Prior to purchasing the Winegard carry out antenna we would watch DVDs when not having a TV connection. We would be able to watch 3 or 4 hours before turning it off and going to bed with battery to spare. This last trip was our first with the new Carry Out. After only 2 to 2.5 hours the inverter shut itself off and that was it. We have 2 Interstate 6 volt batteries with rated at 232AH and a Samlex SA1500-12 inverter and a Samlex transfer switch. I didn't think the Direct TV would use any more juice than the Blue Ray player we watch movies on. Any ideas where I may be coming up short here?The carry out worked great by the way.Steve

if those batteries were fully charged ?they are toast and you need new batteriesyou didnot say how big your TV is, what is the power use rating, or how old the batteries arebut 1500w inverter is way over kill for watching TV, meaning the inverter has parasitic overhead that is wasting power, you could be getting by more efficiently with a 300~400w inverter232ampHrs at 12v (2*6 in series), that 116 ampHrs to 50% with a 100watt 9.5 amp load that over 10hryou need new batteries

I agree; those batteries are stratified, sulfated, or toast.

We use our 255AH battery bank all the time running our home entertainment electronics and several other 120VAC small wattage items from an 600WATT PSW Inverter and 12VDC items direct connected to the battery bank when camping off the power grid. Our big drain is right around 20AMPs of DC current between 8PM and 11PM and then the usual 1-2AMP parasitic keep alive drains the rest of the time.This is all planned out to drop our battery bank down to around 12.0VDC at 8AM each morning (approximately 50% charge state) and this is when we re-charge our battery bank back up to its 90% charge state using smart mode charging by running our generator for around three hours each day.We do these 50%-90% charge cycles on our battery bank for about 12-14 days without doing harm to our batteries and they will perform to full specs if we re-charge to the 90% charge state each day. If we continue to do the charge and discharge cycles after the 12-14 times then our battery bank start dropping off in performance and will eventually do harm to the batteries. We have to do a good 12-13 hours FULL charge cycle to return the battery bank to a good restored status again. Of course the camp grounds usually don't allow you to run a generator for 12-13 hours straight so this is usually when we plan to go home from our trips.We have a good DC MONITOR SYSTEM to monitor what is happening to our batteries as we camp and this really helps us watch things very close so that we don't do harm to the batteries.It does take planning to be successful camping off the power grid...Roy Ken

You did not state how old the batteries were, but your camping habits caused the batteries to sulfate and lose capacity over time.In order to have batteries last long they need to be quickly recharged such as running the generator each day long enough to get to 90% charge, and getting fully charged on shore-power right after getting to a powered location.People who just use battery for a single light, water-pump, refrigerator of propane, have light usage and can charge right after getting home for a weekend.You have the classic case of finally noticing the reduced battery capacity after adding something new to run off the inverter.Take better care of the next pair and they will last longer. ;)

The batteries are only about 1.5 years old and have been kept charged over that time. I run the generator about 3-4 hours each day and check the water level regularly. When at home I will plug the trailer in regularly for a few days at a time just to keep them charged up. I am planning to add 2 more batteries in the near future and hopefully some solar down the road as $$ permit. In order to add batteries though I will have to move the battery storage to the front basement, to do this I have to make some changes to that compartment to accommodate battery storage. The reason I went with the bigger inverter was to handle bigger loads when I do go to a bigger battery bank and solar. Guess I should have done a 1000 watt instead. Perhaps I can sell this inverter and get one a bit smaller that can better serve my needs.Steve

Using to much power? | Good Sam Community

RoyB
Explorer II
Aug 15, 2013
We use our 255AH battery bank all the time running our home entertainment electronics and several other 120VAC small wattage items from an 600WATT PSW Inverter and 12VDC items direct connected to the battery bank when camping off the power grid. Our big drain is right around 20AMPs of DC current between 8PM and 11PM and then the usual 1-2AMP parasitic keep alive drains the rest of the time.

This is all planned out to drop our battery bank down to around 12.0VDC at 8AM each morning (approximately 50% charge state) and this is when we re-charge our battery bank back up to its 90% charge state using smart mode charging by running our generator for around three hours each day.

We do these 50%-90% charge cycles on our battery bank for about 12-14 days without doing harm to our batteries and they will perform to full specs if we re-charge to the 90% charge state each day. If we continue to do the charge and discharge cycles after the 12-14 times then our battery bank start dropping off in performance and will eventually do harm to the batteries. We have to do a good 12-13 hours FULL charge cycle to return the battery bank to a good restored status again. Of course the camp grounds usually don't allow you to run a generator for 12-13 hours straight so this is usually when we plan to go home from our trips.

We have a good DC MONITOR SYSTEM to monitor what is happening to our batteries as we camp and this really helps us watch things very close so that we don't do harm to the batteries.

It does take planning to be successful camping off the power grid...

Roy Ken
harold1946
Explorer
Aug 15, 2013
I agree; those batteries are stratified, sulfated, or toast.
MrWizard
Moderator
Aug 15, 2013
if those batteries were fully charged ?

they are toast and you need new batteries

you didnot say how big your TV is, what is the power use rating, or how old the batteries are

but 1500w inverter is way over kill for watching TV, meaning the inverter has parasitic overhead that is wasting power, you could be getting by more efficiently with a 300~400w inverter

232ampHrs at 12v (2*6 in series), that 116 ampHrs to 50% with a 100watt 9.5 amp load that over 10hr

you need new batteries

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