Electrical Question-Breaker panel does not cut all power

[pbitschura]

Hi folks. Another understanding "new school" technology question. Dealership did supply new battery when we picked her up this spring. It's a cheap starter battery, but another time. We have come home from a few trips now and parked it on the drive. I go out in a few weeks and all is dead. I check the front mounted battery and it is dead so on the charger it goes. Let me say that we dry camped with a genny once and had full hookups another time. So the battery wasn't taxed while in the campgrounds, Happened again. Back on the charger Everything dc is running while on the charger. Ok fine. There is some draw while parked, so I should turn off all the breakers. But I notice the onboard stereo is still lit and the thermostat is still lit with all breakers off. Might there be an isolation switch I haven't found? I disconnected the ground on the battery. I'll be upgrading that anyway. Thoughts please.

[Bobbo]

TCBear wrote:
"I'm a fossil fuel guy. Have a Honda 3200i. It sips fuel and is quiet."

It's relative, but personally I've never encountered a quiet generator in a campground, same for gas lawnmowers -- they all detonate atomized gasoline, not a quiet endeavor. You can invariably hear them in adjacent campsites. It's partly that reason I only disperse camp, so I don't have to listen to the generator in the next space for hours. I'm more into the sights and sounds of nature. A Honda generator costs around $2,500, whereas my $200 solar panel charges my trailer battery in as little as 30 minutes. I don't don't use AC or a microwave, so I have no use for a generator.

You are confusing a quiet generator with a silent generator. Apparently dispersed camping is the right choice for you.

[jimh406]

TCBear wrote:
It's relative, but personally I've never encountered a quiet generator in a campground, same for gas lawnmowers -- they all detonate atomized gasoline, not a quiet endeavor. You can invariably hear them in adjacent campsites. It's partly that reason I only disperse camp, so I don't have to listen to the generator in the next space for hours. I'm more into the sights and sounds of nature. A Honda generator costs around $2,500, whereas my $200 solar panel charges my trailer battery in as little as 30 minutes. I don't don't use AC or a microwave, so I have no use for a generator.

Fine that you like dispersed camping (I do, too), but you seem to be exaggerating a bit, or I'm misunderstanding.

Some generators are very quiet. Also, state/federal improved campgrounds generally have quiet time. Normal conversation is louder than a small quiet Honda generator. They really are that quiet. On the other hand, most built-in generators far exceed normal conversation. They are also not $2500 for the small sizes.

There isn't a $200 solar panel that can produce enough power to fully charge a normal size 100AH RV battery in 30 minutes. It's more like 10-20 hrs based on all of the articles on the internet. Of course, if you barely use your battery, then solar is viable except in bad weather or maybe during Winter. Maybe that is what you meant.

Fwiw, I also like power generators like Jackery, etc. I find that enough for my usage except for maybe running the furnace in Winter because I've changed all of the bulbs to LED. They are able to be charged by 12v, AC, solar, and not very expensive any more. They are more than enough for me to charge phones/tablets for a night.

[Bobbo]

If you install a battery shutoff on the battery, I STRONGLY advise that you hook the breakaway brake BEFORE the shutoff. It pulls no current unless activated, but that allows the breakaway brake to work in the situation where you forgot to turn the battery back on.

An alternative is to hook the tongue jack AFTER the disconnect. If you have to turn the battery on just to hook the trailer up to the tow vehicle, then you CAN'T forget to turn on the battery.

[ktmrfs]

if your trailer has a stereo system (and what trailer doesn't?) they are famous for drawing way to much current in the "off" position which is really "standby" resulting in a dead battery in a few days.

that along with things like a CO or propane detector hooked to 12V along with TV antenna booster= quick dead battery in storage.

Solution is to either use the built in battery disconnect switch or if one is not in the trailer ADD a battery disconnect switch. Hint.... leave the power jack connected to the battery.

[pbitschura]

dougrainer wrote:
You state "Starter" Battery. What is your definition of that. ANY dealer that installs a NON deep cycle battery is NOT a dealer I would trust. Now to the draw, you have found the main draws. The radio and the wall tstst. ANOTHER draw that few realize is the TV antenna Booster. These are usually out of sight and are easily forgotten. Another draw is the LP detector. Some OEM's install direct to battery and bypass any possible OEM battery disconnect. A long shot and I have seen it numerous times is, The Emergency Break Away towing Brake switch. For some reason some RVers pull the lanyard loose to act as a emergency brake while camped or stored. This will burn out that switch unless the battery gets depleted quickly. Now, IF you have a NON deep cycle battery(starter), then if drained dead a few times, it is now a boat anchor. You will never get it to full charge and stay charged. The best way to store a Towable with 1 or 2 batteries is to pull the battery/s when storing and put in garage and install a Battery Maintainer to keep it fully charged. It takes less than 5 minutes to pull and reinstall. Doug

Great points.

[dougrainer]

You state "Starter" Battery. What is your definition of that. ANY dealer that installs a NON deep cycle battery is NOT a dealer I would trust. Now to the draw, you have found the main draws. The radio and the wall tstst. ANOTHER draw that few realize is the TV antenna Booster. These are usually out of sight and are easily forgotten. Another draw is the LP detector. Some OEM's install direct to battery and bypass any possible OEM battery disconnect. A long shot and I have seen it numerous times is, The Emergency Break Away towing Brake switch. For some reason some RVers pull the lanyard loose to act as a emergency brake while camped or stored. This will burn out that switch unless the battery gets depleted quickly. Now, IF you have a NON deep cycle battery(starter), then if drained dead a few times, it is now a boat anchor. You will never get it to full charge and stay charged. The best way to store a Towable with 1 or 2 batteries is to pull the battery/s when storing and put in garage and install a Battery Maintainer to keep it fully charged. It takes less than 5 minutes to pull and reinstall. Doug

[pbitschura]

TCBear wrote:
"I'm a fossil fuel guy. Have a Honda 3200i. It sips fuel and is quiet."

It's relative, but personally I've never encountered a quiet generator in a campground, same for gas lawnmowers -- they all detonate atomized gasoline, not a quiet endeavor. You can invariably hear them in adjacent campsites. It's partly that reason I only disperse camp, so I don't have to listen to the generator in the next space for hours. I'm more into the sights and sounds of nature. A Honda generator costs around $2,500, whereas my $200 solar panel charges my trailer battery in as little as 30 minutes. I don't don't use AC or a microwave, so I have no use for a generator.

I'm happy. You're happy. that is the goal, right.

[TCBear]

"I'm a fossil fuel guy. Have a Honda 3200i. It sips fuel and is quiet."

It's relative, but personally I've never encountered a quiet generator in a campground, same for gas lawnmowers -- they all detonate atomized gasoline, not a quiet endeavor. You can invariably hear them in adjacent campsites. It's partly that reason I only disperse camp, so I don't have to listen to the generator in the next space for hours. I'm more into the sights and sounds of nature. A Honda generator costs around $2,500, whereas my $200 solar panel charges my trailer battery in as little as 30 minutes. I don't don't use AC or a microwave, so I have no use for a generator.

[CA_Traveler]

deleted

[CA_Traveler]

My full battery diconnect switch and shunt. It's on the negative post which should always be disconnect first and reconnected last to minimize a possible postive post short to ground. Think using a wrench on the bolts.

[pbitschura]

TCBear wrote:
You might look into a small solar panel too for camping. I have a portable 100 watt panel and dearly love it. It will even charge on a modestly overcast day, although of course it takes longer

I'm a fossil fuel guy. Have a Honda 3200i. It sips fuel and is quiet.

[TCBear]

You might look into a small solar panel too for camping. I have a portable 100 watt panel and dearly love it. It will even charge on a modestly overcast day, although of course it takes longer

[TCBear]

There are better battery disconnects, but you may get by with an inexpensive knob model -- see "swan battery disconnect." The recommended safe practice is to install it on the negative/black/- terminal, and the instructions may likely mention that. The oversized nature of the shutoff brings it potentially closer to other metallic items, including during a crash. Since the negative terminal is already grounded, that's not a problem, whereas the positive side will start sparking as soon as it contacts anything metallic. It's easy to check for parasitic draws using a $10 Harbor Freight multimeter (volt meter), you can Google that or watch a YouTube video.

[Dutch_12078]

By "breakers" are you taking about turning off the circuit breakers that control the 120 volt outlets and appliances? The 12 volt circuits are usually protected by fuses.