Charging deep cell battery when trailer is in storage

A 5W panel (of appropriate voltage) connected directly will do the job.
If you go much bigger than that you will also need a controller to ensure that you don't overcharge.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

X2
Summer time I get 5/6hrs full charge 3hrs at less charge ,winter a lot less but still about 4 hrs good charge, works OK .Cost was $25 from a mob breaking into the solar business and giving start up discounts.

G'day Wendy,
I remove my deep cycle battery from the van & take it home (yes it's heavy).
Once a month I put it on my 3 stage charger that I turn down to 2 amps. Never had an issue with it doing this but if you can't remove it then I guess as suggested a solar panel is the go.

My friends don't do this & like you have discovered the batteries don't last them very long by letting them run down.

Cheers
Stu

Quote "From your replies I assume that most other people remove the batteries in these situations."

I would not say most. I reckon that most of these batteries are in vans with solar on top. Many of us use a solar panel in the 2 - 5 W range without a regulator. I mounted mint on a frame, it lived on the van whilst at home and on the carport whilst away to maintain the battery in the second set of wheels.

Well yes I removed my 100ah battery from my camper and it is sitting on top of my beer fridge under my patio in a box where I can easily check it and charge it if need be. But yeah, it is a heavy bastard...

I also have a 5W solar panel with a simple regulator that I bought from Supercheap a while ago, I use this for an infrequently used vehicle but for your situation it would probably be the best bet, Supercheap still sell them I was only in there last weekend and they had them there

Pardon my ignorance - what is a Ctek?

It's a brand of very good multi-stage battery chargers. May not be useful to you if mains power is not available at your CT storage site.

It's worth browsing their website.

They are available from 4WD shops, eBay, etc.

Cheers

Thanks everybody. Its great to have some intelligent conversation with people who have the knowledge and comprehension of the situation

Quote "Pardon my ignorance - what is a Ctek?"

It's something you already stated that you don't have mains power to run.

OK - I was probably a bit brief.... CTEK are multi-phase battery chargers and conditioners ... there are other brands, however they're fairly prominent.

They use 'intelligent' monitoring to asses the condition of the battery to perform both charge & discharge cycles to keep the battery conditioned correctly.

Irrespective of whether you have mains or not, your best option if the CT is in storage for long periods is to remove the battery and keep on permanent charge condition cycle with the CTEK or an equivalent.

Trust me on this, my 40 series spends long periods between trips under cover. Batteries always discharge and waste - virtually had to replace them b4 every trip. Keep it now permanently connected to the CTEK - batteries now last. Sorry, from experience, those solar charge things don't work.

Scott

Beg to differ your statement "these solar things don't work"

Sorry mate but they work a treat...if yours didn't then something very wrong your end

A) I have used solar for storage on the 'van 3 x 105 ah deep cycles.....into 4th year ..... a 60 w panel because there is some discharge in the 'van around 2 ah a day
B) the boat 2 x marine batteries......into 5th year......a 5 w panel
C) A camper trailer with 2 X 105 ah deep cycles...now 7 years and all OK....a 10 w panel

And yes I have 240v available and choose to use solar...cheapest simplest option

WENDY There is also a Ctek and a RedcArc charger that is a DC to DC with a Solar option included...........might be worth considering because in the future you may grow into it and have a use for the DC DC charger to boost the charge voltage on the camper or a future towed item

Cheers