Community Forums

Sniperchad · 12-24-2012, 04:22 PM

I store our Motorhome in our rv garage. When nit using the coach for several weeks Is it better to leave it plugged in or should I unplug and turn off the battery disconnect ?
Chad

palehorse89 · 12-24-2012, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sniperchad

I store our Motorhome in our rv garage. When nit using the coach for several weeks Is it better to leave it plugged in or should I unplug and turn off the battery disconnect ?
Chad

Hello and Merry Christmas! My coach is also stored indoors and even if it was out side, Mine is plugged in all the time, the chargers keep the battery's at 13.6 vdc all the time.Just watch water levels if not maintance free. K eeping the battery's at this voltage will prolong thier life, it is just like putting a battery tender on a battery, I have them also for my bikes and other things that have batterys, I get good life out of my batterys by doing this.

RedWing Nut · 12-24-2012, 04:34 PM

Same here. When I lived in a S&B I left it plugged in all winter. I also used an electric heater set at the lowest setting.

clyon51 · 12-24-2012, 04:56 PM

Leave plugged in 24/7 for best battery life. If your coach is older or has a single stage charger (13.6v continuous) you will want to monitor the water in the battery(s) about once a month, until you know how long it takes to "boil" the battery low on water.

A 3 stage charger will maintain batteries at 13.2v, which will not boil them, so water adding will be greatly reduced.

Mr_D · 12-24-2012, 05:08 PM

I've left ours plugged in 24/7/365. The batteries lasted one month short of 10 years. I also put 4 oz of mineral oil in each cell which cut way down on water usage. They were Interstate U-2200 6 volt deep cycle. Did so well I got the same ones again.

clyon51 · 12-24-2012, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

I've left ours plugged in 24/7/365. The batteries lasted one month short of 10 years. I also put 4 oz of mineral oil in each cell which cut way down on water usage. They were Interstate U-2200 6 volt deep cycle. Did so well I got the same ones again.

A classic case of properly maintaining your batteries! I am amazed the RVers that buy new batteries every year or so.

CampDaven · 12-24-2012, 05:52 PM

I never has the luxury of plugging in during storage.....until now, with new rig.

Sniperchad · 12-24-2012, 06:01 PM

Great comments. I do maintain the batteries. Fill every 3 mo or so. They have a filler system that I can fill all at the same time.(I forget the name). I still have the same interstates from when the coach was new. 3 yrs old.
Merry Christmas to all

Fred1609 · 12-24-2012, 06:09 PM

We plug in all year and during the winter we plug in an marine air dryer/dehumidifier which helps.

R2Home · 12-24-2012, 07:18 PM

Our MH is plugged in 24/7/365. It is under a carport and it does get a little 'cold'. While we do not use it during the winter, it is set up as an energency shelter. So far we have not had any issue with the batteries. I do check them often and top off the water level as needed.

Gary RVRoamer · 12-25-2012, 07:16 AM

Ours is always plugged in, but you need a good quality charging system to do that safely. Some will overcharge batteries if left on/24/7. But even then, keeping up with the water in the cells is usually sufficient.

wa8yxm · 12-25-2012, 06:15 PM

Depends on the converter.

magnetek 6300 series: UNPLUG

Parlallex 7300: not sure.

Progressive Dynamics 9200: Plug in.

NOTE, all 3 of the above are examples only, For example there are at least a dozen more I can think of that fall into the "Plug in" group. this group includes all quality 3-stage converters not made in china, and may even include a china made if it's known to be working properly.

Mr_D · 12-25-2012, 06:31 PM

We have a 2000 watt Freedom 458 modified sine wave inverter. The control allows me to specify how many amps the unit can pull. I set it for 5 amps when storing the unit. That may somewhat account for why the batteries don't boil fluid out and the long life.

Koop · 12-25-2012, 06:36 PM

I found this thread to be very interesting an informative. I have a pretty good understanding of batteries in general but not so much on the workings of a motorhome.

Yesterday I did a few checks on our new to us Gulfstream Sun Voyager. I found that the generator charges the house batteries but not the chassis battery. Then I plugged in to shore power and found the same. So I thought about my charging strategy, my coach is parked in front of my second (detached) garage.

Starting voltage on the chassis battery was 12.8V (full charge after 1 week of inactivity). House batteries were at 12.65V @ ~30f. I tried to set up a Battery Tender but didn't have enough extension cord length. So I put a portable solar charger on the chassis battery and used shore power for the house batteries.

Today I checked the results. The chassis battery at ~30f was at 12.89V, so the solar charger seems to be effective. The house batteries were at 13.67V

. The convertor will obviously overcharge the house batteries.

My conclusion at this point is to keep the solar on the chassis battery and only plug in the shore power intermittantly - maybe a few hours a week, I don't know for sure until I do a few more tests.