Batteries

rivrduk · 12-13-2010, 07:25 AM

I keep my MH plugged into shore power all winter, and i am wondering if the batteries are in danger of freezing. I had a bumper pull that i kept plugged in before the MH and i never had any problem with my battery. It was always good the next spring. I live in Southern Okie land 90 miles north of Dallas and it almost never gets to the single digits in the wintertime. It does get to freezing though several times during the winter. The batteries stay fully charged and, i check the water lever regularly in the house batteries. I do not want to take the batteries out if i dont have too, because i would never get them hooked up correctly in the spring. Looks a little complicated. Would some kind of heat in the storage area work and if so does anyone have a suggestion for this. Thanks, Rivrduk

az bound · 12-13-2010, 08:09 AM

There is no reason you should have to remove the batteries if the charge is maintained. Charged batteries will not freeze, just watch the water level.
Heating the battery compartment is not necessary if they are well maintained .

Monacoach · 12-13-2010, 08:49 AM

I live in Canada and currently do not have coach plugged into shore power ( by choice).... I check batteries every two weeks and will charge when they drop below 90 percent charge. My batteries wont freeze using this method ( I hope). You are ahead of me in that your climate is much warmer plus you are not letting your batteries go down at all.

wa8yxm · 12-13-2010, 11:32 AM

Ok, A motor home has two sets of batteries (normally, some have more) HOUSE and CHASSIS.. Now on many motor homes plugging it in charges all batteries.. Mine is like that. and many motor homes have first rate 3-stage chargers that know how to baby those old wet cells too, again, mine has that.

HOWEVER: Some motor homes the house charger does NOT keep the engine battery charged...... If you have one then there are two devices.. 1: Trick-l-Start, 2: Echo Charger (I recommend the first, lower cost) that will do the job for you.

And some do not have good 3-stage converters.. (Usually older rigs) may have older single stage like the Magnetek 6300 power center/converter... Those will, in time, damage the batteries if left plugged in all winter.

On my coach.. Well, since 2009 we have been living in it full time, but winter of 2007-8 and 2008-9 it stayed in my back yard, on the pad and the only time it was NOT plugged into mains power was when the power failed and I had to use the Motor Home generator to light up (And more importantly heat) the house.

Theberrys · 12-13-2010, 12:18 PM

Duk

We have a 99 Tradewinds and I leave it plugged in all winter. I do check the water monthly. Here in Albuquerque the weather is mu8ch the same as you described. If you have a charger/ inverter that looks like this one then it's a three stage model and will keep your batteries in good shape all winter. I'm into my third winter without problems.

Dick

rivrduk · 12-14-2010, 09:16 AM

I have a freedom 458, and the tech i talked to about it told me it was the best one they make. I know it has two breaker switches on the unit itself and is supposed to charge both the house and cabin batteries. Thanks for your answer. Rivrduk

rivrduk · 12-14-2010, 09:18 AM

The Tech for the freedom 458 inverter that i have told me it was the best one that they make, and i know it charges both the house and chassis batteries. Thanks, Rivrduk

garym114 · 12-14-2010, 10:15 PM

A battery in good condition, fully charged will not freeze.
Make sure the chassis battery is being charged also.

Theberrys · 12-15-2010, 09:27 AM

Duk

My 99 Tradewinds charges both sets of batteries when plugged in. One way to check is to measure both battery voltages when unplugged and then again just after you plug the coach in. If both sets show an increase in voltage after plugging the coach in then the charger is charging both sets. If the chassis batteries remain the same then there not being charged and you should use some kind of battery minder for them. I really don't know which the best minder is since I haven't needed one.

My charger has settings for the different kind of batteries so it's important when it comes time to buy new ones I choose the same kind for all six batteries.

Dick

rivrduk · 01-05-2011, 08:10 AM

Mine does not look like yours, mine has two breaker switches on the front. One is 15 and one is 20. Both say ac out though. My 4 6-volt house batteries read on my meter 14.4 while plugged into shore power and 13.4 when unplugged. The chassis bateries showed 12.1 when plugged in and when unplugged.

rivrduk · 01-06-2011, 07:34 AM

What kind of batteries do you use since you stated that they are all alike? Rivrduk

Theberrys · 01-06-2011, 12:30 PM

I have Lead Acid batteries, all six. The two chassis batteries are maintenance free, and the four house batteries are deep cycle six volt. When I said all alike I didn't mean brand, sorry, I meant type as in Lead Acid or AGM. But that only applies if your Inverter/Charger charges all six like mine does. My house batteries are Interstate Brand and I’m not sure of the brand of the Chassis Batteries. There really hard to see and don’t require I add water, so out of site out of mind until the fail.

From the sound of your voltage readings your Inverter/Charger is only charging the house batteries. If it were also charging the chassis batteries the voltage on them would have gone up some after plugging into shore power. So all you need to do is make sure the Charger is set for the type of batteries you have installed for the house. i.e. Lead Acid or AGM and all four of them need to be of the same type. It’s also recommended that all four of them be changed at the same time. I saw pretty good prices at Sam’s Club on six volt deep cycle batteries. I think they were about $70.00 each, still a big byte for four of them but a lot less than you’ll find elsewhere.
AGM batteries have there advantages but are very expensive compared to Lead Acid. If you don't do a lot of dry camping then the Lead Acid will serve you well. If you Boondock a lot then AGM may be worth the extra cost.

Dick

rivrduk · 01-06-2011, 10:11 PM

My house batteries are lead-acid and are fine, so i guess the inverter is just charging the house batteries. I am going to take the chassis batteries out tomorrow and take them to the battery shop for testing. My chassis batteries are also placed so i cannot tell the brand or anything about them. I hope, if they are bad that i can rewire them correctly. I am going to make a drawing of the way they are hooked up so maybe i can hook them up correctly. I guess i let the chassis batteries run down thinking the inverter would charge them also. I have purchased a battery maintainer to keep them charged. I dont know if both chassis batteries are no good or not. I have a solar panel on top and maybe that is what keeps the chassis batteries topped off, but i have it under cover so no sun can get to it. Live and learn. Rivrduk