run an electronic board and supply enough charge to get it through the night.
Maybe some of the smaller paper boards with two or three lights.

I suspect its a tax scam.
They got enough tax breaks to pay for the equipment and make money on the deal.

 

[DokWatson]

People over on steel soldiers have been running solargizers with good results. I want to eventually run one myself.

http://www.pulsetech.com/products/Manuals/solcharger/solchg_manual.html

The only bad thing I've heard about them is you can't mess with cable length all that much which limits where it can be mounted.

 

[ryoken]

for deep cycle you can't beat a smart charger... a 3 stage similar to what Fordum posted... the 3 steps are bulk, absorption and float... You can't afford a Charles, so I'd recommend a Guest....

 

[DrkZide]

That one has to be plugged in though right?

I wonder if it would be overkill to have a solar charger per battery for those with dual or triple batteries. When I went camping this last weekend I had to jump two people near my campsite because their batteries went dead. Who know how many more throughout the rest of the camps needed it. Call me paranoid but that's why I want three deep cycle AGM's on an isolator/separator. One for starting and two for accessories(winch,lights,radio,etc.).