I'm going to be doing alot of camping in my 98 chevy conversion van. I want to be able to run my accessories without draining my battery. I'm going to have a powerful stereo so an extra battery wont last. I need an inverter that can convert 12vdc to 120v ac. I guess I would have to disconnect the battery to do this. I also thought I could just hook a battery charger up at all times, but I could overcharge the battery. Any help would be appreciated.

duel batt systum with the #2 batt a deep cycle run the inverter from that one that way when it gets low you still can start the van

In the RV world, a device which converts 120v AC to 12vDC is called a Converter.

Your statement about keeping a battery charger connected leads me to believe that where you will be camping, you will have access to grid power, like at home. If this is what you are looking for, I recommend you google 'Best converters' and find a phone number and talk to Randy.

A Converter is designed to power all your 12 volt loads, and charge the battery(s).

If you do not have access to 120 volt grid power, you will need another battery, or 2, isolated from the engine battery as suggested above.

I have a Schumacher Battery 'intelligent' 3 stage battery charger. If the battery is already fully charged, and I am running relatively small loads, it works as a converter, adjusting it's output to keep the battery voltage in float range@ ~ 13.2 to 13.6 volts.

If the battery is not fully charged, or the amp load varies greatly, it will get confused and go into fault mode.

A converter will not so this. It is designed to keep the batteries voltage steady during changing loads.

They come in different amp configurations. Iota and WFCO are the two best brands AFAIK.

But let me say, If you get one of the old school manual chargers, it will just pump out amps and not care about loads. Whether the voltage will skyrocket or not is another matter. Experiment, and see what happens when you shut the stereo off, like in between songs.

If you go over to RV.net and search for Converter, you will find more info than you can process.

Thanks for the info!

I went on to the iota website. They seem to have nice converters. I'm thinking how I should hook it up. I would probably have to mount somewhere inside vehicle. I would not want exstention cords running out of my van. I would need to run a cord thru my floor and install a waterproof GFCI outlet. I would probably put the converter under my front passenger seat and run the outlet farther back. Then I guess I would run my 12V power to my battery. Then run my ground to the frame, or to the battery. Which would be best? I was planning on getting one of those Optima batteries. Is there a specific battery that I need. Will a converter in anyway shorten the like of my battery?

Do not wast your money with Optima.

Oddessey batteries are about the same price but have 15 to 30% more capacity.
Ideally you want the converter mounted pretty closely to the battery(s) over thick wiring. This increases charging rate, and decreases time to reach full charge. Ground the Battery to the frame, but also run a ground wire directly from the Converter to the battery. The installation directions will say to do this. Some Converters have temperature compensation Probes which attach to the battery, and special settings for AGM batteries, like optima or Oddessey.

The only converters which harm batteries are older Magnatek brand ones or similar. They have too high a float voltage and will boil away the water in a flooded battery, and just overcharge an AGM whose electrolyte cannot be replaced if it is severely overcharged.

It is also not good to always leave the converter on, with the batteries always fully charged. Batteries like occasional excersize, and prompt and full recharging.

My 2 cents.. Optimas are notorious for just dying.. I have an RV that has been connected to grid power for a while now. The converter in it is pretty small unit but has about 8 circuts on it all CAPABLE of 30 amps. The unit is small but very powerful. i will ahve ot get you the actual specs on it. If it gets hot, it has fans that kick on thermostaticly. I have tested it out a few times.. i cranked up ALL 40ish 12v lights in the RV as wel as the bathroom fan. It takes about 5 min and the unit kicks on the fans.. all the lights are old incandecents from 1988. When unplugged, the dual 75 amp/hour batteries will drain from the lights in about 4-5 hours. The converter recharges the batteries if left by itself in about an hour. it's a real healthy unit i tell ya..

ON the other hand, in my van, I was running a 1500watt inverter. I also had an all electronic marine battery charger/conditioner connected to the house battery. Whenever i plugged in to grid power, I had all my 120v accessories switch over to grid. then when i would unplug, I'd ahve a fully charged house battery. A 125 amp hour battery will run one of those electronic mini refrigs for an entire weekend no problem. And at that, it only brought the battery down to 40%. that's enough to kick on the low voltage sensor on the inverter. Whne that happens, I just plug it in, or fire up the van. I put a toggle switch in for the solenoid to attach the house batt to the main batt for charging on the road.

Interesting. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. I'm kinda thinking of being off the grid altogether. I plan on doing alot of camping, so it would save me money in the long run on campsites. I can't haul around a ton of batteries so solar panels would be he only solution. any of you guys have or had a solar panel setup. I know it's common with RV's.

I have a 130 watt solar panel on my van's roof. It is absolutely great in a sunny environment, but small shadows from trees or power lines significantly reduce output. If your campsites are regularly in the shade, your money would be better spent on a nice quiet Honda 1000 watt generator

It is cheaper and easier to conserve power, than generate it. If you plan on using a huge wattage amplified stereo, your gonna need a lot more than 130 watts, and more than 2 batteries.
And while smaller panels can offset usage, batteries should be recharged at 5 to 13 percent of their rated amp hour capacity(20 hour rate).

You will also need to significantly upgrade the alternator wiring for any auxiliary/ house batteries will not see much amperage through the Stock wiring. Trust me when I say that everybody significantly overestimates their alternator's contribution to the battery(s). Idling the engine is almost futile in recharging the batteries, unless the charging system is upgraded, and the alternator's pulley is smaller than stock.

And for those times when you do have access to the grid you will want to hook up a charger, or plug in a converter to blast some amps into the batteries.

I pretty much live off of 12 volts. Feel free to ask any questions

I will throw my agreement in on the Optima batteries. They are all hype. I have two boat anchors in my garage that died 2 months after the warranty on them expired. They only have a 1 year. The one will not take a charge and the other will not hold a charge. Best to get a large deep cycle battery. I used to have one that was on a Coast Guard cutter and they replace them every two years. Lasted me for another 4 years. They are very heavy, very large and probably around the same money as the Optima's