Thread: Question on Battery longevity when not regularly driving the vehicle

Depending where your vehicle lives, you might consider what I have on my tractor (same problem, infrequent use). That is a 5w solar panel connected direct to the battery.

If your vehicle lives outside, you can buy ones that plug into the cigarette lighter and sit on the dash.

John

There are a lot of people who trickle charge their batteries.

I do with my boat battery as they won't last long if they are either under or over charged. I have wires connected to the positive and negative terminals and just plug in the charger as needed.

The issue is what type of charger. I have an $80 one but others will tell you to buy a top notch $600 job.

I would go to a battery place and ask them. After all if they advise you wrongly that is a mark against their business.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Depending where your vehicle lives, you might consider what I have on my tractor (same problem, infrequent use). That is a 5w solar panel connected direct to the battery.

If your vehicle lives outside, you can buy ones that plug into the cigarette lighter and sit on the dash.

John

I had a 10w panel on a camper trailer battery. It boiled the battery as it was pumping out 20 volts on a sunny day. I fitted a regulator and that solved the problem. You really need a voltage meter on the battery to see what is happening.

Originally Posted by barryj

I had a 10w panel on a camper trailer battery. It boiled the battery as it was pumping out 20 volts on a sunny day. I fitted a regulator and that solved the problem. You really need a voltage meter on the battery to see what is happening.

10w is perhaps a bit much for a trickle charge - also note that there are two types of panel - those designed for use with a regulator (and these will have a no-load voltage of around 20v), and those designed for use without a regulator(no load voltage around 16v). If you use the first type, you need a regulator, as you have found.

John

I have 2 "Projecta" 1.5? Amp float chargers. they can be mounted on board, or as I have,via a plug on the front bumper.
I have 2, one for each battery.
They work well and have lasted for a long time.
I have not used them for a while as I use my car quite a lot.
Last week my voltmeter was acting strangely. Jumping around on volts from 14.2 down to 13.7.

Looked at my 4years+ old starting battery and the two inner cells were low on water, indicating sulphation.

I then refitted my Megapulse and the battery seems to have recovered a bit, as it now accepts 14.2 volts.

So the answer may be to fit a float charger and also fit a Megapulse every few months.
I will have to replace my starting battery before the next long trip, but I may get a few months grace.
Regards Philip A

Fair enough, thanks for the ideas.

Glad to see it wasn't such a silly idea to start with

Originally Posted by Grizzly_Adams

Fair enough, thanks for the ideas.

Glad to see it wasn't such a silly idea to start with

Certainly not a silly question. Battery maintenance is a science as a mate of mine knows. He is a marine electrician so his business is batteries. After all, there is no easy way to start a boat in the blue yonder when everything goes flat . They don't clutch start well at all .

It was he who suggested I talk with his battery supplier and find out what is the best.

Initially my 10w solar panel was to charge the camper battery and I then tried it without a regulator for maintaining the battery. That is where I went wrong as it was charging at too high a voltage.

For the record, I have a projecta 1600mA automatic charger on the boat battery (deep cycle). http://www.projecta.com.au/

There are chargers and there are chargers just as there are batteries and there are batteries, so it it very important to select the best for each situation.

May your battery be always charged, and may the force be with you (sorry).

Hi Grizzly, as above, but I might just add some suggestions.

I supply gear to lots of agricultural users that have the same problem as you and this is basically my usual reply.

If you go for a solar trickle charge, which would be my preference in your case, go no bigger than a 10w panel and connect it to your cranking battery.

Doing it this way, if the cranking battery is low it will take a few days to a week or so to charge it up, but once it’s got enough charge, the SC80 will cut in and you will then be charging both batteries and the internal resistance of both batteries, even when fully charged, will keep the solar panels voltage down so you won’t need a regulator.

If you only had one battery to charge then don’t go any bigger than a 5w solar panel with out using a regulator.

Next, whether you use a solar trickle charger or a 240 VAC battery charger, run some twin cable from the cranking battery’s positive and negative terminals to a small plug at the front of the vehicle so it just sticks out passed the grill or bring it out over near the driver’s door, which ever suites you.

Now, run twin cable from you solar or battery charger to the plug at the bonnet but make sure you have enough of this cable coming from the charger to hang over the driver’s mirror and this way you will never forget to unplug before you drive off.

Again if you go with the solar charger, it’s better to fit the charger somewhere where it will be able to get maximum sun light and run a lead to the vehicle rather than putting the panel on the dash. Putting it on the dash means your vehicle is going to have to always face the sun and be in the weather all the time.

Just some suggestions, cheers