Battery Charger

Drew,

Check out ebay right now......type in "battery charger" and the 1st item shown at present is "BUY NOW" for $70-. Item number is 4526975710.

It claims to be a 12volt, 12amp output, 240v input and multi-stage.

I paid $300- for my 3 stage charger (15amp) from hybralec (www.hybralec.com.au), but that might be getting a bit higher than what you want to pay.

Good luck.

Roachie

I use a Ctek 7A smart charger multistage. Cost about $350.00. Gets my 85AH DC to about 80% in 8 hours but takes about another 48 hours before it switches to the maitenance mode.
Don't know if it's OK to use with a generator. I understand some chargers aren't!

Baibridge Technologies are the importer. Check:

http://www.baintech.com.au/

I might be way off track here but can't you put the 12v output from your honda generator across the battery that you want to charge and do it that way.

I think I may have just answered my question: I'm assuming that your genny has a 12v DC output!

I use a 25amp power supply that can be bought at Dick Smiths for $299. It is regulated, and the voltage is variable from 3-15 volts, so I use it for lots of other tinkering type stuff.

I set the voltage to about 14.2 Volts and just leave it turned on. The ammeter shows how many amps the battery is taking. When the amps is down to about 1 amp, the battery is charged and can be disconnected. You may find that a wet cell deep cycle battery needs a higher voltage.

I use the same system to recharge gel cells. The recharge specs are usually written on the side of the battery, so just follow their recommendations for the recharge voltage.

Cheers
Phil

I have a 120AH DSB on my caravan. I also have a Yamaha gennie and a battery charger. The charge has an output of 20amps and during the day when the gennie is operating I connect the charger up to charge the DSB but as a typical DSB i can only charge to 80% (as per a hydrometer) but this is enough to run all my lights, an engle fridge and our television (television on till 10pm if there is a transmission available) all night. I find that this arrangment works quite well. I believe that I paid about $150 from CAP. The charger also has a 75amp outlet which will start an engine if required or give boost (short boost) to the DCB

Drew,
I use and can't fault the Projecta 10 Amp manual battery charger attached to a 10 Amp, Automatic Charger Control, about $170 complete.
Is your battery the M27MF, as this system will be more than adequate to recharge it from any condition, as a Deep Cycle battery needs to be charged correctly to maintain it at full capacity.

Go to the AC Delco site and see what is recommended for that battery, then go looking for something specific. I don't use a deep cycle battery, just a heavy duty Century that is topped up from the car. There are a lot of options when it comes to batteries and their applications. The century in the camper is 2 year old and has never given me any trouble. I carry a small, cheap 4 amp charger that I use on those rare occassions when we spend a couple of days at a park.

It's a personal thing but I don't like generators, although there are a couple in the group we travel with.

GOOD MORNING FOLKS - J.C. HERE - BORING OLD BOEING AIRPLANE ENGINEER - BUT WE HAVE SOLD AIRCRAFT BATTERIES FOR A VERY LONG TIME - BOTH MAIN VENTED AND SEAL AUX. NI CAD AND SEALED LEAD ACID TYPES - DONT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU ARE EASILY BORED !
THE SEALED LEAD ACID BATT WE SELL IS THE HAWKER ENERGY ODYSSEY - IT IS NOT A GEL BATT AS SOME GUYS WILL TRY TO TELL YOU - IT IS A RECOMBINATION TYPE BATT. I JUST BOUGHT 67 MUSTANG AND IT HAS A DECLO SEALED LEAD ACID BATT - IT IS IS ALSO NOT A GELL BATT ! IT IS A CALCIUM LOW MAINTENANCE TYPE - AND IS PROBABLY A VERY GOOD BATT. I WILL CHECK THAT LATER BUT I AM SURE THAT IS CORRECT . THE GUY IS RIGHT - YOU NEED TO ALWAYS ASK THE BATT. MANUFACTURER - NOT THE GUY DOWN THE ROAD WHO SOLD YOU THE BATT YOU HAVE . AS AN EXAMPLE - HAWKER SAY IN THEIR MANUAL THAT IS SUPPLIED WITH EVERY ODYSSEY - CHARGE AT 13.8 TO 14.2 V - AMPERAGE IS NOT CRITICAL - THE ODYSSEY WILL ACEPT A 100 A. CONSTANT VOLTAGE CHARGER - I HAVE DONE THAT MANY TIMES - YES IT SURE COMES UP TO FULL CAPACITY FAST - BUT THAT CHARGER WAS A U.S. BUILT CHRISTIE QRC-2 = $ 2000 - A WELL CONTROLLED VOLTAGE TYPE WITH SMOOTH CURRENT REDUCTION TAPER CHARACTERISTICS . THE POINT IS THAT THE GUYS WHO ARE COMMENTING ARE NOT DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN CONSTANT VOLTAGE CHARGERS - WHICH IS WHAT YR VEHICLE ALTERNATOR IS - AND THE MORE COMMON WORKSHOP TYPE THAT THE PERSON BOUGHT IN DICK SMITHs - WHICH IS A CONSTANT CURRENT TYPE OR ADJUSTABLE D.C. POWER SUPPLY -WHICH IS FINE IF YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE IT TO HANDLE BATT CHARGING - A BIG DIFFERENCE FOLKS .
WE SELL SPECIFIC CHARGERS DESIGNED FOR THE ODYSSEY S.L.A.B.s
THEY CAN ALSO BE USED ON VENTED TYPE BATTs ALSO -THESE FORUMS ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR ADVERTISING - SO I DONT WANT TO PUSH ANY PARTICULAR TYPE OF BATT OR CHARGER - ITS THE OUTPUT THAT MATTERS - NOT THE NAME ON IT . AGAIN ASK THE MANUFACTURER OF THE CHARGER IS IT SUITABLE FOR S.L.A.B. . I ALSO RUN JEEP CHEROKEE LTD - TRUST THAT HELPS - J.C.