Hi Stuart--
Following this battery thread, If you have a true deep cycle battery they
need a different type of charge that the converter should provide.
Converters not only convert 110V AC to 12V DC but act as charger for deep
cycle batteries. These units are made to give a true deep cycle the type of
charge they need (high voltage ). In fact at one time we had golf cart
batteries for our cabin and when we switched from a Sears wheel charger
(like the ones that service stations have) to a small converter for charging
the difference was astonishing. We even had a converter hooked up to a 12V
pump to pump water out of a spring using a generator.
While a trickle charger will keep the starting battery in good shape in idle
times the rear battery should be hooked up to shore power--if not full time
,since I'm not sure what kind of taper these particular units are set up
for, at least a couple of days a month and a couple of days before a trip.
I think that the jumper idea is good for short term stuff (like helping get
started ) but I wouldn't do it long term without researching the solenoid
specs first.
Hope this helps
Forest
