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Xantrax Echo Charger - The End

October 26, 2013, 10:18:12 pm

OK, I had a Trik-L-Start in U-270, worked good for 14 months and then quit.  Got another one and it went with the coach when I sold it.  U-270  came with a Xantrax "echo Charger" which always showed a green light indicator, which meant it was charging my three optimal and keeping them topped off.

History - Leave coach in FL plugged in for Mom to stay in, go down in Spring to bring coach home, Optimas dead and shot.  Replace optimas.  Leave coach in Hanger in WI.  Come up after a month, Optimas dead, charge and run around, but obvious not staying charged with echo charger.  Look at echo charger, green light on indicating charge occurring.

Take coach to MOT and Parliament, they confirm that yes I have an Echo charger and yeas it is working.  (Maybe they just looked at the red light too.  Leave coach in FL following winter, and come back in spring to find three more ruined optimas.

Give up on Echo charger and buy Trik-lStart.  Do some more research and settle on a dedicated "Battery Minder" unit with temp compensation, and desulfation that can keep up to four batteries in series topped off.  Have that unit installed and my Echocharger removed at Tennesee RV.

End result, I sent Echoc harger to Michael J on the forum, who has played with it and confirms it works for a whilw and then quits charging.  But of course green light doesn't go out.  Leave bus sit for a month.  Go to start, spins over as well as it ever has (I cleaned all the terminals real well and put lock washers on the terminal bolts too.  Big positive change.

Not crazy about any diode based charger to keep batteries up (echo charger or trick-l-charge).  For my money, I take the battery Minder over any of the alternatives, both of which I have personal experience with.

Here is a link to the battery Minder, about the same $ as Trik - l start and less than a Xantrax echo charge.

BatteryMINDer Model 1500 12 Volt 1.5 Amp

Expensive lesson, and I am in no way connected with the manufacturer or this vendor.  I actually think I bought mine on Amazon using prime.

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Re: Xantrax Echo Charger - The End

Reply #1 – October 27, 2013, 07:23:24 am

Tim,

Did you buy the $100 worth of Y connectors and ring terminal connectors?

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Re: Xantrax Echo Charger - The End

Reply #2 – October 27, 2013, 10:05:37 am

No, actually I called them and they said attach at the ends of the v=bus bars, one positive and one negative. They also said this charger was good to go for Optima red tops.

So far, so good.....

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Re: Xantrax Echo Charger - The End

Reply #3 – October 27, 2013, 01:54:39 pm

Perhaps you've found a solution to a problem that caused a lot of frustration and business for battery sellers.

I use the Battery Tender Plus 5A charger/maintainer (Waterproof Power Tender Plus 12V @ 5A - Batterytender.com) for the Red Top starting batteries. It is mounted on the bed pedestal inside the coach. It will maintain the start batteries whenever there 120VAC available at the outlet into which it is plugged. Appears to be similar to the Battery Minder, but doesn't have the desulfating pulser.

According to the digital volt meter plugged into 12VDC outlet in the dash, it floats the batteries at 13.4 volts. Sometimes it will bring the voltage up to about 14.4 volts before it goes into float mode. I think it depends on the DC voltage it sees when if turns on (when 120VAC power is supplied to its input). I've had good results using the 1.5A Battery Tender on my motorcycles, which use AGM batteries.

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Re: Xantrax Echo Charger - The End

Reply #4 – October 27, 2013, 02:36:33 pm

That is the exact model we use on many generator sets or the 24 VDC model, they have a good track record for us, buy them by the case.  Have used the 800 ma waterproof version, they do good until you start a med to large engine with them on line, they cannot handle the surge of much over about  25 kw size engine.

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Re: Xantrax Echo Charger - The End

Reply #5 – October 28, 2013, 09:14:09 am

JD,

Agree with you 200%, using BatteryMinder instead of BatteryTender for desolation feature.

I think I own about 5 battery Tender Jr's for Boat, Motorcycle, and various other small batteries around here. Very happy with product at $23 from Amazon prime.

Thought I should try this at 2X the price for the Optiimas. My BatteryMinder is also plugged into the brown outlet underneath bead, wires routed to main lug positive and negative connections. As I said, so far, so good. The specs on the BattteryMinder are as follows (and it is temperature compensated, with a remote lead if you choose to add that for the temp monitor, I did not, since the engine area is outside the coach, same as the batteries.

Min. Voltage to start charge 3.0V Charge Voltage 14.4 Volts
Float Voltage 13.4 Volts

Max rate 1.5 Amps.

Will check back on this topic after I get down there, it will have been sitting 6 weeks.

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Re: Xantrax Echo Charger - The End

Reply #6 – October 28, 2013, 02:24:23 pm

The value of trikl charge or solar is that batteries are kept up when there is no powered charging option. I have a 2 amp additional charge outlet on my solar charger. I may wire that to the chassis batteries eventually.

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Re: Xantrax Echo Charger - The End

Reply #7 – October 28, 2013, 03:39:24 pm

I can run the Battery Tender from the Freedom 25 inverter. That trades a considerable load on the house batteries to keep the chassis batteries topped up.

We have one solar panel hard wired to the house batteries via the refrigerator power block. It was on the coach when we bought it. I don't expect it to be a significant contributor of power to the system. I've never done any specific checks regarding it's output. We seldom boondock, and remain on 50A shore power when parked at home. The Freedom 25 maintains the house batteries and the Battery Tender maintains the chassis batteries.

There are lots of ways to "get 'r done." We've found a way that is working well for our patterns of use and storage.

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Re: Xantrax Echo Charger - The End

Reply #8 – October 28, 2013, 03:45:07 pm

HMMMMMM. What keeps house batteries up to power trickle charger if no solar or shore power.......?

I am always plugged in when not Boondocking or on the road, so a 120V solution is best fit for me.

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