Dry camping, battery idea?

96Tony wrote:
We're scheduled to pick up our brand new Keystone Premier Bullet 19FBPR in early May. I'm pretty excited, but we'll be dry camping for two weeks and I have a couple questions regarding battery life.

In the past (for an 8 day stay) I have brought two batteries and swapped them after 4 days, believing it shortens battery life to let them drain all the way down. We use no lights, and infrequent water pump for flushing. The fridge controller is the main thing draining the battery, I believe, even though it runs off propane.

1) How much battery does the CO detector draw? Can I disconnect it, since the furnace will never be running?

2) Regarding the fridge controller, could I disconnect the battery overnight, thinking that for 8 hours, without opening the doors, things will stay cold enough?

Any other ideas or suggestions are more than welcome...thanks!

The discussion has turned pretty much to solar, but I don't know if anyone's addressed another item. First, you should never "drain them all the way down". Get an inexpensive volt meter and check the actual voltage. Don't discharge them below 12 volts. Also, It is not good to let discharged batteries even if still above 12 volts, sit for a length of time. It is best to recharge them back up to full (12.6 + volts) ASAP ( or at least 90% full 12.5 volts) Therefore, Probably not best to have a steady practice of discharging then swapping batteries and letting those discharged ones remain in that condition. Ok in the short run, but will probably shorten your battery life if done as a constant practice.

I personally would not disconnect my CO detector, as it also alarms at any propane leaks. And there should be a switch to turn off your refrigerator right on the front of the fridge, but I wouldn't suggest that either. But you can experiment when at home by having a thermometer in there and shutting it down for an 8-9 hour period and seeing how long it holds temperature. Then decide if you are willing to do it when you have to actually eat the food that is stored within and you are miles from a grocery store.