SWharton Posted May 4, 2019 Report Share Posted May 4, 2019 I have an old battery charger that does not have an AGM setting. Do I need to buy a new charger or can I use the trickle option(2 amps). Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjohnt Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 SW I view this as sort of two questions. FWIW these are my "opinions" An occasional 2 amp trickle charge (charger with no AGM setting) isn't likely strong enough to do any serious harm to EITHER a flooded lead acid or a sealed AGM battery and will provide at least some degree of charge to EITHER battery. If you're looking at the long term, perhaps a lot of charging cycles/time, heavy long term use, higher current chare rates, dry camping etc., and what's best for the battery and prolonging its life, I suggest you use a quality so called 3 or 4 Stage "Smart Charger" that has specific settings where you can choose EITHER flooded lead acid OR sealed AGM. For an occasional short term or maintenance if that's ALL you require (NOT into long term battery charge and discharge cycles and heavy use) I don't envision any major harm by applying a 2 amp trickle charge......….Heck for short term occasional use I don't envision any major harm (NON AGM charger) at even a bit higher charge rate...……. John T NOT a battery expert, no warranty, consult the battery manufacturers for their recommendations is my bottom line advice. Different battery types even different manufacturers may suggest slightly different charging rates and algorithms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWharton Posted May 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 Thanks John, this would only be for temporary use. Our batteries weren't charging via the generator and we are boondocking. We think we found why our batteries aren't charging with the generator on, the inverter somehow was set to not charging. Once we figured that out the batteries are charging again. The only problem we are seeing now is the inverter has dropped out of charging mode so we need to keep an eye on it until we figure out why. Challenges of RV electricity. When we get into some sort of civilization if a few days we will be buying a new battery charger that can handle AGM. Any suggestions a to brand would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjohnt Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 18 minutes ago, SWharton said: We think we found why our batteries aren't charging with the generator on, the inverter somehow was set to not charging You probably are already aware of this buttttttttt… Typically an RV Genset, same as if you were plugged to shore power subject to your wiring scheme, provides 120 VAC to the operate the RV's onboard Converter/Charger that charges your house batteries. They do make combination Inverter/Chargers that use battery power to operate a 12 VDC to 120 VAC Inverter if/as used when dry camping, but when plugged to shore power they charge the batteries. Know what you have ??? Converter/Charger takes 120 VAC and charges 12 VDC batteries, Inverter uses 12 VDC battery power to produce 120 VAC. Do your batteries charge if plugged to shore power but NOT when the Genset powers the RV ?? When dry camping you DO NOT want the 12 VDC to 120 VAC Inverter to power up your Converter/Charger, that's a loosing proposition There are plenty of quality smart 3 or 4 stage chargers suitable for flooded lead acid or sealed AGM or even Lithium, price depends to a great extent on the max charge capacity say a 20 or 30 or up to 100 amps. Progressive Dynamics and Xantrex and Magnum and Victron come to mind, I have a PD 9280...…... John T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWharton Posted May 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 This problem was a one-off we think. We had we believe 2 problems that day. When we got back to the RV the generator was running but not charging the batteries(we didn't know this). We believe the transfer switch had a hiccup. We didn't realize for a couple of hours after the SOC didn't go up by much, that we weren't being charged. At this point, we thought about using the battery charger but were hesitant for obvious reasons. While mulling this over we discovered the inverter/converter wasn't charging, pushed the buttons and everything took off. No need to worry about the battery charger. When we bought the AGM batteries we switched everything over to AGM but never thought about the battery charger. Probably time to get a new one anyway must be 30 years old if not older. Thanks for your input. We will master this yet but are having a hard time understanding the ins and outs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjohnt Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 3 hours ago, SWharton said: We believe the transfer switch had a hiccup Its been more then once I've seen a transfer switch fail to toggle after the genset starts grrrrrrrrrrr Yep if 30 years old and with your switch to AGM a quality 3/4 Stage AGM compatible charger or a combination Inverter/Charger may be wise. John T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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