Community Forums

SMRDNR · 11-28-2012, 03:31 PM

put the Bounder away for the winter- I have it plugged into the house and need to know if I should have the inverter on or off and also should the batteries be turned on or off at the switch in the panel?
thanks!

adehaan86 · 11-28-2012, 03:51 PM

Depends on how cold it is. If its cold I would leave just batteries on to excerise them. If its warmer I would just disconnect both and unplug it, which I did.

dennis45 · 11-28-2012, 05:05 PM

If you are plugged in to shore power, you should leave the inverter on and the battery disconnects (chassis & house) on also. This will keep the batteries fully charged and keep them from freezing. You do not want to allow the batteries to go dead for any period of time. Typically there is some parisitic load on RV batteries that even with the disconnects turned off will cause the batteries to run down. Thus leaving the inverter and disconnect switches turned on.
Even if freezing is not an issue, batteries do not like to sit in a state of discharge. It will cause permanent damage and result in having to replace them.
You should check the battery voltage with the inverter on. It should be in the 13.6 VDC range. If you have a Hydrometer, you could check the specific gravity and it should read in the 12.65 range.
Now, having said that, you will need to check the water level in the batteries at least every 4-6 weeks to ensure they don't go dry. Top up with Distilled Water so the level is just above the plates. If the voltage is higher than 13.6, you will need to top off the water level more often.

Come spring or whenever you head out next, you are ready to roll.

On the flip side, if you don't have power and the rig is sitting for an extended period, you would be wise to remove the neg (-) cable from each battery pack (house & chassis) to help prevent the parasitic load from draining the batteries.

**NLOVNIT** · 11-28-2012, 05:30 PM

We leave ours plugged in during winter storage & do not hit the battery disconnect switches. We do not turn on the inverter either. We do check on the water levels each month during that time though.

One year, we wintered in an empty warehouse that had no hookups. That year we did use the battery disconnect switches so there were no parasitic loads.

Lori-

Cat320 · 11-28-2012, 06:06 PM

With a smart charger, leave the batteries connected and the charger on. We don't turn the inverter on unless we need to use it, so it stays off.

Mr_D · 11-28-2012, 06:12 PM

I leave ours plugged in all winter, leave the batteries connected and the inverter on. My OEM Interstate U-2200's lasted 9 years and 11 months, and even then they would have gone longer but we were headed out for a trip and I didn't want trouble while gone. My starting batteries got replaced a couple months earlier, but they weren't the problem, the starter itself went out.

akadeadeye · 11-28-2012, 09:29 PM

Unless I am wrong......and I have been twice!!....the inverter is only for inverting 12vdc to AC. The Charger (converter) is for charging the batteries. There is a difference. I see no need whatsoever to leave the inverter on since you will not need to invert any 12vdc to AC while in storage. I leave my charger on to keep a trickle "float charge" on the batteries since we are plugged in to 20 amp. I check the water in the batteries on the 1st of every month. They always need a little water.

Don

SarahW · 11-29-2012, 12:06 AM

Don--ours is an "inverter/charger", so it does charge the house batts.

Mr_D · 11-29-2012, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahW

Don--ours is an "inverter/charger", so it does charge the house batts.

Same with ours, think it's about a 75 amp charger.

SpringerPop · 11-29-2012, 12:58 AM

Are you sure that isn't actually a CONverter/charger?

What Deadeye wrote above made perfect sense to me.

Pop

SarahW · 11-29-2012, 02:43 PM

Yes, I'm sure.

bluepill · 11-29-2012, 03:01 PM

My rig also has a converter/charger/inverter unit, but the inverter function can be turned on or off without affecting the other functions. The manufacturer's manual would be the best source of info.

Twinsberry · 12-01-2012, 08:00 AM

Thanks for these suggestions. I've been putting mine on a solar battery charger 7a from northern and starting the rig monthly. I must remember to check water. I think my inverter/charger may be going bad. Rig went dead over the summer while on sure power. Shop said it was a fuse. I need to get smarter on this bounder

TomAndPeg · 12-07-2012, 07:39 PM

We pulled all 6 batteries out of our Discovery, cleaned them, checked the water levels, and put them in a heated workshop. Each is on its own float charger.