To leave plugged in or not

[mrubaum]

I have a new 2019 Fleetwood Discovery LXE 44h all electric coach. Is it better to leave it plugged into 50 amp service continuously or charge the batteries and unplug. Then let the batteries drain a bit and plug back in. Thanks for the advice.

[Wire_Man]

DrewE wrote:
With a modern converter (which this presumably has), there's absolutely no reason not to leave it plugged in all the time. It might not hurt to check the battery water level on occasion, but most likely that will be fine through to the spring. I add less than a quarter inch of water once a year, leaving it plugged in virtually all the time I'm not using it.

There are people who like to make simple things complicated and complex, too.

^^^^^^^^^What Drew said

[wa8yxm]

Two answers. First it is a 2019 so the 2nd answer DOES NOT APPLY.

Modern RV's have converters with good voltage control You can leave 'em plugged in 24x7 for years and not damage the battery (Mine are plugged in all the time save when on the road (Then I boondock overnight) and lasted 9 years. the new batteries lasted 4 years before I had to add water And of course are still in there and for the last few days they both recorded some overnight TV and let me watch an hour or so a day (I got a bunch of catching up to do TV wise 🙂 )

Tonight i'm on shore power. (And tired. 800 miles plus in under 4 days)

The other answer (STOP READING NOW IF YOU HAVE A NEW RV)

Some older unts had a long since discontinued battery killer of a converter . but anyting made this century won't have it cause it has not been made in more than 15 years.

[midnightsadie]

I live where its cold, my rv,,mh.. boat...tractors .all have battery tenders.

[2manytoyz]

I not only leave our plugged in, but I also set the thermostat to 80F. This way the A/C cycles, keeping the humidity out of the rig. I've been doing this practice since 1994 on our last two RVs. Florida humidity can cause mildew issues in RVs that are not kept dry inside.

Totally agree with other comments regarding good battery chargers. A good charger will also equalize the cells periodically, preventing water/acid stratification inside the battery. That will kill batteries. I've had batteries die early from living on a trickle charger. Doesn't gently bubble the solution to mix it adequately.

[et2]

Your coach has a 3 stage charge inverter system - bulk, absorb and float. What charge your battery needs is determined by the system and adjusted as required. There's also a tempurature sensor which monitors battery temps when the charger is "ON".

You "must" turn the charger on by the firefly panel at the kitchen wall. Also there's a shore power setting in the same panel you should adjust to the correct shore power amp setting ( 50, 30, etc.) Other than monitoring water levels on shore power - turn on rear battery disconnect - plug it in and forget about it.

As I said before there's a pretty good solar panel on your roof. It will keep the batteries charged with the battery disconnect off and both door battery switches off. Using shore power make sure your rear battery disconnect is turned on.

One more thing - if the shore power goes out for some reason - you have a AGS ( auto generator start) which can be set to work ( also set on the same panel) in case the batteries get to low ( shore power not on). It will start automatically to charge your batteries to specified voltage.

It's all in the owners manual and will explain it in detail. All done by entering through the key pad by your kitchen sink back wall.

[Blaster_Man]

wolfe10 wrote:
...The real answer is that IT DEPENDS.

IF (yes, big IF) you have a smart charger, or smart inverter/charger AND it has been properly programmed for your battery chemistry, bank size and ambient temperature (or has battery temperature probe)leave it plugged in 24/7/365...

Agree, it is an all electric coach so it will have an inverter/charger, not a converter/charger.

[wolfe10]

The real answer is that IT DEPENDS.

IF (yes, big IF) you have a smart charger, or smart inverter/charger AND it has been properly programmed for your battery chemistry, bank size and ambient temperature (or has battery temperature probe)leave it plugged in 24/7/365.

Earlier, "dumb" converters charge at too high a voltage for float. So, if this is what you have, it will harm the batteries to have then continually being overcharged. Best alternative: Buy a HD 20 amp timer from any box store. Plug the converter into it and set it to run an hour a day.

[et2]

We bought the same coach in July. Just leave it plugged in. Get a battery watering system because it's a pain in the rear to water those batteries each cell at a time ( location). I add water about every three weeks. It takes me about 4 minutes start to finish with the battery watering system.

But keep the refrigerator turned off. It turns on the minute you add power.

Have you been on the roof? Most likely you have a large solar panel up there that keeps batteries charged. If you aren't in covered storage it will keep the batteries topped of as long as you shut off the two switches at the front door and the battery cutoff by the engine in front of the inverter. It's not one of those tiny air conditioner mounted one.

[Fuzzy_Knight]

Ours in plugged in 24/7. BUT you must check the water every 2 weeks or so to avoid boiling out the water.

[Mr_Mark1]

Mr. Mike,

I would leave it plugged in to keep the batteries topped off. Also, I would get AGM batteries when your new ones need replacing.

I would leave the 'auto generator' active in case you lose power as you don't want to ruin your batteries assuming that you have some type of ventilation if stored indoors.

Where I store my coach, it has lost power a few times and my generator kicked on. It's a huge warehouse type facility and it was not a problem with the genny running. We have 3 lithium ion batteries that can go down to a 30% charge then the genny will kick on. We have four 3,500 watt inverters to keep everything going and charged.

Safe travels,
MM.

[steved28]

If your new converter/charger is like mine, then leave her plugged in. My new Winnie came with a 5, that's right, 5 stage charger. (If you include equalization). But the 4 stages go from bulk to actually turning the charger off! I honestly do not think I could manually maintain my batteries better than this charger. It is a Magnum MS series.

[atsrmf]

In my opinion, if you have a good solid state modern converter, there is no reason why you cannot leave it plugged in all the time. Older units may have overcharged and shortened the life of the battery, but newer versions are designed for continuous use. No worries! I replaced my junk converter from 1987 to a drop-in modern replacement and it is perfect. Technology has advanced considerably.
Pay no attention to insults and those who put you down, the question is legitimate. Those guys are idiots.

[toedtoes]

Bruce Brown wrote:
Ours is plugged in 24/7. If it's not plugged in we're either driving it or dry camping.

Our first set of house batteries lasted 9 years, so we must have done something right.

X2. Both my clipper and FoldnRoll are plugged in 24/7 with no problem. I like them ready to go.

[jplante4]

ArchHoagland wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
Unbelievable

Why is that unbelievable? If he is storing it for the winter I think it's a good question.

I leave mine plugged in year round to ensure the batteries are always fully charged. In case of an earthquake or other natural disaster such as fires that we have here in California I am always prepared.

I also put it away with a full tank of gas. After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 you could not buy gas for three days as there was no electricity.

Unbelievable becuuae the thread DIRECTLY BELOW THIS ONE when I looked at it was this one.

Unbelievable because people do not read a forum they post in.

It's bad enough when someone posts and starts out with "I did a search and couldn't find anything". Really??