Short Battery charge life in San Antonio

[Maverick]

I have a new San Antonio (no generator installed yet). Tried some Dry camping this last weekend. I have 2-12V Deep Cycle batteries installed hooked up in parallel. Batteries were basically completely discharged overnight. Not sure what drew down the charge. The refrigerator runs on gas when boondocking but there seems to be a motor running in it almost constantly. Could this be what drew down the batteries? Didnt have anything else on except an occasional light. Is it safe to disable the refrigerator motor or if that is even possible without shutting off the on/off switch. Is there a fuse to pull to shut down that motor. Wouldnt I shut off the entire refrigerator if I pull that fuse? Would the gas still ignite without that fuse. Should I be using some other type of battery? Thought the Deep Cycle hooked up in parallel would be the way to go but didnt work out. Fortunately I had a third battery just to be safe so hooked up that to get enough power to shut slides and jacks. I guess batteries charge when hooked up to a tow vehicle but is slow and would need to keep that running for a long time. Really a vexing problem. How do I dry camp and use the refrigerator. Dont have a generator installed yet but will certainly be getting one shortly.

 

[branson4020]

What you hear running might be a circulating fan behind the refer. You don't want to disable that. It probably draws less than an amp anyway, so I don't think its the main source of your problem. Are you sure that your batteries were fully charged when you started?

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

The on board built in charging system takes many many hours to fully charge a normal Group 27 battery. 2 deep cycles will take even longer. Check this LINK

 

[pegmikef]

I personally like the Trojan six volt batteries because of the increased amperage. I use the Honda 2kw pair of generators and when boondocking, I found that my batteries would drop a volt or two over night (I run and fantastic endless breeze fan all night) plus all the other stuff that runs like (e.g., refrigerator, furnace fan in early morning, and the alarms). Anyway I just run one of generators after quiet hours in the morning and that recharges the batteries and lets DW make the coffee and breakfast. To me for boondocking generators are a must . . . not optional.

 

[Maverick]

Batteries were fully charged when I started. Still think it has something to do with the refrigerator running. Dont hear that motor/fan noise when refrigerator is running on electric. Must be something else drawing down the batteries but cant figure out what. All lights were off. Has anyone else had the battery problem when running the refrigerator when dry camping? Saw one post where someone pulled a fuse for the refrigerator and had no more battery problem but doesnt sound like that would work without shutting off the refrigerator completely.

 

[Maverick]

What is the advantage of the six volt batteries. How does that increase the amps? How do you hook them up when using more than one? Sounds like two six volt batteries would equal one 12 volt. Would it be better than two 12V batteries hooked up in parallel? I am not smart on this subject so please enlighten me. Thanks.

 

[Maverick]

I tried turning off the refrigerator for a time when it was not needed and when I was still on battery power. The batteries stayed charged just fine. So I still think the discharge issue comes from the refrigerator in some fashion but I have not heard from anyone with a similiar problem. The fan or motor seem to run almost constantly when on battery power. Would very much like to get this issue solved because it was a very vexing problem.

 

[Softballdad]

I'm having the same problem in my 2008 Bighorn. I returned home yesterday, and the battery was fine. Tried to start generator today and the battery was dead. Everything in the unit was turned off, and it was quiet nothing on, so I don't know whats draining it. After having the unit plugged in Friday-Monday I'm sure the battery was fully charged, so now my thought is I've got a bad battery. This Interstate battery is only eight months old so it might be going back for a replacement.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Maverick, check to see if your fridge has climate control and ambient temperature control. Either of these two being used will cause the battery to run down faster. There should be switches somewhere for these features. Check the owners operating instructions. The climate control uses a heat system around the frame of the box to control moisture and the ambient temp makes the light stay on when the door is closed. Normally used for colder weather situations.

 

[pegmikef]

What is the advantage of the six volt batteries. How does that increase the amps? How do you hook them up when using more than one? Sounds like two six volt batteries would equal one 12 volt. Would it be better than two 12V batteries hooked up in parallel? I am not smart on this subject so please enlighten me. Thanks.

I am no expert either, but reading this forum and watching the dvd that came with my rig, the six volt Trojan deep cycle battery cells are a lot bigger than the twelve volt cells so you end up with a lot more electricity storage space resulting in increased amperage hours (like a hundred more). Just cable the positive of one to the negative to the other, then the open positive and negative terminals to your rig's cables. In my case, I just use two of the Trojans out of my golf cart. I would think that two twelve volt batteries would have at least the same or more amp hours dependent on the batteries, but the smart guys need to answer that. I have the six volt batteries so I use them.

 

[57chevyconvt]

I am no smart guy on this subject but did go to school on this stuff many years ago. I have to 12V batteries in my BH, one from factory and other that I installed myself. I have installed a battery disconnect switch on each of the batteries for isolation. No two batteries are the same as to condition of charge, i.e., healthy that is. If the good battery tells the charger that he is fully charged then the voltage is reduced due the resistance of the good battery. The down side of this is that the weaker battery never gets the charge that is required to bring it back to the good condition. A battery that is low on charge will sulfate and shorten the life and out put of amps and volts from the battery. You can purchase a battery selector switch that will allow you to select either of both batteries. There is also a device that uses diodes to isolate the batteries so that the good battery doesn't overide the weaker battery and shut off the battery charger. These switches and isolators noted above are used more in the marine application than in the RV industries.

As to the refigerator power consumption, I don't believe the fan is the source of the battery draw down as you have described. I believe that your problem is detailed in post #9.

 

[Maverick]

My manual say my refrigerator unit (Dometic RM1350) has an automatic Low Ambient Control so I guess there is no way to overide or disable it. Also I cannot see any switches controlling this. Guess this is useful for low temp operation.

 

[Maverick]

Sounds like the 6V Batteries may be the way to go. Can you tell what the type of 6V you are using (eg: T105?)(Size?). I am limited on the size on can fit in my battery box. Current type 27M 12V are L 12 3/4, W 6 3/4, H 9 3/4.

Can you tell what type of Trojan 6V batts you are using. I am limited in size in my battery box.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

My manual say my refrigerator unit (Dometic RM1350) has an automatic Low Ambient Control so I guess there is no way to overide or disable it. Also I cannot see any switches controlling this. Guess this is useful for low temp operation.

I just browsed the manual through the Dometic site. There was also no mention of a Climate Control system either. Sorry, I was hoping....

 

[pegmikef]

Can you tell what type of Trojan 6V batts you are using. I am limited in size in my battery box.

I use the T105s which works out nicely because they work in my cart as well. Dimensions 10 1/4 L x 7 W x 9 1/4 H. I had a problem with the height and had to get battery boxes from JC Whitney. As I said earlier, I ran my stuff all night on battery and they would meter out at 12.0 - 12.4 in the morning and it would take 2-3 hours to get them back up to 13.6. I usually ran the generators initially in the morning (1 2kw) and then both in the afternoon when it got hot for five to six hours so I could run the a/c. I shut them down after supper and then just used battery power until morning. Worked great.

 

[TeJay]

Here's some more info on 12V vs 6V. A battery's ability to supply power is its ability to deliver amperage not voltage. The length of time you can camp without recharging your batteries is directly related to the total capacity of your batteries and how much and how fast you drain the stored capacity. The voltage is the push behind the current but the current is what is needed. The current does the work. Two 6V batteries hooked in series have available twice the amperage capacity as 2 12V batteries hooked in parallel. That's why two 6V batteries is preferred to two 12V batteries. When we ordered our 24-RBS I made a deal with the dealer. He was to supply one 12V battery. I paid for one T-125 and he paid for the other T-125 and hooked them up for us. Trojan makes good 6V batteries. They also have several different batteries and they are not to costly. The T-105 is standard and at the bottom. It goes up from there. I had two T-105's in a motor home and they lasted 6-7 years. We often dry camped.
You may have a battery drain which drains current when everything is shut down. It's fairly easy to determine if that's the problem but you have to hook up a portable amp meter in series with the battery then remove fuses until the drain stops. That tells you which circuit its in or which appliance or device is causing the excessive current. Usually a current drain of 1-2 amps is acceptable. Most competent automotive techs can check for a current drain to determine if your rig does have an excessive current drain which would drain your batteries overnight.
I hope this helps.
TeJay

 

[TXBobcat]

Hay guys, your trailer has a lot of systems that use 12vdc even if your not connected to anything. The Fridge has electronics, the HW heater has electronics, the TV has electronics, you have alarm systems for Carbon Dioxide, carbon monixide, and such. So just sitting in your driveway your batteries will run down. Only way to keep your batteries from discaharging is to disconnect them by a switch or removing the battery cables.

Just my thoughts.. FWIW

BC