Adding a battery to a converter?

Anything electric, AC or DC

Adding a battery to a converter?

Postby daneyuleb » Tue Oct 30, 2018 6:13 am

I'm clueless on this type of electrical and hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

My TD has a little 120 to 12v converter (Schumacher PC-6 120AC to 6A 12V DC Power Converter)
that powers a few low power leds and my vent fan when plugged in to shore power. No battery at the moment.

I'd just like to add a small rechargeable 12 volt battery to power those few 12-volt items for an hour or two when not on power.
It of course needs to recharge the battery when the camper's on shore power.

Can someone tell me the basics of what I might need to accomplish this? A separate charger of some sort that plugs inline to the 12 volt wire that comes out of the converter? Then the battery would go inline right after it?

Would I be better off getting a converter/charger in one unit--and if so, is that just a matter of replacing the current converter, and putting the battery inline right after it? (Don't have a lot of room as the current converter is already eating up galley space that my wife covets...)
daneyuleb
Teardrop Inspector
 
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2017 4:57 pm

Re: Adding a battery to a converter?

Postby John61CT » Tue Oct 30, 2018 7:22 am

First check the V and A output levels with an ammeter, the "converter" may be good enough for keeping a small cheap battery charged as is.

Otherwise replace it with a better staged smart charging converter or good charger sized for the battery you want, in which case you can invest in a proper deep cycling one for longevity.
John61CT
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1958
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2016 4:36 pm

Re: Adding a battery to a converter?

Postby daneyuleb » Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:06 pm

Thanks! Any idea what constitutes a good voltage to keep a small battery charged? I don't need much --what numbers am I comparing if looking at, say, this battery:
VMAXTANKS V10-63 12 Volt 10AH AGM Deep Cycle 12V SLA Battery for Tripp Lite OMNI700LCD UPS System

Also--if I did go with just adding a battery, is it as simple as just splicing it inline--ie, the hot wire coming off the converter gets split, and the converter side end gets connected to the - battery terminal and the other goes on the + terminal?
daneyuleb
Teardrop Inspector
 
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2017 4:57 pm
Top

Re: Adding a battery to a converter?

Postby John61CT » Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:31 pm

Each vendor publishes their specs, but usually above 14.5V for Absorb V.

Problem is once full with AGM can damage to keep at that voltage too long, hence smart chargers that drop to lower Float voltage.

Doing it manually, I'd wire in a set of Anderson plugs, plug the battery in when using it, remove it when not. Or maybe a battery switch.

An ammeter will help you learn charging control basics, but at minimum get a DMM and learn how to use it.
John61CT
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1958
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2016 4:36 pm
Top

Re: Adding a battery to a converter?

Postby KTM_Guy » Thu Nov 01, 2018 11:26 pm

Do you ever camp without 120v power?

I would that out the converter and replace with a battery and smart charger. I think that 10AH might be small, look into a 35AH or 55AH battery and see if that fits the the space you have. Remember you only want to discharge to 50% so you don't damage the battery.

Get a smart charger and wire it in so when you are on shore power the battery is charging. You'll also want to keep your battery on the charger to keep it maintained.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LWVEKS/ref=emc_b_5_i?th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Mighty-Max-Battery-ML35-12-Replaces/dp/B00K8E0WAG/ref=sr_1_4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1541134716&sr=1-4&keywords=35ah+deep+cycle+battery

https://www.amazon.com/Cycle-Battery-RE ... le+battery

Todd
User avatar
KTM_Guy
500 Club
 
Posts: 571
Images: 193
Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2017 7:50 am
Location: Mesa, AZ near Usery
Top


Return to Electrical Secrets

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests