Forum Discussion

brmiller's avatar
brmiller
Explorer
Mar 14, 2018

New owner battery install question.

Installing a battery in our travel trailer and I'm not sure I've hooked it up correctly. After install the lights work and radio work but none of the ac outlets are working? I'm not sure if this is a polarity issue or if I don't have the correct battery to be able to power the AC outlets?

Sorry for the lack of noobness but hoping to get some guidance and advice.

I have the positive and negative lines hooked up according to the manual but the the smaller gage red and white wires, I'm not sure what those go to? Any suggestions?





this is the battery that was recommended to me?



thank you in advance for any help.
  • aftermath's avatar
    aftermath
    Explorer III
    Mar 17, 2018
    You guys are funny, and informative. Thanks for a good start to my day. Yes, it is all a bit silly when you think about it.

    I am getting ready to head out on a fishing trip and have charged my 12 volt batteries to around 12.85 volts. I am good to go, at least for a few hours during the cold night. Won't leave my generator at home. Good to go.
  • SoundGuy's avatar
    SoundGuy
    Explorer
    Mar 17, 2018
    aftermath wrote:
    And, now that I think about it. Why do they call them 12 volt batteries if at 12 volts they are already at 50% discharge? They should call them 12.8 volt batteries. Of course everyone knows that a 12 volt battery is not actually 12 volts. It starts at 12.8 then goes down to 12 and then hits "empty" at 10.8 Everyone knows this, don't they?


    What an absurd argument. If that were the case then a 9 volt battery would have to be called a ~ 9.5 volt battery or a 1.5 volt a ~ 1.6 volt and each would be 50% depleted at half those values, which of course is not the case. :R And a 12 volt battery is considered 100% drawn down @ 10.5 volts. As for what voltage a deep cycle battery is fully charged that depends on the type of battery it is - flooded, AGM, GEL, etc - which are not all "full" @ 12.8 volts. It's not that complicated. ;)
  • dieseltruckdriv's avatar
    dieseltruckdriv
    Explorer II
    Mar 17, 2018
    aftermath wrote:
    And, now that I think about it. Why do they call them 12 volt batteries if at 12 volts they are already at 50% discharge? They should call them 12.8 volt batteries. Of course everyone knows that a 12 volt battery is not actually 12 volts. It starts at 12.8 then goes down to 12 and then hits "empty" at 10.8 Everyone knows this, don't they?

    Well, anyone that boondocks or dry camps much figures it our pretty quick! When the furnace doesn't work because the battery is too low to trip the sail switch so the propane will come on and make heat on a cold night even though the fan is running.....
    It might seem daunting, but this really does turn into fun, playing with all these new toys.
  • aftermath's avatar
    aftermath
    Explorer III
    Mar 17, 2018
    And, now that I think about it. Why do they call them 12 volt batteries if at 12 volts they are already at 50% discharge? They should call them 12.8 volt batteries. Of course everyone knows that a 12 volt battery is not actually 12 volts. It starts at 12.8 then goes down to 12 and then hits "empty" at 10.8 Everyone knows this, don't they?
  • aftermath's avatar
    aftermath
    Explorer III
    Mar 17, 2018
    SoundGuy wrote:
    aftermath wrote:
    When you hear "don't discharge your batteries below 50%" I don't think many know what that means. Look at the chart and a 50% discharge will take you down to 12 volts which makes no sense what so ever.


    Why does it "make no sense"? :h Full depletion of any 12 volt deep cycle battery occurs @ 10.5 volts, 50% is just a general guide for the masses, nothing wrong with drawing the battery / batteries down further as long as you don't do it too often and recharge ASAP. This general recommendation also applies more particularly to flooded batteries but with more & more starting to use other types such as AGM, GEL, lithium, etc, this general rule of thumb is also becoming less so. For the average user though it's still a reasonable guideline to follow if you expect to get any life out of your RV battery.


    For the "regular" guy, half of 12 volts is 6 volts. I was just trying to point out that there are those who might think this is what is meant by discharging to 50% capacity. That is all I was trying to say. It is nice that you know that "full depletion of any 12 volt deep cycle battery occurs @10.5 volts.." I actually didn't know this when I started into this whole trailer maintenance some 30 years ago. I am glad that there are folks like you out there to keep us up to speed.
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Mar 17, 2018
    deltabravo wrote:
    My inverter
    Good work! You truck camper guys really get to know fitting stuff into small spaces. Props!
  • Vintage465's avatar
    Vintage465
    Nomad
    Mar 17, 2018
    There must be a couple different thoughts on percent of charge. Usually it's something like this:
    12.6-7 =100%
    12.5 =90%
    12.4 =80%
    12.3 =70%
    12.2 =60%
    12.0 =50%..............Dang! Guess they're right 12.0 is 50% discharged!
  • FrankShore's avatar
    FrankShore
    Explorer
    Mar 16, 2018
    50 amp battery won't last long at all when you're unhooked from regular power. You could move to a AGM (never any maintenance) like a 12v Lifeline Battery and get triple the amp hours. Or if you want to go 6v (typically a golf cart battery) that would work too. They sell 6v at Costco for great prices.

    I'd also suggest a portable solar panel w/ a long extension cord, that way you can follow the sun easier.
  • brmiller's avatar
    brmiller
    Explorer
    Mar 15, 2018
    mobeewan wrote:
    Checked the model number on your battery and it is a hybrid (dual purpose) marine starting battery. More for use on a boat for DC power along with starting the engine. It has deep cycle plates along with starting plates. Do not discharge it below 50 percent before recharging or it will shorten the battery life. A true deep cycle would serve better and allow discharging down to 20 percent before recharging and it will serve longer than a marine starting battery.

    There was some a lot of good information on the following link about DC power for RV'ing.

    The 12 volt side of life.


    Thanks for the info. As of now we are just planning on camping at full hook up campgrounds for this first season of ownership.

    once we are more comfortable with rving and we have the camper set up the way we want I will look at a deep cycle gel cell battery and installing a solar panel for those times we dry camp.

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