Battery Maint./product review

[Whoknows]

Well, I fried my previous float charger (line surge -- I think). That's the bad news. Good news is that I've found what I think may be an important upgrade for those with deep-cycle batteries that get infrequent use.

http://www.batteryminders.com/batte...c-12-Volt-8A-Charger-Maintainer--p-16153.html

The main upgrades seem to be a) the de-sulfating feature, which can "heal" an overly discharged battery and/or, as in my case, bring a weaker battery used in parallel into match with the other, and b) a sensor that accounts for temperature when charging and maintaining, therefore extending AGM battery life. I just installed it and have it de-sulfating one of my two LifeLine batteries. I'll then permanently hook it up to both and use it for occasional recharge and mostly for maintenance when my trailer is parked at the house. I'll post up when I have more time to evaluate.

 

[taugust]

I have had this charger for over a year, although it is not the "Aviation Specific" and was about half the cost. It works great to recharge and desulphate. If you are recharging a dead battery, it may not completely charge in one cycle. I found using a conventional charger to bring most of the charge back, then use the BatteryMinder to top up and desulphate works best. I use mine all the time, as I have an Optima that I use to power my oil transfer pump for biodiesel.

 

[Whoknows]

update

So far, so good. I've fully restored the original Lifeline that came with the trailer and that I overly discharged once when I first had the trailer. As stated in the instructions, it took about 2 weeks. It's nice to know that I now have matched batteries and I'm guessing I've extended the life of them both. I have the unit now hooked up the both batteries and it is in the float mode until our trip in 3 days. We'll be in the desert for 4 days and the solar panel will likely keep up with power use, but it will be nice to start off with a really full bank.