Discovery: Discovery LXE storage question

[slate]

I have a question regarding shore power while in storage. Many sites tell you to completely disconnect your house and chassis batteries for winter storage. However i have also read that on newer coaches with the firefly or similar controller, it is recommended to leave the batteries connected and coach plugged in to shore power. Owners manual is very confusing, and i bought this motorhome used from a dealership that doesn't handle fleetwood. Serviceman there told me to shut every breaker off except the charger breaker and leave it plugged in. I'm afraid without proper settings in the ff controller i will boil the batteries. I'd like to hear from someone who has experience with this system, to either point me to a site, or a section in the OM that gives me an idea of how to adjust the settings in the controller. I was also told to turn the large red inverter dial off, which makes sense. Any info would be appreciated.

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by slate

I have a question regarding shore power while in storage. Many sites tell you to completely disconnect your house and chassis batteries for winter storage. However i have also read that on newer coaches with the firefly or similar controller, it is recommended to leave the batteries connected and coach plugged in to shore power. Owners manual is very confusing, and i bought this motorhome used from a dealership that doesn't handle fleetwood. Serviceman there told me to shut every breaker off except the charger breaker and leave it plugged in. I'm afraid without proper settings in the ff controller i will boil the batteries. I'd like to hear from someone who has experience with this system, to either point me to a site, or a section in the OM that gives me an idea of how to adjust the settings in the controller. I was also told to turn the large red inverter dial off, which makes sense. Any info would be appreciated.

Odds are if it’s not plugged in batteries will die. Most MH now have smart chargers if yours float charge it shouldn’t boil batteries they can boil while bulk charging. Turn inverter off mine will keep batteries charged even with disconnects off. With not knowing what year model you have can’t tell what options it has. You could use a battery tender if yours is not equipped.

[slate]

Originally Posted by Tha_Rooster

Odds are if it’s not plugged in batteries will die. Most MH now have smart chargers if yours float charge it shouldn’t boil batteries they can boil while bulk charging. Turn inverter off mine will keep batteries charged even with disconnects off. With not knowing what year model you have can’t tell what options it has. You could use a battery tender if yours is not equipped.

I would either take the batteries out and charge them in a warm shop or leave them in and keep the inverter/charger plugged in. It is a 2021 Discovery Lxe 44h with a firefly controller.

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by slate

I would either take the batteries out and charge them in a warm shop or leave them in and keep the inverter/charger plugged in. It is a 2021 Discovery Lxe 44h with a firefly controller.

Since you have a 2021 doesn’t it have agm batteries that don’t boil.

[DuaneMiller]

I leave my coach plugged into 50A at my house during the winter months... However, if I was going to cut the coach completely off, I would turn off both "salesman" switches inside the door, and then would turn off the red switch located by the inverter. That supposedly switches off all the power completely.

Before doing any of this, I would make sure the batteries are fully topped off with water and fully charged before turning anything off....

[Persistent]

Your modern coach power system is designed to manage lead acid batteries without damaging them. It will most likely keep both coach and chassis batteries at an optimum 13.2 volts.

Whatever method you chose:

Lead acid batteries must be stored fully charged for long service life. Fully charge 14 to 18 hours before storage.

Monitor battery terminal voltage periodically until you know how long your system will last. Fully recharge before battery terminal voltage drops below 12.4 volts. Loss of shore power may fully discharge the batteries.

1) Connected to shore power

Turn off all 12 volt appliances. Leave the converter/charger function "on".
Turn off the inverter part of the inverter/converter/charger. This will reduce possibility of draining batteries if shore power is lost.

Battery terminal voltage should be less than 13.8 volts after batteries are fully charged.

13.2 volt is optimum for connected long term storage.

Fully recharge before voltage drops below 12.4 volts.

More than 13.8 volts is too high and may "boil" dry. AGM batteries typically vent and dry out as well.

Monitor battery terminal voltage until you know what your system will do.

2) Disconnected

You do not need to remove batteries in any case.

Fully charge 14 to 18 hours. Disconnect battery cable or turn battery disconnect next to the batteries "off". (Disconnect near door will not be good enough.)

You must also charge and disconnect chassis batteries. AGM batteries will be good for up to 12 months. Flooded cell batteries will be good for up to 6 months.

Monitor battery terminal voltage until you know what your system will do. Fully recharge before battery terminal voltage drops below 12.4 volts.

Battery University https://batteryuniversity.com/articles

How does the Lead Acid Battery Work?
https://batteryuniversity.com/articl...d-battery-work

How do battery chargers work
https://batteryuniversity.com/articl...-chargers-work

How to Charge and When to Charge?
https://batteryuniversity.com/articl...when-to-charge


I wish you good luck and happy trials ahead!

[alank]

I store my coach not plugged in. Run it in the shed with a full charge, batteries clean and full of water. The door switches are both off, and the big red switch is off. The inverter/charger has a residual draw on the batteries if the big red switch is left on. I turn the door switches on every week or two to view the battery voltage on the firefly display. If one set is down to 12.4V, then it gets plugged in for 24 hrs. with the bug red switch on.

If you store plugged in, the charger will be on, there's no manual switch, and 120V will be passed through to the coach for the direct plugs. The big red switch will need to be on to provide the charger power to the batteries. Be sure the inverter (green light) is off. The door switches can be off, no need to power anything in the coach. Turn the door switches on when you want to look at the Fire Fly to see the battery voltages and charge rate.

I only plug in to a 15A circuit, but that's all that is needed to charge batteries.

[BigEvi]

Persistent offers lots of great advice. I would only add that just because you've pushed all of the disconnect switches doesn't mean that all of your batteries are really disconnected.

Lots of things bypass the disconnect switches. The step. Smoke and CO detectors. Propane switches. If you have a lithium it can drain into a SLA if not disconnected properly

Just saying. The only way to know that your chassis batts and house batts actually have zero parasitic load is for both of them to have a shunt monitor installed.