Trickle charger options

[rogerfe]

I moved from SF Bay area to New Jersey. My motorcycle is parked in the garage in my apt building but there is no outlet nearby. Does anyone know of a charger that is battery operated that I could recharge in my apt when it needed recharging, but could be used in garage to keep my battery up?

Thanks

 

[happy wanderer]

I moved from SF Bay area to New Jersey. My motorcycle is parked in the garage in my apt building but there is no outlet nearby. Does anyone know of a charger that is battery operated that I could recharge in my apt when it needed recharging, but could be used in garage to keep my battery up?

Thanks

Never heard of a battery operated battery charger but they might be out there! But then where you gonna recharge the rechargeable battery charger battery? In the apartment probably...?

There might be a bike battery charging in your hallway in the near future..

 

[20774]

I thought that one option for green energy was to store solar/wind power in large capacitors inside the house and then release the energy from the capacitors as needed. Think Elon Musk.

You could google "capacitors as battery chargers" and see if there's anything there you could use.

 

[gsaddict]

A deep discharge marine battery can be connected to the bike to increase AH and slow down the parasitic drain on the bikes battery.
This won't recharge your bike battery but will keep the system voltage up for a much longer time.
Take upstairs periodically to fully recharge when the system voltage drops below 12.5v
Not a perfect solution but workable.

 

[junkjohn]

Check out https://themicrostart.com/ They make a great jump starter that can be used for charging also.

 

[montec]

Presuming there is some form of lighting (natural or artificial), a solar maintenance charger would help minimize parasitic discharge also. The size of the solar panel could be adjusted for the available lighting.

Just a thought.

 

[pglaves]

A deep discharge marine battery can be connected to the bike to increase AH and slow down the parasitic drain on the bikes battery.
This won't recharge your bike battery but will keep the system voltage up for a much longer time.
Take upstairs periodically to fully recharge when the system voltage drops below 12.5v
Not a perfect solution but workable.

I think this is an excellent option. It can be made almost plug-n-play with a SAE 2 pole connector at the bike and likewise at the battery. Connect + to + and - to -. A big boat or RV battery ought to last a couple of months I would guess, before needing to be recharged unless something is wrong with the bike. Maybe one of our electrical engineering gurus could calculate how long a 100 amp hour RV battery might remain usefull with a bike's typical milliamp draw.

 

[Omega Man]

My 2 cents-
Power transfer from one battery to another will be cumbersome. If you are riding once a month, add another battery in parrell with the onboard battery and put it in the luggage (appropriately wired). A large battery would be nice but will need charging and moving batteries around is a PITA. From the clothing rot from brushing the battery on your clothing to security of the battery, a lot of work.
I would try a cosmetically colored cord run down or up from a willing 110V outlet.
OM

 

[75450]

A deep discharge marine battery can be connected to the bike to increase AH and slow down the parasitic drain on the bikes battery.
This won't recharge your bike battery but will keep the system voltage up for a much longer time.
Take upstairs periodically to fully recharge when the system voltage drops below 12.5v
Not a perfect solution but workable.

I also like this idea, for when there is absolutely no elec outlet nearby and no sunshine for a solar-powered charger.

A question: If the bike's onboard battery is low and you hook-up an outboard battery, as you suggest, won't the outboard battery raise the charge on the onboard (bike's) battery also? At least until the charges of both batteries are the same? An equilibrium point? They will both equalize somewhere in between the low charge of the bike's battery and the original high charge of the outboard battery?

 

[gsaddict]

I also like this idea, for when there is absolutely no elec outlet nearby and no sunshine for a solar-powered charger.

A question: If the bike's onboard battery is low and you hook-up an outboard battery, as you suggest, won't the outboard battery raise the charge on the onboard (bike's) battery also? At least until the charges of both batteries are the same? An equilibrium point? They will both equalize somewhere in between the low charge of the bike's battery and the original high charge of the outboard battery?

Correct

 

[Omega Man]

If you decide to use a full size battery (deep-cycle) group 24, 27 etc, I would use a good fuse and holder as close to the full size battery as possible. An inadvertent short will turn the wire used to connect the two batteries red hot until something gives
OM

 

[75450]

If you decide to use a full size battery (deep-cycle) group 24, 27 etc, I would use a good fuse and holder as close to the full size battery as possible. An inadvertent short will turn the wire used to connect the two batteries red hot until something gives
OM

Won't the main fuse, just "down-circuit" from the bike's battery, be sufficient?

 

[Omega Man]

Won't the main fuse, just "down-circuit" from the bike's battery, be sufficient?

Maybe if the problem was on the bike side of things. Think of a set of jumper cables. If you hook them up and touch them together there is a spark......hook them together and there is a fire. Especially true with the amperage available from a full size battery.
OM

 

[tmass]

So I was thinking an option for my bike related to this. My 96 RT in which I removed the din style radio. There are a few AGM/gel or even better lithium batteries that will fit in the glove box ( and are strong enough). One could run a second set of leads (in parallel) from main battery to glove box Take that battery and charge it in your apartment then place it in glove box and connect leads. I was thinking about this the last time I was taking off my Tupperware to do a 3 second job lol.

 

[gsaddict]

So I was thinking an option for my bike related to this. My 96 RT in which I removed the din style radio. There are a few AGM/gel or even better lithium batteries that will fit in the glove box ( and are strong enough). One could run a second set of leads (in parallel) from main battery to glove box Take that battery and charge it in your apartment then place it in glove box and connect leads. I was thinking about this the last time I was taking off my Tupperware to do a 3 second job lol.

The RTP's had this option with an isolation relay.
Isolation would need to be removed and the wiring upsized to accommodate cranking amps if the object is to increase AH capacity.

 

[gsaddict]

Check out https://themicrostart.com/ They make a great jump starter that can be used for charging also.[/QUOTE

The object is to keep the bikes battery up and not to allow it to deep discharge which will shorten it's life.
You need to leave it permanently connected to increase AH. Those units (lithium) typically have high surge current capacity but low AH ratings.

Eg:
My Odyssey PC680 (AGM) is rated at 16AH, the replacement Shorai (Lithium) has a rating of 7AH

 

[75450]

The RTP's had this option with an isolation relay.
Isolation would need to be removed and the wiring upsized to accommodate cranking amps if the object is to increase AH capacity.

Yes. The wiring hooking two batteries (in parallel OF COURSE) with the intent of cranking the starter would have to be as least as robust as the current battery wiring. Would this amperage upgrade be OK with the starter motor?

 

[gsaddict]

Yes. The wiring hooking two batteries (in parallel OF COURSE) with the intent of cranking the starter would have to be as least as robust as the current battery wiring. Would this amperage upgrade be OK with the starter motor?

Yes, the motor will only draw what it needs. All you are doing is increasing the time that the starter is able to crank the motor (not that you need it under normal conditions)

 

[75450]

Yes, the motor will only draw what it needs. All you are doing is increasing the time that the motor is able to crank the motor (not that you need it under normal conditions)

Ah yes. Physics 101. Thanks -- I often forget Ohm's Law: V = IR.

 

[chrisinsc]

128CEC1 model BatteryMinder - does it all