FK2100 Weekend Warrior Electrical questions

[ddfuller]

Hello,
I have 2010 FS2100 Weekend Warrior toy hauler. Got it last year and everything seems to be in good shape, however I suspect the 12V system is weak or could be improved.
Two questions.
1. I have a new single cell 12V Deep Cycle RV battery. When dry camping, and being careful with electrical use (very min. lights, rare water pump usage, etc) the battery will show near drained within a day or so. With my last older camper, similar battery and usage routines would get me 3-4 days of dry camping. This new trailer has C02 and LP sensors that my last didn't. I know the fridge 'auto-defrost' is turned off. I can't figure out why the battery drains so quick. This winter (mild winter here in PacNW) I just plugged the RV into 110V once in while to keep the battery charged. Once I unplug the 110V, the 12V battery would drain to half or less in just a matter of few wks, but the only draw I can think it had was the Co2 sensor up near the ceiling. Lp sensor disconnected, never turned on lights or anything. Is that normal?
2. So I figured I would just have to use my little Honda 1000W gen more often. it's rather quiet, so not a bit deal, however when I plug my 110V outlet into gen and fire up it seems to charge the battery so slowly, if at all I wonder if there is suppose to be a switch or setting somewhere that I didn't engage. My last camper we never had/used a gen. The FS2100 has a ITOA DLS-30 converter (http://www.iotaengineering.com/dls30.htm)

So what tests or checks do I need to do to make me feel more confident for some dry camping this spring? At this stage I don't trust my 12V battery to hold charge for long, nor does it feel like the generator charges very well. I don't want to run a gen for 8hrs to charge a single battery every day. I was expecting better.
Appreciate the help and guidance.
thx.

[nayther]

ddfuller wrote:
If I switched to dual 6V's how long would I have to keep a 14.2V charger going to top them off from half to full?
How do these chargers work.. If it's charging, will it fill two batteries as quick as it would fill 1 battery? essentially giving the trailer twice the available power in the same time.. (comparing a single vs dual battery sestup)

6V battery reccomendations? what specs should I look for? I we don't use a ton of power and want to keep cost down, and I don't want to run my generator very often if possible... so looking for good balance.

Thanks all.

It will take longer to "fill" the 2-6v batteries and there are a few factors that will affect the time, sorry can't be more specific. The charger will hit it with the 14.2 volts until the battery gets close to "full" then step down, that's why the last 10% seems to take forever; unless you have a really good charger/converter.

I had Trojan T105, seems to be the gold standard. But Costco sells the Everready brand and I've not heard bad things about them. Shop around, prices vary greatly, a friend just picked up two Trojan's for $85.00 each, great price but I don't know where.

[ddfuller]

If I switched to dual 6V's how long would I have to keep a 14.2V charger going to top them off from half to full?
How do these chargers work.. If it's charging, will it fill two batteries as quick as it would fill 1 battery? essentially giving the trailer twice the available power in the same time.. (comparing a single vs dual battery sestup)

6V battery reccomendations? what specs should I look for? I we don't use a ton of power and want to keep cost down, and I don't want to run my generator very often if possible... so looking for good balance.

Thanks all.

[mrw8i]

Lots of issues:

1 - Disconnect your batteries when in storage - the parasitic draws will drain the batteries in a week or two.
2 - Make sure your batteries are fully charged before storing your trailer. Don't use your trailer meter to check how fully charged it is. A Specific Gravity tester will give you a better idea; they are cheap.
3 - Most converters inside trailers are poor chargers - thus the comments about IOTA and Progressive Dynamics
4 - Your battery is not a true deep cycle, it is a marine deep cycle and cannot take nearly as many deep cycles discharges as true deep cycle. The most inexpensive true deep cycle are 6-volt golf cart batteries - there are expensive and cheap ones (I'm cheap). Do not let these dry or get the plates exposed. The older they get the faster the water/acid will evaporate.
5 - Cable size. Most trailers use under sized cable between the converter and the battery and there is voltage loss between the two when charging (just like there is voltage loss in the opposite direction). When using multiple batteries be sure to use proper size and lengths of cables.
6 - A battery monitor like a Trimetric or Victron will give you a better idea of load. Check your load when you think you have everything turned off, you might be surprised that your kid has a little inverter plugged in to 12v outlet overnight to play games; or you left the pass thru storage light on.

Finally check the Tech sub-Forum for a lot more good information.

I bought a used 2006 Ragen in July. I've done the following to combat similar issues:
1 - Replaced the converter with a Progressive Dynamics so I get a more realistic 3-stage charge.
2 - Replaced all lights with LED
3 - Swapped out the 45' long #8 positive cable between the batteries and the converter with a 20' long #4 cable.
4 - Removed the (2) 24 and (1) 29 marine batteries for (4) 6-Volt Golf Cart Batteries (total of about 420AH). Added watering systems on each battery so they will be easier to keep full of water.
5 - Replaced all battery interconnect cables with #1 cable - balanced.
6 - Added a Victron battery monitor
7 - Added 400W of solar with a Morningstar PWM controller.

I still run the generator as well in the morning for coffee and a quick charge early on the batteries before the sun is up. Heater usage at night will really drain the batteries.

[nayther]

I'll third that recommendation. I got along quite well with the cheap original converter in my two trailers but with 2 6V batteries. Now I have a really good converter and two 12V batteries, all is still good but I do run my generator twice a day, coffee in the morning, cooking/T.V./Supercross at night!

[big_buford]

Y-Guy wrote:
ddfuller before I spent the money to upgrade my charger I'd get a couple of batteries. If you dry camp frequently the dual 6 volt setup is really the best way to go, but even adding another single group 24 would be better. For the money it's your best bang for the buck. One of my early RVs had a single group 24, could barely get through a weekend. If your battery is a couple years old I'd spring for two new ones, at least Group 27 but Dual 6 would be better. Good luck!

X2, get 2 golf cart 6v batteries and give it another go. You can address the charger at a later date if needed.

[Y-Guy]

ddfuller before I spent the money to upgrade my charger I'd get a couple of batteries. If you dry camp frequently the dual 6 volt setup is really the best way to go, but even adding another single group 24 would be better. For the money it's your best bang for the buck. One of my early RVs had a single group 24, could barely get through a weekend. If your battery is a couple years old I'd spring for two new ones, at least Group 27 but Dual 6 would be better. Good luck!

[ddfuller]

Thanks.
To answer Y-Guy, I think it is a group 24 marine/deep cycle. I'm sure it's nothing special, as I had only napa for selection where I was when I found out the battery the trailer came with wouldn't hold a charge. I have most of my lights converted to LED as well.
Thanks Big buford for the note on the IQ4. Does sound like a worthwhile upgrade..

Even when I had the 14.2V jack plug installed when running gen, it seemed to take forever to make much improvement in charge level.. maybe my expectations are too high. With a single group 24 12V battery charging at 14.2V, how long should it take to charge the battery from 1/2 to full for example? would I notice less generator time needed if I moved from the ITOA+IQ4 to Progressive Dynamics+charge wizard?

I just keep going back to my 1984 19ft TT with single Napa-like 12V deep cycle that we could dry camp with no generator for 3-4days and with my 2010 WW upgraded toy, my dry camping is more difficult.. not what I was going for..
appreciate the input all.. keep the advise flowing…
cheers.

[lincster]

Get 2 6V batteries and you won't have any more issues.

[big_buford]

ddfuller wrote:
I saw the IQ4, but I don't understand what problem of mine it solves? Sorry if an elementary question, but it's not obvious to me how this fixes my slow charging..

The dsl-30 is a single mode charger (13.6v) it has a phone Jack plug on it to insert a jumper wire to raise charge voltage to 14.2. As you have found it will take a long time to recharge at 13.6v. If you forget to remove jumper wire at 14.2v you risk damaging battery if left on for too long.

The IQ4 takes care of this for you automatically, higher charge rate when needed and drops to float voltage when battery is charged. For 20 bucks its a no brainer.

[Y-Guy]

Do you know what group your new battery is? If you have a single group 24 what you're experiencing maybe the norm. As you found out there are several parasitic draws on the battery. The fridge and the detectors can do a lot of draining in a short time. Adding a second battery can help even if you stick with dual 12volt batteries.

I opted to stay with 12volts in my motorhome but I went with the Group 31 batteries.

When my converter died I put in the Progressive Dynamics with the charge wizard, batteries seem to do even better with this setup I've found.

You might look around at your batteries, number of people have switched to LED lights. I haven't yet. When dry camping we fire up the generator usually for an hour twice a day, while doing meal prep, that seems to be enough to keep the batteries going. I've managed to go 11 days like that.

[broccoli2]

To answer your question. I would say yes this is normal. My old warrior, and every RV that I know of has a battery disconnect. Be sure and switch that to off when your not using your rig. This will help to save some of the charge.

[ddfuller]

Thanks for the 12v side of life ad converter/charger link.. I'll review
Yes, I charge at home. through winter I just plug in for a few days every few wks to keep the battery level up. Yes, my truck is wired to charge trailer while towing.

[Y-Guy]

Ok a few things.

You really need another battery. One doesn't cut it very well for most RVers. It's very common for RVers to use a Dual 6volt battery setup. One of the best resources is a site called The 12volt Side of Life I highly recommend book marking it and taking the time to read it over in detail, you will learn a lot. I've used it as a resource well over 10 years now.

Your converter/charger like most RVs is unusually the cheapest they can buy. It won't charge your battery very fast, but it's better then nothing. Progressive Dynamics is one that makes some better units that can rapid charge a battery. Progressive Dynamics

Many generators come with cables you can attach to the battery, in this case you want to remove one of the leads and just let it run charging the battery directly. Your Honda 1000 may or may not have this option, but it's work looking into, but it's a hassle.

Finally, do you charge your battery at home? Is it always plugged in, are you checking the water level? Is your truck setup to charge while towing? Many are able but don't always have the required fuse or breaker installed from the factory.

[ddfuller]

I saw the IQ4, but I don't understand what problem of mine it solves? Sorry if an elementary question, but it's not obvious to me how this fixes my slow charging..