Battery Bank - AGM

[Rednecktek]

Outside of that, we only have 2 ceiling fans, 7 LED lights (5w-7w range each), 32" LED TV (35w), then outlets for charging phones and laptops.

What?!?!? No beer fridge?!?!? And you all this a "Hunting Camp"? You know, the wife isn't going to buy that line.

As for battery chargers, I picked up an Ampeak 25a charger that I've been pretty happy with. When I get to the camp and fire up the generator I can kick it up to 25a and top up my 4P 120Ah FLA battery bank in a couple of hours. Plus it has a repair mode (which takes a few days) that will go through and try to save a worn or beat up battery. A little pricy at $70 but it's done well for me.

 

[HARG Hunter]

What?!?!? No beer fridge?!?!? And you all this a "Hunting Camp"? You know, the wife isn't going to buy that line.

As for battery chargers, I picked up an Ampeak 25a charger that I've been pretty happy with. When I get to the camp and fire up the generator I can kick it up to 25a and top up my 4P 120Ah FLA battery bank in a couple of hours. Plus it has a repair mode (which takes a few days) that will go through and try to save a worn or beat up battery. A little pricy at $70 but it's done well for me.

Actually, I've hooked up a fridge as well, and after it gets to temp, no problem. However, we have a Yeti, so the beer stays ice cold for days.
Besides, I drink Bourbon!

Thanks for the heads up on the Ampeak. So many brands out there. Hoping to just avoid a bad brand.
As long as I can find a 20-30amp smart charger for boosting and repairing, I'll be happy. $70 is right where I am looking to spend, so that works.

 

[HARG Hunter]

I do use the HF Viking 4A charger and am happy with it.
It doesn't have temperature compensation, but does have manual "*AGM" vs. "AGM" to indicate a colder setting.
What it doesn't provide is a higher setting for equalization. That normally isn't recommended for AGM, but I have done it for tired batteries.

I suppose bulk charging with generator first, then solar charger with precise settings and temperature sensor can do the several hours to gradually bring to 100%.

I currently have an old charger that can charge at 2 Amps or 6 Amps, but it only gets the bank up to 13.0 or so volts. Can't seem to get it above that. I know I need more amps from the charger to really get it where I want it, so figured jumping up to 20-30 amps would help me get it there much quicker. I'm not a fan of running the generator too long during hunting season, so if I can run it for a couple of hours to give us a boost, I'm happy.

 

[HARG Hunter]

I do use the HF Viking 4A charger and am happy with it.
It doesn't have temperature compensation, but does have manual "*AGM" vs. "AGM" to indicate a colder setting.
What it doesn't provide is a higher setting for equalization. That normally isn't recommended for AGM, but I have done it for tired batteries.

I suppose bulk charging with generator first, then solar charger with precise settings and temperature sensor can do the several hours to gradually bring to 100%.

I picked up the HF Viking 2/8/15 today. The 15 Amps should give me the boost I need when the array isn't giving me enough.
We'll see how it goes this weekend if I need it.

Thanks for the input fellas!

 

[HARG Hunter]

The battery bank was in good shape this weekend, but we needed to fire up the generator to charge a bad 4-Wheeler battery, so I used the new Viking 2/8/15 Charger to give the battery bank a boost. What a difference it made being able to charge at 15 amps. Took maybe 15 minutes to get the battery bank up to 14.5v at most. Very happy with the purchase!