MsChrissi Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 We've just replaced our four batteries with four new ones. I suspect they experienced their early demise due to lack of use (average 2x long trips per year) and Randi overcharging them with a "trickle charger" which is an old world 2-5A box she attaches now and then depending on level of unfounded paranoia about batteries going flat. The last set were cooked dry. We must have about eight other batteries on all sorts of things with maintainer or float chargers but did not know what to hook up to the big bank in the RV so the little cooker was used. Maintainer or float chargers come in several sizes, does anybody who uses their Volvo occasionally have personal experience with determining what was an appropriate device other than settling for what was on the shelf at the time? Another point is that due to the frequent welding on the chassis we have tended to disconnect all of the cables from the bus bars. Now we are done welding there will be the additional discharge caused by Volvo's little boxes online. Thanks in advance for your insights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERO Maker Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Battery Minder Amazon. Shop around for this unit. Sometimes it will be right around $100. Or this one Rocky & Sheri Rhoades '01 Volvo 770 2016 DRV Mobile Suites, HoustonHERO Makers Ministry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big5er Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Yup, that's what I use too . MY PEOPLE SKILLS ARE JUST FINE.~It's my tolerance to idiots that needs work.~ 2005 Volvo 780 VED12 465hp / Freedomline transmission singled mid position / Bed by Larry Herrin2018 customed Mobile Suites 40KSSB3 2014 smart Fortwo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis M Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 I just use the basic Battery Tender and it has done the trick for me. When we were storing in the winter I brought the batteries home and alternated 2 Battery Tenders on 4 batteries, checking and recording voltage each time I switched, about once every two weeks. My first set of batteries lasted 8 years that way. Now that we snowbird and store for a couple of months in the warm weather I leave the batteries in the truck, disconnect the ground and put one Battery Tender across all 4 batteries. After three or four weeks the BT goes green and stays there. So far so good, batts are now 2-1/2 years old. I leave my car at home for 5-6 months in the winter with a BT and it does just fine. Dennis & NancyTucson, AZ in winter, on the road in summer.1999 Volvo 610 "Bud" 425 HP Volvo, Super 10 spd.2005 Mountain Aire 35 BLKS2013 smart fortwo CityFlame riding on Bud(Replaced '05 smart first loaded in '06 and '11 smart that gave it's life to save me!)Our Travel Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Battery Minder. I may have been lucky but I've gotten 9 years on a 4 battery bank.It is always on a Minder if not rolling. Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeverEasy Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 The battery minders usually are low amp output, around 8 amps maximum AND they usually need reset every time you drop AC power to them. A Progressive Dynamics converter/charger is about the same cost with a lot more output. The PD9200 series comes in 45 - 80 amp sizes. They come with a charge wizard that you can mount remotely to see what is going on and use it to force the battery into any condition you want. If some reason your batteries went dead when you had no AC to keep them charged, the PD will charge the batteries very quickly while the minder will not. Nope, I do not sell PD, I just get good service from them. The Charge Wizard constantly monitors battery voltage and battery usage then selects one of the following four operating modes to properly charge and maintain the battery. BOOST Mode 14.4 Volts - Rapidly brings the RV battery up to 90% of full charge.NORMAL Mode 13.6 Volts - Safely completes the charge.STORAGE Mode 13.2 Volts - Maintains charge with minimal gassing or water loss.EQUALIZATION Mode 14.4 Volts - Every 21 hours for a period of 15 minutes prevents battery stratification & sulfation - the leading cause of battery failure. The batteries in my 5er came out of the motor home I sold 5 years ago and they were old when I took them out. The motorhome ran a PD9260C as does my current 5er. My Volvo has a 45 amp model. Chet & Deb '01 Volvo 660 w/ Smart '19 Forest River Columbus 320RS 5th wheel 2022 Chev 2500HD Long Bed Retired CWO4, USN and federal service Electronics Tech/Network Engineer/Welder/Machinist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark and Dale Bruss Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 I have been quite satisfied using my Triplet Inverter/Charge in my truck. Built-in transfer switch and the charger function can put out up to 100 amps but does in a 3 stage smart charge. Needed the Inverter anyways and it was only a few bucks more for the Inverter/Charger. Current batteries are 5 years old and are in fine shape. Please click for Emails instead of PM Mark & DaleJoey - 2016 Bounder 33C Tige - 2006 40' Travel SupremeSparky III - 2021 Mustang Mach-e, off the the Road since 2019 Useful HDT Truck, Trailer, and Full-timing Info atwww.dmbruss.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noteven Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Battery disconnect switches are very effective discharge prevention for starting batteries. "Are we there yet?" asked no motorcycle rider, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billr Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 After a failed batt tender, switched to a Batt Minder. Designed for multiple batts. No issues. Current batts at 6yrs and going great. Always plugged in. Bill and Joan and 3 Collie pups 2001 Volvo VNL 770 "The Doghouse" Singled short, "ET" hItch VED12 465HP Gen 1 Autoshift 3.58 ratio 2005 Mobile Suite 38RL3 2011 Smart Passion loaded piggybacK Weigh-It Portable RV Scales http://www.weighitrv.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 Mark brings up a good point. If you are starting fresh I'd put in an inverter/charger as long as it has 3 stage charging(most do). The only downside to doing that is you do not get the desulfation mode that the Battery Minder has. I don't know if that is a significant contribution to the 9 years I got from my bank or not. But it cannot hurt. Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob86ZZ4 Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 I used to have some sort of battery tender in my previous rv. The one I had always needed to have a couple buttons pressed to set it for the right batteries when it was plugged in. Is this what "NeverEasy" was referring to? My current rv has an Iota converter/charger. Like this much better because when I plug it in to shore power I don't have to press any buttons or do anything. '03 United Specialties truck conversion, Freightliner FL112, Cat C12, 10 sp Autoshift, 295" w/b, 26' living quarters. St. Paul, MN www.bobwinsor.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsChrissi Posted May 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 We have a Magnum MS2812 to tend to the house batteries which will be AGM deep cycle types. For the time being we only need one battery for that function as we do not have the loads available for more batteries, house battery compartment can handle 4 total. It would be nice if the Magnum could handle two separate banks and fully maintain/monitor them but in reality once parked the Volvo batteries will only be needed to pull up the Bigfoot levelers and restart the RV when it is time to leave. All other loads are on the house batteries. What we are considering doing would be to put a Trimetric monitor on the Volvo batteries which we can then keep on a maintainer, charge from the Rigmaster when on the road or worst case hook up the Honda generator with the DC charging leads to give them a boost when needed. This would leave the Magnum MS2812 to deal with house battery needs only. We have considered large yacht type battery switches but would need several due to the number of taps on the Volvo's bus bars so not going to happen. Would require one huge switch, one tap and then a secondary bus bar after the switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeverEasy Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 In all my searches, the Progressive Dynamics 9200 series are the only converter/chargers that has the 4th stage they call "Equalization mode" to desulfate the batteries. All automatic. Chet & Deb '01 Volvo 660 w/ Smart '19 Forest River Columbus 320RS 5th wheel 2022 Chev 2500HD Long Bed Retired CWO4, USN and federal service Electronics Tech/Network Engineer/Welder/Machinist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickS Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 I use the 5-stage 100A charger that the Magnum MS 2012 provides in the truck. I also use charger maintainers on several other batteries over the winter and in storage. The one important thing for me up here in Canada is the ambient operating temperature spec of the chargers. The last charger I bought (Smart Car) when I was looking was the Noco Genius models but their lowest temperature rating was for is 0C (32F). After some more looking around I ended up with Ctek 4.3 model which is rated -20C (-4F) and has a cold weather mode and temperature compensation. This may not be so important to my southern friends that don't see these kinds of temperatures but up here it is very important. Rick & Carey,Excel W41GKE Wild Cargo Toyhauler Volvo 730, D13, I-shift, 500/1850Brabus Smart Car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickS Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 We have a Magnum MS2812 to tend to the house batteries which will be AGM deep cycle types. For the time being we only need one battery for that function as we do not have the loads available for more batteries, house battery compartment can handle 4 total. It would be nice if the Magnum could handle two separate banks and fully maintain/monitor them but in reality once parked the Volvo batteries will only be needed to pull up the Bigfoot levelers and restart the RV when it is time to leave. All other loads are on the house batteries. What we are considering doing would be to put a Trimetric monitor on the Volvo batteries which we can then keep on a maintainer, charge from the Rigmaster when on the road or worst case hook up the Honda generator with the DC charging leads to give them a boost when needed. This would leave the Magnum MS2812 to deal with house battery needs only. We have considered large yacht type battery switches but would need several due to the number of taps on the Volvo's bus bars so not going to happen. Would require one huge switch, one tap and then a secondary bus bar after the switch. This may be of interest to you. I am planning to add a couple of batteries to the truck and I purchased it to help charge the second bank of batteries. Rick & Carey,Excel W41GKE Wild Cargo Toyhauler Volvo 730, D13, I-shift, 500/1850Brabus Smart Car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkennell Posted May 4, 2015 Report Share Posted May 4, 2015 I chose to go the simple route. I take the negative cable(s) off the batteries when Its parked for more than a week, and have a cheap ($40@ Walmart) 1.5A battery maintainer connected to the batteries. I have these on 2 HDT's, the RV and a Ag tractor. So far--they work great. I'm gonna get a couple more for my other tractors (may need to add some more outlets to my machine shed!) I think the key is to disconnect the batteries AND use the maintainer. There is absolutely no need for a high current battery maintainer if you disconnect the batteries so there is no draw. I'm not saying anything against the more expensive battery minders...just that even a simple cheap maintainer is better than letting your batteries go flat. No camper at present. Way too many farm machines to maintain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randyretired Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 I use a little 2amp Battery Minder and it keeps the batteries in our 2001 Volvo fully charged without removing the cables. Randy 2001 Volvo VNL 42 Cummins ISX Autoshift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noteven Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 deleted "Are we there yet?" asked no motorcycle rider, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Heiser Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 This may be of interest to you. I am planning to add a couple of batteries to the truck and I purchased it to help charge the second bank of batteries. I have one of the Sure Power battery separators in my truck so the alternator charges both the chassis batteries and the house batteries I have in the sleeper. I like it a lot. I also added the switch that momentarily ties both banks together if I ever need any extra juice to get the truck started. We have a Magnum MS2812 to tend to the house batteries which will be AGM deep cycle types. For the time being we only need one battery for that function as we do not have the loads available for more batteries, house battery compartment can handle 4 total. It would be nice if the Magnum could handle two separate banks and fully maintain/monitor them but in reality once parked the Volvo batteries will only be needed to pull up the Bigfoot levelers and restart the RV when it is time to leave. All other loads are on the house batteries. What we are considering doing would be to put a Trimetric monitor on the Volvo batteries which we can then keep on a maintainer, charge from the Rigmaster when on the road or worst case hook up the Honda generator with the DC charging leads to give them a boost when needed. This would leave the Magnum MS2812 to deal with house battery needs only. We have considered large yacht type battery switches but would need several due to the number of taps on the Volvo's bus bars so not going to happen. Would require one huge switch, one tap and then a secondary bus bar after the switch. If you have a Magnum MS2812 you can use the Magnum Smart Battery Combiner (ME-SBC) to send some of the charge to a secondary battery bank. This will allow you to charge both battery banks from the one source. 2000 Kenworth T2000 w/ Cummins N14 and autoshift 2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard 2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan 2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage) 2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage)My First Solar Install ThreadMy Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the buildMy MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet! chadheiser.com West Coast HDT Rally Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsChrissi Posted May 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Those Blue Sea Systems combiners and switches look to be the ultimate but my guess is by the time it is all installed you will be out $800~$1k with all the bits and pieces. What we will look into is the Magnum smart combiner, I think I had that in my notes before, plus a big switch to cut the Volvo off when not in use, a good maintainer and possibly a Trimetric just so Randi does not get paranoid about me turning on a reading light in the cab (we have about 10 LED flashlights in there that MUST be used instead). This is all probably overkill for our tiny motorhome but the loads once fully implemented will be high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 If you are wanting to monitor two banks and you have nothing currently then look at the Pentametric (Bogart), which will monitor multiple banks. It does require a lot more "diddling with" than the Trimetric, but it has lots of capabilities. Once set up it is pretty easy to deal with. And it has full computer interface. I would not recommend it for most people unless I was installing it, but y'all can handle it. Or, you might add a BMK to the Magnum (assuming you have the right remote display) and then just use a Trimetric on the truck. Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsChrissi Posted May 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Jack, I believe we have the ME-RC (50) monitor/remote control for the Magnum..it is the simpler of the two but should do an adequate job of monitoring the house batteries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Mayer Posted May 5, 2015 Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Jack, I believe we have the ME-RC (50) monitor/remote control for the Magnum..it is the simpler of the two but should do an adequate job of monitoring the house batteries? The ME-RC50 will work with the BMK just fine. As long as it is not real old. You need firmware 2.0 or greater. Which if you bought in the last 3 years you have. Believe it or not, it is actually a little cheaper to put in a Trimetric with shunt, than to put in the BMK. But that requires display space in your cabinet which you may not have the luxury of doing. Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member Living on the road since 2000PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail 2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it) 2022 New Horizons 43' 5er 2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units 2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck -------------------------------------------------------------------------See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar powerwww.jackdanmayer.com Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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