is there such a thing?

[Jim M]

Hello there,

I am from Canada and I have summertime toys that I have put away for the winter months. My problems are for maintaining battery charge..........I have on a very heavily built shelf 3 deep cycle 12 volt batteries out of my Boat and Rv trailer. Two regular 12 volt batteries out of my Corvette and Boat motor starter battery....smaller 12 volt garden tractor battery and also smaller12 volt battery out of my ATV quad...amongst a few others that are out of other summer toys.

Do they make such a thing that I can wire the whole works up ...plug in for the winter and walk away til spring?

thanks for any replies....Jim

[m Ransley]

Im sure there is , Google battery maintainer , also alt. energy homepower is a group that can direct you.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Fully charged battery will last winter without problem. If you really want to trickle charge them, I'd think solar panel based one. I used to have RV and just charged the batteries full before I store them in my garage during winter months. Never had problems. Tony Calgary

[Pop]

Just a short caveat: Should you try to design this yourself, be very careful. Every battery must be isolated so one battery can never supply power into another one. Usually it's nothing more than diodes, but the protection must be there. Equally charged batteries are not equal in voltage and some big currents can flow if they aren't properly isolated. I usually just go around and charge each one, one at a time, about mid-winter. That way I also get a hint, if one's not holding a charge, ahead of time. As someone said, they should last that long OK except for the smaller lawn tractor type batteries, without being charged, unless they're in sub zero temps. I'm not sure either, but I'd check to be sure deep charge batteries are OK to trickel charge; SOME battery I had couldn't be trickle charged, and the boat batteries are all I can think it would hve been, but not sure.

Pop

Jim M wrote:

[Ross Mac]

The key as another poster recommended is charging the batteries with isolation diodes. You cannot use just any diode because it will drop a half volt or so and never charge the batteries properly...here are a couple of links to help you out.....and best of luck on your project...Ross

[MUADIB®]

Sorry about the long link, but If you search eBay using "Solar battery Volkswagen" this is what you get, a solar panel for really cheap, that will maintain a battery...............with sunlight of course. purchase on for each 12v unit and maybe do some mods for a smaller voltage setup..........what a deal!

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MUADIB®

one small step for man,..... One giant leap for attorneys.