Battery charging question

Troutkickers

I've read a lot of other posts about batteries and charging but didn't find an answer to this question:  is it safe to use the T@B on board charging system to maintain battery charge or will it over charge the battery and potentially ruin it?  Would it be better to use a separate 3 stage charger or trickle charger for that?

BTW - this is a great forum for a noob like me to learn.  thanks to all for the invaluable discussions!!

JandJ92010

When we aren't enjoying  our T@B, I take the battery out of it, put the battery in the garage, and once a month I put a 1 1/2 amp charger on it overnight and in the morning it's all charged up until the next month. I feel that this way is more efficient than using the on board charger.    My 2 cents.

Verna

Troutkickers said:

I've read a lot of other posts about batteries and charging but didn't find an answer to this question:  is it safe to use the T@B on board charging system to maintain battery charge or will it over charge the battery and potentially ruin it?  Would it be better to use a separate 3 stage charger or trickle charger for that?

BTW - this is a great forum for a noob like me to learn.  thanks to all for the invaluable discussions!!

The "on-board charging system" is called a converter, and it converts 110V down to 12V, or provides 110V if needed for the purpose needed.  It is located on the driver's side of your T@B under the bench seat.  It has a brown cover on it that hinges down to expose circuit breakers and 12V fuses. 

It can be used as a battery charger. Once the battery is fully charged, it becomes a trickle charger.  You can use this to charge the battery.  

To do this, you plug the 30 amp power cord into a 110V electrical outlet using an adapter, or you can plug into a 30 amp outlet, such as you find in a campsite power pedestal. 

You could also buy a trickle charger.  I use a Battery Tender Jr in the garage.  It looks like a transformer for an electrical appliance with a quick disconnect at the end of the cord.  There's a mating short cord that you'll need to connect to the battery.  Caution:  even though the quick disconnect appears to be the same as the Zamp solar panel quick disconnect plug, the polarity is the opposite of what the Battery Tender uses. 

Yes, you could buy a separate 3 stage charger, but the Battery Tender Jr is about $40 or less, and is simpler to use....in my honest opinion.  Another note of caution is that the trickle chargers (Battery Tender or other name brand) will charge the battery slowly.  Do not expect to charge the battery quickly.

I hope I explained this so it's understandable.  Please ask questions if you don't understand. 

Troutkickers

Thank you Verna.  You explained it quite clearly.  I thought it would be safe to leave the T@B plugged in to maintain the battery charge (seems obvious now after your comments!) but didn't want to assume.  That always seems to get me in trouble!