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Old 09-03-2021, 05:55 PM   #1
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Battery Charger/Trickle Charger for House Batteries

Any advice on whether something like a Noco Genius10 smart charger or Ampeak 2/10/25A Smart Battery Charger/Maintainer would be most appropriate for winter charging/maintenance of house batteries?

We are preparing (well, in the next 4-6 weeks) to winterize our 2021 Jayco Greyhawk 27U and plan to pull the house batteries into the garage since we keep the coach outdoors, in freezing temps and far from a power source. We think the previous owners mistreated the two 12V gel batteries in use today, since they barely last an overnight when dry camping.

Suggestions (or referrals to a thread I couldn't find) appreciated!
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Old 09-03-2021, 07:10 PM   #2
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I bought the Battery Tender brand maintainers and they have worked well for my Rv and tractor batteries.
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Old 09-03-2021, 07:19 PM   #3
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X2 on a Battery Tender. Our TT and M/C batteries get a winter home in the shop down cellar, and I alternate the Tender between them every month or so.
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Old 09-04-2021, 08:24 AM   #4
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I have a Norco5 Genius and the instructions say that after you connect it you can leave it connected indefinitely and it will automatically monitor the battery and do what it needs to do. The only manual choices are to choose 6V instead of 12V, or to "force" a charge on a near dead battery. But I'm not advocating for any manufacturer. Most of the automatic chargers out there now do this.
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Old 09-07-2021, 05:58 PM   #5
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Thanks, all!

Great input. Thank you!

Appreciate all of your advice.
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Old 09-07-2021, 06:39 PM   #6
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Battery Tender on mine, 24/7 while in storage for 5 years now.
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Old 09-08-2021, 04:40 AM   #7
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You may want to look into some of the bass boat battery chargers. They come in 1, 2, 3 and 4 battery options, are relatively small and can be mounted on a wall or shelf. They can be left plugged up indefinitely and will monitor the condition of the batteries and respond accordingly. I've used Dual Pros and Minn Kota chargers on my boats for decades with almost no problems. Early on I had a Dual Pro that didn't work properly out of the box and they had a new unit to my door in 24 hours.
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Old 09-08-2021, 08:32 AM   #8
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Well, once again, I'm the odd man out. Not a fan of Battery Tender brand as their technology aged. I switched to two Noco Genius brand mb110e intelligent chargers about 6 years ago at the same time that I switched the batteries in the M/C's (x4) to lithium based. While lithium holds its charge when idle, in the event I need to top off, a wet charge system won't help. The Genius also does wet, and is able to auto sense what you are hooked to AGM v Normal and reverse sulfated plates to some extent. Nothing in my experience is 100% fix once sulfation sets in. It has a 6v mode as well. Never got all that from the Tender, but by now they've probably caught up.

The one is used on the lawn tractor in the winter, and moved to the snow blower in the summer. Both batteries are already over 5 years old. The other spends it's winters hooked to a vintage Benz that only is driven May thru Oct. That battery is 7 years old.
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Old 09-09-2021, 08:15 PM   #9
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Thanks again, everyone. I wound up buying a Noco Genius10 and will give it a try once I pull my house batteries into the garage.
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Old 09-10-2021, 06:52 AM   #10
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I've never pulled my house batteries. I make it a point to pull my rig out of storage once a month to run the engine for a good hour or so, then I park it in the driveway and plug it in for a night. I've never had my batteries fail in this way.

I also run the genny once a month for 2 hours. All that has always kept my batteries in good shape.
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Old 09-10-2021, 03:32 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by Jopopsy View Post
I've never pulled my house batteries. I make it a point to pull my rig out of storage once a month to run the engine for a good hour or so, then I park it in the driveway and plug it in for a night. I've never had my batteries fail in this way.

I also run the genny once a month for 2 hours. All that has always kept my batteries in good shape.
I wish I had that option. I can't get my rig up our driveway (steep incline, it grounds out) and I don't have a place to park it on the street to plug it in overnight.

I do agree with warming up the engine monthly to aid the chassis battery. And running the generator once a month sounds like a good idea, too. Any logic behind running it for 2 hours?
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Old 09-19-2021, 08:39 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by 907-Jayco View Post
Any advice on whether something like a Noco Genius10 smart charger or Ampeak 2/10/25A Smart Battery Charger/Maintainer would be most appropriate for winter charging/maintenance of house batteries?

We are preparing (well, in the next 4-6 weeks) to winterize our 2021 Jayco Greyhawk 27U and plan to pull the house batteries into the garage since we keep the coach outdoors, in freezing temps and far from a power source. We think the previous owners mistreated the two 12V gel batteries in use today, since they barely last an overnight when dry camping.

Suggestions (or referrals to a thread I couldn't find) appreciated!
I've been using it for years for my house and one for the engine battery, my zero turn and riding lawn mower and boat, also a van.
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Old 09-22-2021, 01:20 PM   #13
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For those that pull their house batteries and trickle-charge, is is bad to then start the engine to charge the chassis battery? In other words, starting the engine with house batteries removed?
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Old 09-22-2021, 04:39 PM   #14
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It is my understanding that motor homes like yours have battery dedicated to the engine just like a truck. Some have a feature that if your engine battery goes dead you can start with the house batteries.

My one concern if you remove house batteries make sure that the cable ends don't touch anything that could cause a short if your engine running tries to charge the house batteries. If you want put some tape over the positive post connector(s) or better yet wrap the positive in plastic or rubber.
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Old 09-22-2021, 06:20 PM   #15
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It is my understanding that motor homes like yours have battery dedicated to the engine just like a truck. Some have a feature that if your engine battery goes dead you can start with the house batteries.

My one concern if you remove house batteries make sure that the cable ends don't touch anything that could cause a short if your engine running tries to charge the house batteries. If you want put some tape over the positive post connector(s) or better yet wrap the positive in plastic or rubber.
Excellent idea. Thank you!
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