RV battery care.

Install a battery monitoring system and take the guess work out of the puzzle.....and listen to Don too... :B

TriMetric

Hi,

Yes the controller is protecting the batteries from overcharging, so no need to pull the fuse.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

About half that 3 to 4 amps may be parasitic loads from the RV. What make and model is the charge controller?

Fully charged from a "smart" converter may take 168 hours.

Voltage doesn't really tell you much about state of charge. For that a decent temperature compensated hydrometer would be the best choice.
Many tables list 12.2 volts as 50%.

My controller is a Soltek Mark IV 20 amp. I spent a little time watching it and it appears as though it will charge for a few seconds and then cut out for a few seconds after the batteries are charged. Maybe it is fine to just leave the fuse in?

Hi,

About half that 3 to 4 amps may be parasitic loads from the RV. What make and model is the charge controller?

Fully charged from a "smart" converter may take 168 hours.

Voltage doesn't really tell you much about state of charge. For that a decent temperature compensated hydrometer would be the best choice.

Many tables list 12.2 volts as 50%.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

The solar panel should be connected to a charge controller--that will keep the panel from overcharging the battery bank.

Equalize about every 30 days.

Recharge before the battery bank reaches 50% discharged.

Here are a couple of websites to help you learn about RV power systems:


http://rvroadtrip.us/library/12v_system.php

http://rvroadtrip.us/library/solar_install.php

I do have a charge controller with my system but it seems to me that as long as there is sun on the panel the thing charges - maybe only about 3 - 4 amps, but it charges during the sunny part of the day even if the batteries have been fully charged by the inverter/charger.
Thanks for the links.

Me Again wrote:
If you do not have the remote panel for the inverter with the AMP Hour meter built in then get one! They make free standing ones if you can not get the one that works with your inverter. Never discharge your batteries below 50 percent or you are hurting them.

I am not a big fan of equalizing batteries if you are using them correctly. I had 4 Dyno 260 amp hr GC batteries in your boat still going at 9.5 years and never equalized them. In talking to Dyno about a new set of six, we talked about equalizing. He asked how I used them. I said never below 50 percent, charged with 140 amp alternator and smart regulator or with 75 amp West Marine/Freedom 1500. He said that the way I am using them will keep the acid stirred up just fine and no need to equalize. I only have to top of water once or twice a year. The inverter/charger is on 24/7 when we have shore power.

In the trailer I use the 50 amp Freedom 10 charge in place of the converter. When dry camping I run the converter with a Honda eu1000i and all my AC loads for the Freedom 10. Sat TV box, DVD player, and Flat screen TV.

Here is a good site to read up on things.
http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

I have a Freedom 10 Heart in my trailer. It has been in 2 boats and now 2 trailers. I have never found anything that has had an issue with the MSW power going back to around 1991 or 92 when I first bought it.

I created a spread sheet to help with battery management. It can be set to any size battery bank. PM me with an email address if your would like it.



And I have to ask, will the eu2001 kick off the Freedom 2500 charger?? Which should be a 125 amp if I am not mistaken. And it is a 4 stage change with equalization being the 4th stage.

Chris

Thanks for the link,
Yes, I have a remote panel to operate the inverter. It is a less expensive panel that uses led lights to display things like charging amps etc. It doesn't display amp hours. To monitor the battery bank charge rate, there is a fuse on the solar control panel that I can remove to allow me to see the battery voltage. (if I leave the fuse in the display reads the charge voltage from the solar panels.) So my understanding is that 12.1 volts is equivalent to 50% charge.

The charger will kick off the breaker on the Honda if I neglect to set the incoming amperage on the inverter/charger down to 20 amps as well as ensure there is no other significant power draw, such as a fridge. Once throttled down the charger only charges the batteries at, I believe, 75 amps and the breaker on the Honda will hold.

Hi,

The solar panel should be connected to a charge controller--that will keep the panel from overcharging the battery bank.

Equalize about every 30 days.

Recharge before the battery bank reaches 50% discharged.

Here are a couple of websites to help you learn about RV power systems:


http://rvroadtrip.us/library/12v_system.php

http://rvroadtrip.us/library/solar_install.php

If you do not have the remote panel for the inverter with the AMP Hour meter built in then get one! They make free standing ones if you can not get the one that works with your inverter. Never discharge your batteries below 50 percent or you are hurting them.

I am not a big fan of equalizing batteries if you are using them correctly. I had 4 Dyno 260 amp hr GC batteries in your boat still going at 9.5 years and never equalized them. In talking to Dyno about a new set of six, we talked about equalizing. He asked how I used them. I said never below 50 percent, charged with 140 amp alternator and smart regulator or with 75 amp West Marine/Freedom 1500. He said that the way I am using them will keep the acid stirred up just fine and no need to equalize. I only have to top of water once or twice a year. The inverter/charger is on 24/7 when we have shore power.

In the trailer I use the 50 amp Freedom 10 charge in place of the converter. When dry camping I run the converter with a Honda eu1000i and all my AC loads for the Freedom 10. Sat TV box, DVD player, and Flat screen TV.

Here is a good site to read up on things.
http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

I have a Freedom 10 Heart in my trailer. It has been in 2 boats and now 2 trailers. I have never found anything that has had an issue with the MSW power going back to around 1991 or 92 when I first bought it.

I created a spread sheet to help with battery management. It can be set to any size battery bank. PM me with an email address if your would like it.



And I have to ask, will the eu2001 kick off the Freedom 2500 charger?? Which should be a 125 amp if I am not mistaken. And it is a 4 stage change with equalization being the 4th stage.

Chris

Well this is just experienced opinion and you should consider everyone's experience and routine is somewhat different because what they do is different. For me I boondock for college football tailgating and an occasional fair/festival weekend. Other than that I have generally have full hookups. So based on my experience some generic answers to your questions

- Generally it is recommended you equalize batteries monthly unless you take charge below 30% SOC then equalize immediately
- Your solar panel is just slightly larger than should be used without a controller with 4 6v batteries. Get a good quality controller (I like morningstar) and you can leave the solar system on all the time (Mine is never disconnected)
- Generally you shouldn't take batteries below 50% SOC (12.2volts resting or around 12 volts with a small running draw) but 6volts are pretty tough and can be taken down to 30% SOC occassional (maybe 11.5 volts running)
- Many good quality MSW inverters work fine but it is really dependant on the equipment not the inverter. I use PSW and don't worry about it

There are many good on-line sources to learn from. Goggle and time is your friend.

I don't have one in mind offhand but the best source of info will be online rather than opinions which you will get. I'd start with the inverter/charger website then a battery maker website for info.

Don't have one now but have had a solar panel. It should have a controller inline to prevent overcharging.

The inverter will let you know when to recharge. It will shut off when the battery voltage gets too low.

Electronics run better with pure sine wave. This is what your house current is. Again the differences between pure & modified wave can best found on the inverter/charger website.

There are 3 basic types of batterys used by RVs. Wet cell, most likely what you have. AGM, I have a single AGM 4D AGM (no maintenance). Gel cell, no maintenance. There are advantages & disadvantages to each type.

Have fun digging. There is plenty to read.