waking to dead new batteries

[Golf_Guy]

I am waking upon to dead batteries on the new house batteries. The last two nights I have been turning everything off when going to bed and waking to not enough charge in the batteries to start the generator. Where to begin looking for problem. Any advice would be helpfull

[RJsfishin]

There is so many reasons to have dead batteries, I wouldn't know where to start.
These just to name a few..........
1) charging has never seen 14 volts (batts never seen a 80-90% charge)
2) like said above, fridge (WH?) maybe running on inverter
3) furnace running all nite,...starting w/ 1/2 dead batteries

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I came home late, and encountered this thread on the 2nd page. Wow! The avalanche of suggestions is almost overwhelming. Maybe starting with some basics is not a bad way to begin the hunt for the problem...

• OP how do you rate your mechanical aptitude? Good? Fair? Poor?
• How do you feel about using a new handheld volt meter the kind with the black and red wires sticking out of it?
• Do you feel comfortable finding where things are like the inverter battery terminals, and battery terminals?
• If you are going to be camped or on the road do you have reasonable access to an auto parts store, or Sears store?
• You need to purchase a meter to do any troubleshooting, assumptions are the mother of frustration
• Would you feel comfortable going a getting an inexpensive hand held test meter?

[jrnymn7]

The OP has at least 216Ah's. And a furnace blower cannot go thru 108 Ah's in one night, unless it's running continuously... which it is not.

After "charging" for 12 hrs, there is no way a 216Ah bank can be anything less than full. And by charging, I mean charging... not trying to float the batteries to full with a converter at 13.6v. If you're gonna boondock, you need a real charger, not a converter set to 'normal' operations. I can charge one of my 215Ah banks, from 50-95%, in less than 4 hours with a 60 amp charger.

Having to turn the heat down to 45F, and run the genset for 12-24 hrs a day, is absolutely absurd, and completely unnecessary.

[Shadow_Catcher]

A good starting point http://www.solar-electric.com/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html The only way to know what is happening with your batteries is with a battery monitor which measures current going into and coming out. The two current best choices are The Victron and from Bogart Engineering. I chose the Victron and once calibrated can be set to display %SOC (percent state of charge). You do not want to go below 50% SOC. http://www.victronenergy.com/battery-monitors

[MrWizard]

fridge on auto !

set fridge on LP and leave it there

you very likley have an inverter
and the fridge is running on 120vac produced by the inverter
SUCKING the batteries dead in a few hours

[Bobbo]

Golf Guy wrote:
shut everything down except for the furnace that I set at 60 degrees for the night.

Bingo

If you leave the furnace on, it can run your batteries down, easily, overnight. I did that in Yellowstone in Sept 2011. I quickly learned to set the furnace to 45 degrees overnight (it is only to prevent freezing water lines). And that was after running the generator for 12 hours with a Progressive Dynamics PD4655V converter (spelled GOOD CONVERTER) to get the batteries fully charged.

Sleep with a heavy quilt, then jump up in the AM and turn the furnace up.

[jrnymn7]

A fridge heater is for warming the inside of the fridge cabinet. Check to see if you have one, and if it came on, due to its thermostat setting.

In colder weather, your propane fridge will not operate at optimum performance. They work best at mild temps. The freezer section will actually not freeze, because the fridge section will be cold enough to keep it from coming on. So basically, the heater is used to simulate warmer weather conditions.

[jrnymn7]

OK,

1) I know of no charger that charges at only 12.9 volts? So there's our first issue. Do you perhaps have the generator's 12v output charging the batteries directly? Another possibility is the generator is running , but you have an inverter/charger, and it is in "full charge" mode, and is turned off but monitoring the batts.

2) Your fridge does have 12v controls, so there is a small but contiuous draw there.

3) How many of these 6v batteries do you have hooked up together? 2, 4, 6?

4) That is the remote for the Inverter. Do you have the MM-AE Series inverter, with built in battery charger? Or does your converter have the charger option?

5) Using your hand held meter, you need to check the following voltages:

- output voltage of charger, whether its part of your inverter or converter

- overall bank voltage (main +, and main -, where power goes from batts to inverter)

- voltage across individual 12v strings (2-6v's in series)

- each individual 6v battery

--> V should be the same for overall bank, and each series string. V should be exactly half that for each 6v battery.

Yes, to be safe, put fridge in GAS mode when off grid. It runs on either gas, or 110v. 12v is continuous for the controls only. It is a two way fridge, not a three way. But if the inverter is on, and the fridge is plugged in to a 120v receptacle, it may switch to 120v, instead of gas, and draw down your batteries thru inverter power. So I would go with the gas setting, and keep an eye on your propane levels.

[time2roll]

Golf Guy wrote:

4) Magnum Energy MM-RC

That would be the remote.

Maybe a MM612 or MM1212?

That charging voltage seems very low for an inverter/charger combo.

[mena661]

Golf Guy wrote:

1) 12.9-13.1 while generator is running

There's the problem right there. Your inverter/charger is not charging. Loose or corroded wire, bad fuse, mixed up wiring, etc. Start by checking the charging path from your inverter/charger to your batteries. Start with the output of the inverter/charger.


BTW, Magnum Energy MM-RC is just the model of the inverter/chargers remote control. You need to locate the inverter/charger itself.

[Golf_Guy]

Jrnymn7

Thanks for your reply the is the answer to your inquiry

1) 12.9-13.1 while generator is running
2) Norcold 1200X IMXX set in the automatic mode.
3) Centennial GC2200P Deep Cycle, 20 HR Amp rating of 216
4) Magnum Energy MM-RC
5) Yes I have a small hand held volt meter tester

Perhaps the refer should be in the LP mode as far as a heater on the refer I am not aware of that. Not sure why there is a need for that either but I'm learning.

Also, as for the furnace yes it was running but not much as it was set at 60 degrees so it was cycling on and off sporadically throughout the night.

[Old-Biscuit]

New batteries weren't fully charged when you purchased them

Driving 150 miles and running gen 2 hrs. just maintained charge that was on batteries
Ran them down due to furnace maintaining 60*F temp during night time

Batteries still haven't been fully charged yet........not enough generator run time plus daytime/night time DC demands

Run that generator.....charge them batteries

[time2roll]

Golf Guy wrote:
The current reading on the onboard volts is 12.9 to 13.1 the generator has been running since 7:30 this morning. I would think the batteries are completely charged by now.

If the generator is still running then the battery is not even close to charged. If the generator is off they are maybe 70% to 90% charged depending on the converter.

I would run the generator for two more hours just before sleep. Check the charging is above 14.2 volts. Typical is 13.6 charging and will take 12 to 24 hours of generator time to get above 90% charged.

The 12 Volt Side of Life

[powderman426]

His last post states he had the furnace set to 60. Depending on where he is and the temps, I would say its the furnace as the blower motor can drain a battery quickly.