Battery question

[Kenvb]

i used to remove the 3 batteries,put in garage,,but this new to us Coachman Leprechan rig has solar panels and keeps all 3 full charge.we do get down to -40 for few weeks, do you think thats ok. ?

[yeloduster]

Minus 40° is too cold for the health of the battery long term. I presume it is not -40 all the time every day. I suspect the average temperature is much warmer. I see you are in Canada. You may be far enough north that the solar panels are not very effective in the winter especially if the sky is overcast a lot.

It would be better if you could have them on a battery charger/maintainer. Is that possible. Do you have a way to plug into 120VAC?

[hamm2018]

Originally Posted by Kenvb

i used to remove the 3 batteries,put in garage,,but this new to us Coachman Leprechan rig has solar panels and keeps all 3 full charge.we do get down to -40 for few weeks, do you think thats ok. ?

I would pull the batteries and place some place warm. Easier to prevent damage than to buy new batteries, cheaper too.

[Persistent]

Originally Posted by Kenvb

i used to remove the 3 batteries,put in garage,,but this new to us Coachman Leprechan rig has solar panels and keeps all 3 full charge.we do get down to -40 for few weeks, do you think thats ok. ?

-40 is low even for lead acid batteries. Here is one sellers recommendations.

https://poweringautos.com/can-a-lead...-get-too-cold/

Here is another more detailed analysis.

https://modernsurvivalblog.com/alter...g-temperature/

Clearly, the batteries must be fully charged at all times. Anything less risks freeze damage.

[SafariBen]

As long as they're fully charged, -40 storage does LESS damage than warm storage inside. But I'd be hesitant to leave them also. Typically for the solar to be on, the battery disconnect has to be connected to the rest of the RV that could run the batteries lower than 80% quickly and then the batteries have trouble. The other risk is snow and flat panels. If the panels were vertical facing south, and there was no possible load on the batteries, I might leave them, then the biggest danger would be one of the batteries doing bad and dragging down the two remaining good ones.



Leaving batteries installed and disconnected where it gets to 0 is an easier choice, the batteries self discharge LESS in cold temps, and suffer LESS aging in cold temps. And if they're disconnected at the negative, then one going bad will not drag down the other batteries in the bank.

[MooseCountry]

Our solar panels on top of our two RV's don't produce enough power in winter to keep the batteries fully charge with the 12V ammonia gas pipes refrigerator heat wraps on. I have had refrigerator pipes burst in negative temperatures with the power all off. Also have 60 watt bulbs using 110V 15 AMP extension cords to heat them and to keep the batteries charged. The solar panels get covered with snow and ice, sun is low on the north side of our huge mountain, and so the daylight shining on them is short. It snows in negative cold Faherenheit temperatures here.

Just finished the 30 AMP wiring to our pole barn that the RVs are stored next to. I had buried 225 feet of electrical cable during the summer. It won't be until Spring until I can remove 225 feet of extension cords that are still frozen in the snow/ice. Currently -9F (-23C).