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Expert
Posts: 5870
   
Location: western PA | There has been several recent inquiries about winter battery maintenance. I have several batteries that sit unused during the winter months. Instead of removing them and storing them inside, I use battery float chargers to maintain them and keep them ready for Spring use. To date, I have not had to replace any battery stored in this manner. There are many sources of these chargers. I have a couple of expensive units, and half a dozen of the Harbor Freight models. All work well, and each battery is kept fully charged without overcharging and ruining the plates. Harbor Freight now has their float chargers on sale for $6 each. Usually I do not like to recommend a specific product, but these work well and are available at a very nominal price. All you have to do is turn off your battery master switch, clip the leads from the charger to the terminals, hook it to an extension cord and forget about it until next year. It consumes so little current that you probably won't notice any additional electrical expense. Instead of running hundreds of dollars of electrical equipment whilst powering an unused LQ, this is an inexpensive item that works as advertised. Yes, they are made in China, and no, I do not receive any funds for their endorsement. I am only a messenger, that thought some equipment owners might be interested in obtaining this type of charger.
Edited by gard 2011-10-24 10:04 PM
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Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA |  |
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Veteran
Posts: 231
Location: Illinois | THANKS Gard...that sounds/ looks like just what I need. Appreciate the helpful advise ;) |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 504
| Thanks. But, when I went to get a couple, they were 10.00 rather than 6.00. |
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Veteran
Posts: 212
Location: novinger, mo | How is that different from a Battery Minder?
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Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA | http://www.batteryminders.com/batterycharger/catalog/Camping-RV-Battery-Chargers-orderby0-p-1-c-243.html Take your pick from these and Harbor Freight http://www.batteryminders.com/batterycharger/catalog/BatteryMINDer-2012-AGM-12-Volt-2-Amp-12V-2A-Charger-Maintaine-p-16179.html |
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Expert
Posts: 1205
Location: Arkansas | We use these on the riding mower and all the atv's and the generator as well.....work great! |
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Regular
Posts: 70
Location: PA | My husband said the batteries on the LQ are "in sequence" so does that mean we only need one of these to keep them both charged? |
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Veteran
Posts: 178
Location: Richmond, Ky | my guess is what you are calling "in sequence" actually means "in parallel" so I would think the battery minders should work for ya. Just make sure that they are indeed connected + to + and - to - |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
Location: Vermont | Originally written by Zoe on 2011-11-01 2:04 PM My husband said the batteries on the LQ are "in sequence" so does that mean we only need one of these to keep them both charged? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 391
Location: Columbia, KY | do they make solar float chargers? |
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Member
Posts: 26
Location: East Texas | Yes they do. There are several on the market with prices ranging from extra cheap to an arm.
Personally, I shy away from low tier electronics and tools. |
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Member
Posts: 45
Location: Mead, WA | I found a place to store my trailer under cover. The guy who is keeping it for me will plug my trailer battery in once/mo. for approx. 4-5 hrs. The rest of the time it will be unplugged. Temps. will be below freezing throughout the winter. The batteries are new.Will this be adequate to keep the batteries charged, or is a battery float charger a better option?d2allen |
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Battery Float Charger
