Battery powered battery charger? Will this work?


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Old 12-01-18, 07:53 AM
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Battery powered battery charger? Will this work?

I have a vehicle that i want to store over the winter months. I'm thinking of storing it in a rental storage unit. The storage unit does not have power to run a battery maintainer/charger.

Here's what i'm thinking... I have a small 12v battery from my riding lawn mower. I would get a small inverter, connect it to the battery and connect the battery maintainer to the inverter. I would bring the 12v battery home every so often to recharge it and then return it to the storage unit.

A couple of questions...

Will this work?

What size inverter? I'm not sure how much power the maintainer draws...

About how long do you think the battery will last before i need to recharge it? I know, hard to say, but roughly...

This will be an unheated unit so i think i should put the whole getup in an insulated box (old cooler?) to keep it relatively warm.

Anything i've missed? Good idea/dumb idea?
 
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Old 12-01-18, 08:03 AM
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An inverter would kill your lawnmower battery very quickly. I doubt it would last more than several days.

Usually in a case like that the battery is removed from the vehicle and taken to a place where it can be left on charge.
 
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Old 12-01-18, 08:42 AM
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There is not a thing you will gain from what you are trying to do. You will loose more in process of conversion.


Easiest way will be just disconnecting battery from your vehicle. You only have to remove negative terminal.
With the battery disconnected, there isn't anything drawing current and a fully charged lead acid battery should hold charge for at least 6 months without needing to recharge.
 
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Old 12-01-18, 08:53 AM
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if you disconnect the battery from the vehicle and it is in a clean space that doesn't have a lot of dust to build up and cause a surface discharge you really shouldn't have to charge very often they set on store shelves for several months before they are even sold. if its a large battery and you dont want to mess with dragging it home just charge it with your running vehicle and jumper cables for 15 minutes.
 
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Old 12-01-18, 09:11 AM
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Got it! Thanks guys, great suggestions.
 
 

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