Battery questions (Cold Climate)

Harvey51 wrote:

I lost an engine battery at the airport one time. One of us left a dome light on in the scramble to catch a plane. When we came back 2 weeks later, the battery was totally dead, temperature -40. After a boost start, I drove to a store with batteries. Shut the engine off and there wasn't enough power to operate a dome light. Had to install the new battery myself, outside in the cold.

The battery was probably frozen due to the -40 temp. and would not take a charge. You were fortunate to even get the engine running.

Leave the battery in and keep the rig plugged in. Check battery water level once or twice over the winter. That has been my routine for 7 years.

I'm up near the start of the Alaska Highway where we have some days at 40 below zero. I have been taking my house batteries indoors for the winter, leaving the chassis batteries in two vehicles we don't use in winter. This year I will leave the house ones in place, too. With the disconnect switch stopping all current draws, they should be no trouble at all. If I don't unhook one cable on the chassis battery, I do need to put a charger on it for a couple of hours every month or so. Batteries handle -40 with no problem when fully charged.

I would not leave the batteries charging all winter. I would check with a voltmeter and only charge them when the voltage fell below 12.6. Actually a trickle charger (quarter of an amp) could be left on full time but I would still check monthly to make sure the voltage is good. I left my 1 amp solar trickle charger on a van battery one winter - we get sunshine very low in the sky for relatively few hours in winter so it probably averaged about 0.1 amp, nicely taking care of computer and clock current.

I lost an engine battery at the airport one time. One of us left a dome light on in the scramble to catch a plane. When we came back 2 weeks later, the battery was totally dead, temperature -40. After a boost start, I drove to a store with batteries. Shut the engine off and there wasn't enough power to operate a dome light. Had to install the new battery myself, outside in the cold.

The converter is key. Single stage, I'd recommend disconnecting the batteries and hooking them up to a Battery Minder so they get trickle-charged and desulfated. Multi-stage, just leave the rig plugged in.

If the RV has a single stage converter, I'd highly recommend remedying it. Just the cost of 1-2 battery replacements will more than cover a new converter with a Charge Wizard or other five-stage capability.

ford truck guy wrote:
I was always told ( old school) that the best place for a battery is in a cool dark place ??? As a kid we kept our spare batteries (AA , AAA , C ect) in the fridge... Did it help , I have no idea, but with that said , I keep mine in the trailer ... with the battery bypass turned off and a battery tender hooked to them....

AA, AAA, C & D batteries are dry chemical (alcalide and such) batteries. The battery in an RV is probably a lead/acid battery. We're talking apples and oranges. The ideal storage conditions for storing different types of batteries varies by their chemical/physical composition.

I think you should be ok if you checked the water in the battery before storage… it should not overcharge with any of the modern day converters used….
You could check the water level a couple of times while in storage if it will make you feel better…

I have always left mine in the unit. I keep the unit plugged in all winter, check the battery water level at time of winterizing and then around the 1st of the year. Its important to keep water level up in the batteries.

No way of knowing without you telling us what converter you have in the RV.

I was always told ( old school) that the best place for a battery is in a cool dark place ??? As a kid we kept our spare batteries (AA , AAA , C ect) in the fridge... Did it help , I have no idea, but with that said , I keep mine in the trailer ... with the battery bypass turned off and a battery tender hooked to them....

Hi Matt, isn't there a charging system within the camper?