House Battery Recharge

[saenzm]

I need to take my house battery in to be recharged. Do I just disconnect it or do I have to disconnect the van battery too before I do it?

Thanks,
Mark

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by saenzm

I need to take my house battery in to be recharged. Do I just disconnect it or do I have to disconnect the van battery too before I do it?

Thanks,
Mark

Assuming the house and van batteries use an isolator, it isn't necessary to disconnect the van (engine) battery. When disconnecting a battery the conventional wisdom is to remove the ground connection first to avoid the possibiilty of accidentally shorting the positive terminal from a wrench or other removal tool.

Question: the setup you describe typically charges both batteries from the alternator or also froim shore power if your van incorporates a battery charger. What prompts the necessity for removing the battery to charge it?

[saenzm]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

Question: the setup you describe typically charges both batteries from the alternator or also froim shore power if your van incorporates a battery charger. What prompts the necessity for removing the battery to charge it?

My van is a 1997 Dodge PW and the converter doesn't have a charge the battery as I understand it.

I bought a replacement 3 stage converter that has a charger (as I understand it) and it will be here by Thursday.

I was thinking I need to charge my Optima deep cell battery to full charge, which they will do at Autozone for free.

So that is what I was going to do.

I hooked it up to shore power for several days, but that alone did not charge the house battery.

Am I missing something? Will the 3 stage plugged into shore charge the battery for me?

Thanks,
Mark

[gerrym51]

Originally Posted by saenzm

My van is a 1997 Dodge PW and the converter doesn't have a charge the battery as I understand it.

I bought a replacement 3 stage converter that has a charger (as I understand it) and it will be here by Thursday.

I was thinking I need to charge my Optima deep cell battery to full charge, which they will do at Autozone for free.

So that is what I was going to do.

I hooked it up to shore power for several days, but that alone did not charge the house battery.

Am I missing something? Will the 3 stage plugged into shore charge the battery for me?

Thanks,
Mark

i assume the optima is AGM. so a 3 stage charger should i would think

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by saenzm

My van is a 1997 Dodge PW and the converter doesn't have a charge the battery as I understand it.

I bought a replacement 3 stage converter that has a charger (as I understand it) and it will be here by Thursday.

I was thinking I need to charge my Optima deep cell battery to full charge, which they will do at Autozone for free.

So that is what I was going to do.

I hooked it up to shore power for several days, but that alone did not charge the house battery.

Am I missing something? Will the 3 stage plugged into shore charge the battery for me?

Thanks,
Mark

I'm surprised that the PW didn't come with a battery charger incorporated in its converter, but in any event, the multi stage charger you are replacing it with is undoubtedly an improvement for both battery charging capacity and battery long term preservation. This equipment will handily charge the battery. However, Autozone can both charge the battery and run a load test on it which could be a good reference from which to start your installation.

Your new charger will service your house battery but whether it will also service your engine battery depends upon your installation. If your system employs diode isolators, the engine battery will be charged by the alternator but gets no charging from the shoreside charger. If it employs a bi-directional separator rather than isolators, the charger will first address the house battery and after bringing the house batteries up to snuff, it will parallel your batteries which allows shoreside charging of all your batteries. If you're not familiar with these devices, google Surepower and their website will fill you in.