Plugged in or out

[Bfrnk]

Do you keep your rv plug into landline when at home and not on the road?

[Gjac]

Most batteries die from sulfation so keeping them plugged in will prevent that. However I never keep mine plugged in unless I want to charge them. Right now the batteries are not on a charger and won't be recharged until spring. I fully charged them in Nov then disconnect the neg cable on the chassis battery and hit the disconnect on the house batteries. During the summer if the MH is not used I will recharge when the batteries drop to 80% SOC. My 2 6v GC Sam's Club batteries are 15 years old now, each year I expect to replace them because of age but they continue to last a week of dry camping with no genset recharge. I think constant charging causes more plate shedding. However when capacity seems lower I will equalize and desulfate. Hope to get another season out of them.

[kellem]

Trailer is fully stocked and heated all winter and is plugged in 24/7.

[Campinghoss]

Always plugged in. There is a progressive ems monitoring incoming power, the residential frig is set on 40 F and the batteries are monitored. I prefer to keep the frig on as residential models are made to run 24/7. At times during Thanksgiving we have the inside frig full, the frig in the garage full and have to use the one in the fiver. Plus I keep a small ceramic elec heater set at 32 for a safety net.

[olfarmer]

I don't leave it plugged in but do use battery maintainers on it, 1 for coach and 1 for engine battery.

[akkeosflomdis]

Presume you mean electrical plug in, aka shore power as it's sometimes called. Depends. But yes more often than not, it's plugged in.

[Veebyes]

Nope. November to April completely disconnected. No trickle charge. Nuthin. One of the pros of an AGM battery bank. No maintenance & very low self discharge.

[StirCrazy]

min is pluged in when ever its not in use. check water every 3 months, if you have the factory converter check it every month.

Steve

[Mike134]

no reason to have it plugged in. plus it's 80' from the house

[Bfrnk]

I do mean shore power not landline. New to rving and I’m not used to rv language enough.

[Bobbo]

Skibane wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
Plugged in. BUT, I replaced the OEM converter/charger with one that will take care of the batteries rather than boil them dry.

Simple Test: Measure your house battery voltage with the converter/charger turned on, after it has been running for a few days.

If you measure something in the 13.2 - 13.8 volt DC range, your converter is doing a decent job of maintaining the batteries. If the voltage is much higher than that, you're probably going to need to add water frequently.

My Progressive Dynamics converter/charger drops to 13.2v.

Even at 13.8v I think you need to monitor the water level at least monthly.

[time2roll]

Bfrnk wrote:
Do you keep your rv plug into landline when at home and not on the road?

No plug at the storage lot. Plenty of solar power.

[Lwiddis]

No, I don’t. Concerned about surges and low voltage. Prior to buying Lithium battery I used a 30 watt solar panel to keep my Trojans charged when the TT was out of action. Now the discharge is so low, I am unconcerned.

[Skibane]

Bobbo wrote:
Plugged in. BUT, I replaced the OEM converter/charger with one that will take care of the batteries rather than boil them dry.

Simple Test: Measure your house battery voltage with the converter/charger turned on, after it has been running for a few days.

If you measure something in the 13.2 - 13.8 volt DC range, your converter is doing a decent job of maintaining the batteries. If the voltage is much higher than that, you're probably going to need to add water frequently.

[ncrowley]

I connect my batteries to a Battery Minder when I am not using it. The one I have can maintain up to 8 batteries at one time. It has an automatic desulfator. It has settings for different kinds pf batteries. It has an ambient temp sensor to adjust the voltage based on temperature. I think it is a great way to extend the life of your batteries.