# Does The Power Center /inverter Charge The Battery



## vgorilla (Oct 28, 2013)

I'm a new camper owner, and glad to have found this forum.

It's a newbie question, but does the inverter charge the battery when hooked up to shore power? 
Also, does the battery charge via the trailer electrical harness when towing?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

vgorilla said:


> Also, does the battery charge via the trailer electrical harness when towing?


Depends on how your wiring is configured and if your truck is enabled for it (some needs a special fuse). However, this is trickle charge and would take a long time to fully charge a battery.


----------



## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

and to add what oregon camper mentioned.

What you have is a "converter" not "inverter". So as to not add confusion to others and clarify for you. The "converter" changes 120VAC to 12V DC. An "Inverter" does the opposite, changes 12VDC to 120VAC.


----------



## Tangooutback (Apr 16, 2010)

If you plug a standard car battery charger into the trailer battery while it is on shore power, is that going to damage the converter or is it going to make it faster to charge up the battery?


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Tangooutback said:


> If you plug a standard car battery charger into the trailer battery while it is on shore power, is that going to damage the converter or is it going to make it faster to charge up the battery?


Both will become confused and neither will charge correctly. Part of the charge function is sensing battery voltage, then pushing the correct voltage and current to the battery. If you have two separate chargers then one will end up making the other think the voltage is okay and thus fully charged, so at best only one will provide a charge.


----------



## vgorilla (Oct 28, 2013)

Thanks for the clarification. I'm going to add a battery cutoff switch so hopefully charging the battery won't be an issue in the future, and check the harness for power.

As an aside, I picked up this nifty jump starter/air compressor/etc at Walmart. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-Electric-6-in-1-Jump-Starter/25955544
Reviews say quality is hit or miss, so I'll test it thoroughly during the return period.


----------



## W5CI (Apr 21, 2009)

I am confused, why are you concerned about the battery unless you are dry camping, the converter keeps the battery at full charge while hooked to shore power, if the battery is dead or going bad only replaceing it will help,. good luck And Welcome to the site


----------



## vgorilla (Oct 28, 2013)

In the one day I've owned it, I almost ran the battery down not knowing how to turn everything off. [and discovered that this isn't possible as-is] I finally disconnected the battery, but had no idea how/if it would recharge. Yes, will be doing some dry camping. Thanks.


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

vgorilla said:


> Thanks for the clarification. I'm going to add a battery cutoff switch so hopefully charging the battery won't be an issue in the future, and check the harness for power.
> 
> As an aside, I picked up this nifty jump starter/air compressor/etc at Walmart. http://www.walmart.c...tarter/25955544
> Reviews say quality is hit or miss, so I'll test it thoroughly during the return period.


I will tell you that Schumacher battery is AWESOME!!! I have one...bought one for my sister and brother-in-law for Christmas last year. They last forever!! If you take gadgets camping, I'd recommend using this to charge them vs. using the 12v plug to a 110v inverter.


----------



## Hawks on the Road (Nov 10, 2013)

does it hurt the converter to run it without a battery? I will remove the battery for the winter but have the ability to plug into 110 v if I need to go into the trailer during storage.Do I need to have the battery in place when plugged in/


----------



## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

08-31FQBHS-MIch said:


> does it hurt the converter to run it without a battery? I will remove the battery for the winter but have the ability to plug into 110 v if I need to go into the trailer during storage.Do I need to have the battery in place when plugged in/


Well.... This is one question that doesn't have a "yes" or "no" answer. It's a "depends" answer.

It "depends" on which converter you have. Many will function just fine without a battery, and run 12V devices just fine without a battery, the DC output is "filtered" to be a pretty good DC source, and the converter is designed to operate with or without a battery. Others require a batter to be hooked up to them, probably a minority of them.

However, even those that are designed to be able to be run without a battery, likely won't run slides, tongue jacks, or stabilizer jacks unless a battery is hooked up. they often can't supply enough current to run these high current draw devices by themselves. Lights, fans, etc. no problem.

Best thing to do is to look at the manual for the converter, or look online at the mfg website.

Many trailers come with a WFCO converter from the factory. many of the WFCO's are designed to be run without a battery. But again, you'll need to check to make sure.

Or, you could install a battery disconnect switch if the trailer doesn't already have one and disconnect the battery when in storage and turn it back "on" when you turn on shore power.


----------



## Hawks on the Road (Nov 10, 2013)

X2
A good idea would be to install the battery disconnect switch in the line after it leaves the tongue area so the trailer emergency brakes can't accidentally be left disconnect. Good Luck.
[/quote]

Thanks for the advice. Most of the battery connectors are designed to attach to or work directly on the battery leads from the battery post. Are the brakes normally on or off when not powered? I assume off since wheel chocks are seen frequently on parked trailers. If I install the battery disconnect at the battery cable, won't the trailer brakes still work when connected to the tow vehicle?


----------

