House Batteries

For an application requiring the following:

Never check water or for corrosion because batteries are hard to get to

Stored with no maintenance


Sort of obvious two recommendations are in order


Absorbed glass mat batteries

A good battery cutoff switch that chops every last nano-amp of battery drain.

As I tried to explain in my long response earlier .... there is one other recommendation: Replace the solenoid that connects the engine's alternator to the house batteries to charge them. On a 2007 motorhome that solenoid can have corroded contacts such that whenever the motorhome's engine is running it's alternator is not charging the motorhome's batteries at all, or only very little.

The engine alternator is a powerful way to charge motorhome batteries ... but it's no good if the $15-$20 solenoid that connects it up to the motorhome batteries has worn out contacts after hours and hours of use.

A solenoid checks battery water? A failed charge solenoid can drain a battery? Any of the above affects hookup Power Pedestal Princess charging?

Organizing answers categorically can stop Op's from running away strumming their lips with their index finger.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
A solenoid checks battery water?

Nobody ever said that.

A failed charge solenoid can drain a battery?

Yes it can contribute to the battery being drained by not recharging when you think it is.

It would help others a LOT more if YOU would carefully explain the things you think are said wrong here......instead of throwing around sarcastic insults that do nothing to help clarify things.

The factory installed battery disconnect (at the door) may not disconnect everything. Either install a disconnect at bat neg, or physically disconnect bat negative while stored,

I'm thinking that there may be some confusion in this discussion:

There are TWO solenoids in many motorhomes - one that you can manually turn ON or OFF that connects the coach batteries to the motorhome's 12 volt circuits, including the coach's built-in charger or converter. This should be left OFF when the motorhome is in storage so as to not drain the battereis from small currents that power the motorhome's detectors, etc..

The other solenoid automatically connects (whenever the ignition key is ON) the engine alternator to the coach's batteries to charge them whenever the engine is running. This one carries heavy currents from the alternator to the coach batteries. These heavy currents can erode the solenoid's contacts over time. This solenoid's contacts must be kept in good shape for the alternator to keep the coach batteries charged up when driving the motorhome. The easiest way to keep this solenoid's contacts in good shape is to replace the solenoid every so often. We're on our 3rd solenoid after owning and using our motorhome for around 9 years. I'm willing to bet that this solenoid is letting a lot of folks down by not keeping the coach batteries charged when driving - and they're not aware of it ... they only know that their batteries seem to be "weaker" than they should be. Years ago I installed a couple of meters on the cab dash that tell me just how good this solenoid's contacts are at all times ... after learning the hard way on camping trips.

THE ISSUE IS AND THE OP QUESTION WAS

The owner does not wish to check water level

No rig on the face of the earth can be TRUSTED to not have battery drain without a total cutoff switch. When a non antimony battery is ISOLATED with a switch it will endure 6-months of storage with a laugh.

I do desperately try to answer an OP's question. Later on with subsequent answers in the thread I will drift. Maybe you came later on to the forum. Early on I posted caveats about my grumpiness, and enduring sarcasm. You ain't seen sarcasm until you see my self-sarcasm when I get caught posting erroneous information. And I race to thank folks who point out the errors, with clear self-denunciation. I have received more messages with laughing thank-you's than I care to count. My sarcasm is meant to give the person a smile. When someone points out something I wrote with a sarcastic tone - I first fall off my chair laughing WITH tham then it's WW III. Maybe I watched too many W.C. Fields, flicks as an adolescent. I definitely worship Mark Twain, Will Rogers and Groucho Marx.
So please do not feel insulated or picked on. I am truly democratic with my sarcasm. When I do it in Spanish down here (the humor is endemic) it leaves everyone rolling on the floor.

This is a follow-up to my original post. We got new house batteries and the generator came on as it should. I have learned a lot from our mechanic and from those who posted responses to my question. Thank you so much!

We have a 96 Damon Intruder that we never take the batteries out of because in the winter we fire it up and take it to Walmart to shop.Its a good idea to start it up and run it around a little bit. Keeps the oil and grease mixed good on the metal parts and gives the motor and transmission seals some lube. Remember " Beware of old rv's with low mileage."Motors and transmission were made to work and not lay idle.

stargirl96 wrote:
This is a follow-up to my original post. We got new house batteries and the generator came on as it should. I have learned a lot from our mechanic and from those who posted responses to my question. Thank you so much!

Not trying to be mean because everyone had to learn at some point. Have you realized now that you need to put some effort into doing preventative maintenance for the batteries? They last a long time if provided proper care.