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Old 10-19-2014, 08:51 AM   #1
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Batteries

Friday night my house batteries gave up about 2:00 am and we had no heat. Of all the MH's I've owned, I could run the furnace for a couple days without running the batteries down. Saturday I ran the generator for an hour before we went to bed just take sure they were fully charged. Same thing. By 2:am the furnace quit. Everything electric was off except the furnace. This is a new mh but I'm thinking the Interstate batteries aren't up to the task.
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Old 10-19-2014, 09:22 AM   #2
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You probably don't have true (thick plate) Deep cycle batteries. Newmar probably installed Marine/RV (thin plate) deep cycle batteries. They are not the same, Marine/ RV (thin plate) deep cycle batteries are starting batteries with the characteristics of a deep cycle battery. The most important rating to look at for true deep cycle batteries is the 20 hr rating, the higher the better. If the battery has Cold Cranking Amp rating (CCA) it is basically a starting battery. Contact Newmar or your dealer and demand they install true thick plate deep cycle batteries, not Marine/RV deep cycle batteries.

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Old 10-19-2014, 09:23 AM   #3
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Sounds like your batteries were not fully charged or even one may have a bad cell and needs to be replaced. Even if they are new, one could be defective and have a bad cell which causes the problem. I had interstates for 9 years and now have costco batteries, but we always use shore power when camping which eliminates this type of potential problem.
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Old 10-19-2014, 09:31 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chboone View Post
You probably don't have true (thick plate) Deep cycle batteries. Newmar probably installed Marine/RV (thin plate) deep cycle batteries. They are not the same, Marine/ RV (thin plate) deep cycle batteries are starting batteries with the characteristics of a deep cycle battery. The most important rating to look at for true deep cycle batteries is the 20 hr rating, the higher the better. If the battery has Cold Cranking Amp rating (CCA) it is basically a starting battery. Contact Newmar or your dealer and demand they install true thick plate deep cycle batteries, not Marine/RV deep cycle batteries.

Chuck
Good idea. I think I'll do that.
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Old 10-19-2014, 09:37 AM   #5
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I'm with the others that say the batteries probably weren't charged all the way. One hour of generator running would only help top off if already close to being charged. With moderate furnace settings and outdoor temps it seems like you could get through the night with maybe less than 50 amps/hrs. That's just a wild guestimate though. Even a couple of Marine batteries could do that for a while. Many people use them for their trolling motors after all.

Make sure the batteries are getting 14 plus volts when plugged into shore power and discharged some. Even if you don't have solar you would really love having the Trimetric meter installed to show your current battery usage and charge percentage.
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Old 10-19-2014, 10:22 AM   #6
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If your dry camping 1 hour of Gen charge will not do it for you, if your plugged in batteries should be fully charged.
Here is info on the batteries in a Newmar coach.
Here is the Bird System you will have in your gas coach.
If you have the slides out I would not move them unless you have the
GEN running so they have a full 12v's to move them.
If your house batteries are low you may not get GEN started because they start your GEN on a gas coach.
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Old 10-19-2014, 12:10 PM   #7
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Hi rodz,
Before jumping on Newmar for installing the wrong batteries, consider making sure what the Newmar owners posted has been considered. I find it amusing when non Newmar owners post in a Newmar Owners forum with comments that might very well lead you down a very wrong path. Be very careful before taking any advice from a non Newmar Owner. After owning a Newmar coach since 05 and working closely with Newmar on a variety of topics, my money is on a bad battery or the batteries are not at fully charge. It takes quite a while to charge coach batteries.

There is one other possibility. This is remote but worth thinking about. Depending on:
1. how many coach batteries you have
2. how cold was it
3. how much "other" drain was on the batteries
There may be a problem with the BIRD system or connection or some other charging problem.
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Old 10-19-2014, 12:36 PM   #8
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I'm not a Newmar owner yet (2015 Ventana on order) but am a bit of a self proclaimed battery nut.

As others here have stated, I suspect either a bad battery and/or your batteries were not fully charged. During charging, the voltage should first read somewhere around 14.8 volts. After the battery reaches full charge, the voltage will usually be held at 13.2-4 volts. Monitor your voltage during charging, your batteries are not fully charged until the footage drops down to that 13.3 "float" voltage. One hour on the generator isn't enough to fully charge a bank of house batteries.

Also it's quite easy to permanently damage a flooded acid battery if you've run them down to less than 50% charge (12.2 volts).

The one "custom" order we did on our ventana was to add all AGM batteries. They are truly maintenance free and have a much lower self discharge rate.
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Old 10-19-2014, 01:06 PM   #9
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There are a lot of things that factor into battery life.
First: For this discussion it really does not matter if they are "Thick Plate DEEP CYCLE" or paper thing plate starting batteries,,, A Group 24 is about 75 amp hours (Unless it is an Optima, than it's only 50)

Flooded wet, Maintenance Free, AGM, all the same capacity wise, Save as noted above.

SO what is the advantage of a DEEP CYCLE: Well a starting battery run down to say 20% State of charge.. Very likely toast.. A DEEP CYCLE, does not care for that, Running it below 50% WILL cost you life (Higher percentages on other types) but.. IT stands the BEST chance of remaining useful.. Which mine did, for 9 years.

But.. People say "Batteries" I already mentioned a Group 24 that is a common 12 volt battery.... 75 amp hours.. LESS common is a 4d (230 amp hours at 12 volt) and there are still larger ones

And many in between.

So what batteries do you have.. I mean I have a 12 volt AGM here that's less than 20 amp hours. (Bunch smaller too) In fact I have a few of 'em.

Now you have your Furnace.. one or two? You have control power for the Fridge, and Water heater, on the old rig these may not have used 12 volt may have used mechanical controls, you have control power for "other stuff" you may have an Inverter, and of course more lights.

These all put a load on ye old power source (Batteries)
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Old 10-19-2014, 01:08 PM   #10
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I don't think it was from not having a full charge. The first night they died in 4 hrs. That was after driving for nearly 5 hrs. The 2nd night I ran the generator for an hr before bed just to make sure it was fully charged and the volt gauge showed 12.8 volts. I'm inclined to think it's either a bad battery or the wrong ones.
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Old 10-19-2014, 01:28 PM   #11
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Interstate batteries
SRM 24
550 CCA
690 MCA
Only one furnace with everything else electric turned off.
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Old 10-19-2014, 01:32 PM   #12
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batteries

Quote:
Originally Posted by rodz View Post
I don't think it was from not having a full charge. The first night they died in 4 hrs. That was after driving for nearly 5 hrs. The 2nd night I ran the generator for an hr before bed just to make sure it was fully charged and the volt gauge showed 12.8 volts. I'm inclined to think it's either a bad battery or the wrong ones.

Unfortunately each time the batteries are run down until they die, the batteries loose capacity. They may already be shot. For the best health of deep cycle batteries, they shouldn't ever be discharged below 50% (12.2 volts).
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Old 10-19-2014, 02:43 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rodz View Post
Interstate batteries
SRM 24
550 CCA
690 MCA
Only one furnace with everything else electric turned off.
Rode

The batteries are Marine 12v. How many house batteries do you have?

Here's some info from Interstate:
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Old 10-19-2014, 02:56 PM   #14
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why have deep cycle batteries if you have recharge at 50%
always thought you could run them down eg trolling
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