Trik-L charge

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Trik-L charge

December 08, 2014, 05:36:58 pm

Will trik-L charge battery charger work with AGM starter batteries and Gel house batteries? The Xantrex
echo charger indicates the battery types should be the same. I just recently replaced my Prosine inverter/charger with a Xantrex freedom inverter/charger and now I need to keep the start batteries (Optima red tops) charged.
Thanks for any information.
Richard Anderson
1999 U320 40' build 5586

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #1 – December 08, 2014, 05:52:54 pm

Ultra TRIK-L-START Starting Battery Charger/Maintainer

If this is what you have it will do a very nice job.

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #2 – December 08, 2014, 05:53:14 pm

yes. Allways good to keep both banks the same though.
JohnH

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #3 – December 08, 2014, 07:02:32 pm

I like the dedicated battery minder 1500, disappointed with an Eco charger and trim-l-start reliability in past. Only works if plugged in to shore power of course, while other the diode based chargers work off house batteries whether plugged in or not

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #4 – December 08, 2014, 07:53:06 pm

Richard, the answer to your question yes. Nice to have both banks with same type of batteries, but many, including us have GEL house and AGM start and nobody has a problem with this mix. Trik-L-Charge is a good choice. We have had one for over 10 years.

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #5 – December 08, 2014, 08:21:33 pm

I think this is better than all of them.....and it replaces the diode isolator as well.

Combiner 160 Sheet

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #6 – December 08, 2014, 08:25:26 pm

My Trik-L-Start has been going for probably 9 years now, keeping my 2002 Yellow Top AGMs happy. House batteries are Gel. No problems at all.

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #7 – December 09, 2014, 10:35:59 am

My setup is the same as Brad's. No problems for 3+ years.

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #8 – December 09, 2014, 10:45:15 am

I asked Keith Risch at MOT what he recommended- it was the ECO charger. I had him put it in for me.

Keith is one of the top guys and has forgotten more than I will ever know about my Foretravel. If he says that is the way to go, I have no reason to question him.

Other things work too, I am just telling you my choice and why.

Ted

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #9 – December 09, 2014, 01:15:32 pm

Does the boost switch allow the chassis batteries to stay charged or do I have to have a trickle charger installed?

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #10 – December 09, 2014, 01:36:22 pm

The boost switch is NOT a good permanent solution to chassis battery charging, IMO.

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #11 – December 09, 2014, 04:01:31 pm

Quote from: wolfe10 – December 09, 2014, 01:36:22 pm

The boost switch is NOT a good permanent solution to chassis battery charging, IMO.

What type and brand of charger do you recommend?
Thanks
Terry

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #12 – December 09, 2014, 06:58:31 pm

If no prevision made for charging the chassis battery, here is what I use:
BatteryMINDer Model 2012: 12Volt 2 Amp (12V 2A) Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #13 – December 09, 2014, 07:36:43 pm

Quote from: krush – December 08, 2014, 08:21:33 pm

I think this is better than all of them.....and it replaces the diode isolator as well.

Combiner 160 Sheet

This looks good, I might try one. But my battery minder is doing the job nicely.

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #14 – December 09, 2014, 07:39:29 pm

Ultra Trik-L-Start.

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #15 – December 09, 2014, 07:44:23 pm

Our coach is in storage at a RV storage facility. Once a week I go to the coach, plug in shore power, turn on the Inverter/charger's battery charger, turn on the boost switch, and charge the batteries for two hours. I then turn off the boost switch, turn off the battery charger, and then unplug shore power.

The next week I go to the coach and repeat the process.

What is wrong with this process?

Larry

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #16 – December 09, 2014, 11:34:52 pm

Quote from: wolfe10 – December 09, 2014, 06:58:31 pm

If no prevision made for charging the chassis battery, here is what I use:
BatteryMINDer Model 2012: 12Volt 2 Amp (12V 2A) Charger/Maintainer/Desulfator

I agree with Brett's recommendation. I use a BatteryTender Waterproof Power Tender Plus 12V @ 5A. It works well. If I were to replace it, I would probably choose the BatteryMinder because it includes the desulphator function.

Before I bought the the BatteryTender, I used the "Boost" switch. It works, but the charger is a better solution.

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #17 – December 10, 2014, 12:10:14 am

I have three red top optima's.

Had two Trik-L-Starts on my U-270.Â Each failed after about a year.Â Killed a set of Optima's.

2000 U-320 came with Xantrax Echo Charger.Â Had a green LED that showed it was "charging" - killed TWO sets of red tops (3 batteries each time) before I realized that it was intermittent.

Ripped it out and gave it to someone on the forum who confirmed it was intermittent.

Bought BatteryMinder 1500.Â Charges all three, de sulfates all three, temperature compensated.Â Batteries always ready to go, very happy now.

Trik-L-Start really only good if plugged in (or I guess if you use Genny auto start), same as battery minder 1500.

Lots of folks like Trik-L-Start and Xantrax Echo charger, as you might imagine, I am not one of them.

As Dave M says - Do what makes you happy!!!

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #18 – December 10, 2014, 10:48:11 am

Thanks to all for the information. Interesting how different ways can be effective. Thanks again.
Richard Anderson
1999 U320 40' build 5586

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #19 – December 10, 2014, 12:33:11 pm

I installed this one:

Amazon.com: BatteryMINDer 12 Volt 2/4/8 Amp Wet/Gel/AGM Battery Charger:

Put it under the bed where the ATS is. Cables reach to the breaker box for 120v and to the batteries for 12v with extra left over. Set it to your battery type and forget it.

Keith

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Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #20 – February 24, 2021, 05:09:05 pm

My 7 year old 5 amp Trik-l-start finally started acting up and charging intermittently so I upgraded to the Mega 10 amp Trik-L-Start.

This model also has a low battery light and a beeper. It's almost out of sight out of mind, and you can disable the beeper if you want to. One year warranty, but I hope to get at least 7 years out of this one!

Jerry

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #21 – February 24, 2021, 05:45:30 pm

Jerry,

Have you seen what the float voltage is after a day or so?

Pierce

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #22 – February 24, 2021, 06:50:19 pm

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – February 24, 2021, 05:45:30 pm

Jerry,

Have you seen what the float voltage is after a day or so?

Pierce

Not sure but I'll watch it for the next couple of days. Let you know!

Jerry

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #23 – February 24, 2021, 08:28:55 pm

Mine have stopped lighting up , however they are still charging. Might be time for me as well.

Re: Trik-L charge

Reply #24 – February 24, 2021, 09:14:35 pm

Quote from: Andy 2 – February 24, 2021, 08:28:55 pm

Mine have stopped lighting up , however they are still charging. Might be time for me as well.

Andy,

Instructions say that one of the lights should be on while in use. If still not on after cleaning and checking the connections, especially the black ground wire I would replace it. My old one was acting the same way.

10 amp charging and the low battery beeper made the upgrade worth it to me!

Jerry

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