Battery upgrade, maybe solar option also
Trying to learn a little bit about battery upgrades including a solar option. I have a 2020 Thor Class C, it has 2 house batteries. Last year we joined Harvest Host and did a little more boondockin...
Forum Discussion
Quint Da Man wrote:If I were in your shoes, I'd want to do some kind of energy audit before going any further. I'd want to know how many ah's equate to "4 or 5 hours of light duty use". This data would help size any future system. Plus, it would be the perfect time to verify there are no high current parasitic situations drawing down your batteries excessively. You'd definitely want to rectify that problem before proceeding.
. . . I have a 2020 Thor Class C, it has 2 house batteries. Last year we joined Harvest Host and did a little more boondocking than usual. I found that the house batteries seem to drop below acceptable levels in about 4 or 5 hours of light duty use (TV and a few lights for a couple of hours). What happens is all the electronic devises hooked up to the battery system I.E. CO2, Leveling system, Fire alarm all start beeping at around 2am. The only thing that is running after around 10pm is the refrigerator and those smaller electronic devises . . .
Have you had your 2 house batteries load-tested? Bad cells in relatively new batteries is not unheard of. It takes a fair amount of current, roughly 20-25a, to draw down two properly charged mid-sized, Group 27 12v batteries to 50% SOC in 4 or 5 hours. If you're hearing alarms, odds are the batteries are being discharged much lower than 50% SOC. This significantly reduces their longevity, ah capability and compounds your problem. Unless you're powering a residential fridge or some other higher current device, something doesn't sound quite right.
A voltmeter and a clamp-on DC ammeter would help answer all these questions in relatively short order.
