I have a weird problem. My 2013 Big Horn is in storage with no electricity nearby. I checked the batteries today (2 x 6 volt wired in series) and they are only at 1/3 full. We are planning on hitting the road in about 4 weeks. I attempted to pull both batteries to take home and charge them, but could only get one of the batteries out. They are very heavy and I have a bad wrist and simply could not get the second one out of it's compartment. Can I charge the one battery at home, then reinstall it in the RV? Would the battery pair benefit from charging only one?
6 volt battery question - can I charge just one of the pair?
- Thread starter hoosblues
- Start date
Your system is only as good as your weakest battery! I would try to have some one go to your rv that could pull the battery out for you if possible. Worst case is that your batteries will start charging when you plug into your truck when you go on your trip. I would make sure your batteries are disconnected at the battery switch to isolate them from the rest of the rv if you can' t keep them charged.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC
Sent from my DROID BIONIC
We charged many 6 volt batteries one at a time back in the day when all of our Diesel tractors were 12 volt with 2 6 volt batteries in series. Certainly better to charge both but it works to charge one as long as the other one isn't completely dead. JD changed some of the tractors to 24 volts and finally settled on two 12'v with 12 volt systems on all sizes.
brianharrison
Well-known member
Make sure your charger can be set for 6V if you are only charging one.
If you are going on the road, hooking to truck and travelling to a shore power electrical outlet for the first night will solve the problem. Just do not dry camp for the first night
It takes about 70-80 hours of plug in time to bring the batteries back to 100%. The first 4-6 hours or so will get them to about 75-80% with the "intelligent" converters/chargers in Heartland units.
Brian
If you are going on the road, hooking to truck and travelling to a shore power electrical outlet for the first night will solve the problem. Just do not dry camp for the first night
It takes about 70-80 hours of plug in time to bring the batteries back to 100%. The first 4-6 hours or so will get them to about 75-80% with the "intelligent" converters/chargers in Heartland units.
Brian
Yes, I checked the battery meter inside the BH and it was showing 1/3. Our first trip will be in about 4 weeks and we will have full hookups after about a 4 hour drive. I am just trying to make sure that my batteries are not damaged by letting them get so low during the off season.
I do have a charger that can provide 6 or 12 volt.
I do have a charger that can provide 6 or 12 volt.
Make sure your charger can be set for 6V if you are only charging one.
If you are going on the road, hooking to truck and travelling to a shore power electrical outlet for the first night will solve the problem. Just do not dry camp for the first night
It takes about 70-80 hours of plug in time to bring the batteries back to 100%. The first 4-6 hours or so will get them to about 75-80% with the "intelligent" converters/chargers in Heartland units.
Brian
Good info. I was not sure how long it takes for charging the batteries back to 100%. Thanks.
brianharrison
Well-known member
You're welcome. I should clarify that these are estimates and actual time is dependant on many things - intelligent charger (or not), battery capacity, health of batteries, etc.
The other thing to mention is a 1/3 full on the coach installed battery monitor is a very inaccurate reading of the actual battery condition. With your two 6 volts and a better way to measure battery condition, I would use a digital volt meter and read the "relaxed" Voltage of each battery. Relaxed means no current in or out of the battery for at least 30 minutes (ie disconnected or open circuit). A 100% 6 volt is about 6.4V. A 50-60% charge is about 6.1V. A 25-30% would be about 6.0V.
Here is a link to some good info on the web for 12V systems that has come up before --> The 12V side of life.
Here is the section on battery testing --> 12V side of life - Battery Testing.
Hope this helps.
Brian
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