Hi all
I've been reading lots of battery threads the morning (All of them? I need to get a life.) and would appreciate a reality check before I go out and do something to ruin my battery.
I have a 2006 lifeline battery and have been driving for a couple of thousand miles since I got the SMB used. Most of the time recently, I have been running the starcool since it has been around 105 F. in these parts. Van is 1995 and has the original Power Source 45 charger. The Power Source manual swears it puts out a fixed 14 volts but the box itself says 12 volt maximum output.
The house battery voltage is 12.42 at the terminals directly (or about 60% charged-not good) when 120 volt is not hooked up. The reading when plugged into 120 volt is 13.23. I can't get at the back of the Power Source to visualize it so I have not tested the output voltage there but I suspect it is the same as at the battery terminals (poking multimeter probes around when I can't see clearly and I'm plugged into 120 volt is beyond my expertise
)
I have read that the alternator will never completely charge the battery and understand why.
I have plugged into the 120 volt for the first time this morning and the 13.23 volts at the battery leads me to believe I'm am charging/topping off. If so, it the correct answer to plug in once a week or month or so to maximize battery life? Alternatively, will plugging in full time overcharge in the absence of a smart charger/controller. The Power Source doesn't give any indication that it is smart. No trickle charge mentioned.
There is a cheap 5 watt solar panel from harbor freight. Is this a good (cheap) option for keeping the battery topped off? Do I just hook it up to the positive and negative and forget about it forever or is it more complicated than that (blocking diode needed? other issues?) I'd rather not have the cord running out to the van fulltime.
Most importantly, will buying a small solar panel and leaving it hooked up cook my battery? Will leaving it plugged in cook my battery?
My needs are pretty basic at this point. I use mostly led stand alone sylvania dot-it dimmable lighting and D-cell fans. I carry a good ice chest.
The only loads on the battery occasional lighting, the water pump, occasional fan, backup/supplemental for the fridge and starcool when driving(???). I may add to this later (e.g. laptop charging).
Any input appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Tom