Battery question

[salem]

If you have your RV hooked up to shore power will everything work properly if you remove the batteries? My uncle's batteries are both dead so he removed them last night so he can replace them this morning. Everything seemed to be working properly. Of course, he wasn't using slides, landing gears, etc. Just curious.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Hmmmm, do modern converter manufacrurers determine their product's ripple value WITH or WITHOUT a battery being in circuit......

Hmmmmm?

[Old-Biscuit]

jwmII wrote:
Not necessarily. You haven't said what Uncs rig is and how it is powered electrically. Many converters supply what is known as dirty DC. The older units from the 60s and 70s would let you do this. The various appliances that ran on 12 volts did not have the sophisticated electronic control sy6stems we have today and dirty DC was fine. In this day and time we need the battery if for nothing more than an electrical filter to cleanup that dirty DC because todays systems will not respond to dirty DC. PC boards and computers not only like the proper voltage but insist on it.

Modern converters have filtered dc.....since late 1990's

Batteries were needed to act as a capacitor for DC voltage spikes

[jwmII]

Not necessarily. You haven't said what Uncs rig is and how it is powered electrically. Many converters supply what is known as dirty DC. The older units from the 60s and 70s would let you do this. The various appliances that ran on 12 volts did not have the sophisticated electronic control sy6stems we have today and dirty DC was fine. In this day and time we need the battery if for nothing more than an electrical filter to cleanup that dirty DC because todays systems will not respond to dirty DC. PC boards and computers not only like the proper voltage but insist on it.

[midnightsadie]

full charge on the batteries BEFORE HOOKUP will help.

[rk911]

salem wrote:
If you have your RV hooked up to shore power will everything work properly if you remove the batteries? My uncle's batteries are both dead so he removed them last night so he can replace them this morning. Everything seemed to be working properly. Of course, he wasn't using slides, landing gears, etc. Just curious.

generally speaking, yes.

[MrWizard]

be sure he turns the converter OFF before connecting the new batteries
either the circuit breaker or unplugging shore power

safer that way, no hot cables accidentally shorting out, no batteries blowing up (maybe)

[salem]

Thanks. Just wanted to make sure nothing would burn up before he gets the new batteries in.:)

[Old-Biscuit]

This^^^^^^^

Plus slides, landing gear are typically wired directly to battery so they probably will NOT operate.

All other 12V DC items should work as they are feed/fused from converter which is powered by shore power.

[time2roll]

Some older converters needed a battery to help regulate voltage and reduce the DC ripple but most RVs in the last ten years should have no issues.