Date:         Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:14:40 -0500
Reply-To:     Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
Comments:     RFC822 error: <W> MESSAGE-ID field duplicated. Last occurrence
              was retained.
From:         Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Battery chargers
Comments: To: Troy <colorworks@GCI.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <000601c842ae$35658ed0$0301a8c0@troykv7nw3q4te>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

The Odyssey batteries I know are Absorbed Glass Mat, (AGM) not gel. For
long term float charging, AGM and flooded batteries use slightly different
voltages. You need to make sure the charger does not dry the batteries
out. This charger is a bit too high for AGM. It also is too small to use
as a regular charger during normal usage. (5 amps?) limiting it to
maintenance only. Take a look at some of the progressive dynamics units. A
20-30 amp smart charger would be a better way to go.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Troy
Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 9:16 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Battery chargers

Hi folks:

I'm about to move my Westy outside for the winter, and would prefer to not
have to remove the batteries as they're such a royal pain to put back in.
I have one of the Odyssey gel batteries, as well as a standard battery as
the main.  I've got a switch so that I can link the two together very
easily. So, question is is there a battery charger that can be used for
both gel and regular batteries that is small enough to mount say under the
sink?  Looking for something that I can just leave plugged in, and it will
keep the batteries charged and ready to go.

This is one I was looking at
http://www.batterystuff.com/battery-chargers/brands/chargetek/CT-500-1.htm
l, but maybe there's a cheaper alternative.

TIA,

Troy