Shore Power??

[Ty151]

Hey guys, new to RV'ing and have a quick question. I have done some research regarding this, but most of the things I'm finding pertain to different amperage and which type of adapters to use.

I have a Lance Lite 815 which uses a 30 amp connector. With the battery disconnected, I attached the truck campers power connector to the 30/15 amp adaptor and plugged it into a standard household outlet. Went to turn on a light to check for power, and nothing. Then I plugged the power cord and adapter into my Yamaha 2000 watt generator, and once again, nothing.

Then I connected the battery to check to make sure I didn't blow any fuses, and everything worked fine.

I need some help on understanding how shore power works. Does the battery need to be connected for shore power to work? My thoughts tell me that the power received from an outlet or generator would be used to charge the battery constantly? Orshould the shore power work indecently from the battery? Thanks for the help in advance

[burningman]

A “battery charger” may need to detect a load to charge.
A “converter” converts 120 VAC to 12 VDC. No battery needed.
My 1967 Security did it, and everything in between up to my 2017 model, with the batteries physically removed.

[Eric_Lisa]

AnEv942 wrote:
...Battery disconnect has no effect (Thinking out put of converter might go thru switch). Turning off converter 12v fades away. ...

From the dredges of my memory, I seem to recall this is not a good thing for the converter. If a heavy load is present, it cannot put out enough power to feed it, and can cause the converter to fail. Certainly good for a test with a few lights, but I wouldn't go turning on the furnace or running the electric jacks.

-Eric

[Ty151]

I may run the furnace at night for a short time, but not 100% sure that I will need it.

[2chiefsRus]

Ty151 wrote:
Checked battery this morning, 13.8 volts on the meter.

I’m still confused as it seems there have been different opinions. It sounds like some believe lights and other 12v items should work with shore power independent from the battery. Some responses say battery needs to be connected no matter what.

I haven’t located my converter yet, so I’ll need to do that, but it seems like I need to find it and make sure it’s working correctly and that no circuits are turned off.

If the shore power doesn’t work, what have been your experiences with using battery power when dry camping or boondocking. I’ll be in the desert without hook ups for 2 nights and plan on spending most of my time out of the camper (not using power). I’ll charge electronics and other things in my portable generator. How long will a fully charged battery last? Rough estimate as I know there are several variables

will you need to run your furnace? that's the biggest battery drain. also just because you aren't in the camper, doesn't mean things aren't using power. Some refrigerators draw power to run the electronic boards. Smoke detectors and propane detectors draw 12volt power.

[Ty151]

Checked battery this morning, 13.8 volts on the meter.

I’m still confused as it seems there have been different opinions. It sounds like some believe lights and other 12v items should work with shore power independent from the battery. Some responses say battery needs to be connected no matter what.

I haven’t located my converter yet, so I’ll need to do that, but it seems like I need to find it and make sure it’s working correctly and that no circuits are turned off.

If the shore power doesn’t work, what have been your experiences with using battery power when dry camping or boondocking. I’ll be in the desert without hook ups for 2 nights and plan on spending most of my time out of the camper (not using power). I’ll charge electronics and other things in my portable generator. How long will a fully charged battery last? Rough estimate as I know there are several variables

[starcraft69]

burningman wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Lights and water pump run off 12v...disconnect the battery and you had no 12v.

No reason to disconnect the battery when plugging into shore power.

The power converter in camper does provide 12 volt DC power and everything should be working whether there is a battery present or not, when plugged into shorepower the battery is entirely unnecessary.
That’s why that device is called a converter.

Either your converter is dead or something is turned off or disconnected.

This is a untrue statement in most RV today Battery must be present for power converter to supply power to 12v side of unit .

[AnEv942]

I dont know- out put of old converter went thru battery- if battery not wired, on shore with disconnect switch not engaged (either position) there was no 12v at fuse panel. My assumption (to assume is to error) was all output of new converter still went thru battery, never checked with battery not connected.

Edit:
I'll be dipped. Removed, isolated both battery positive leads, plugged in camper-
everything works, 13.5+ volts. Battery disconnect has no effect (Thinking out put of converter might go thru switch). Turning off converter 12v fades away. Though I dont think I would use converter to supply high loads directly- its possible to have 12v if battery dumps(and removed). Now I'm curious why and how the old converter behaved as it did- no changes were made to wiring.

Which makes me wonder about OPs converter and no 12v?

[wnjj]

AnEv942 wrote:
Well now I have to go and pull my battery cables...I know our old converter did not supply 12v directly, but responses here make me wonder if replacement does. Just out of curiosity-

How could it not supply 12V directly? The lights and water pump are just 12V loads and so is a battery that is charging. The converter can’t tell the difference. Now some older converters need a battery for balasting or they would either produce too high of a voltage or have excessive ripple but there would still be power to the system.

If your camper disconnect was between the battery and load center but the converter was connected on the battery side then I could understand.

There were also some old style ones that had a switch to choose battery or converter to supply the RV but couldn’t charge the battery from the converter. My sisters 1980’s Coleman popup had that.

[AnEv942]

My opinion is the only silly questions are the ones not asked.
https://www.lancecamper.com/docs/2005%20Owners%20Manual%20-%20Lance_Lance%20Max.pdf
linked is the owners manual to download if you don't have, which may answer some basic questions. Page 27 of the pdf file talks about the 12v.
I assumed physically disconnecting battery cables-note if using a disconnect switch to turn off battery output to camper it also stops ability to charge them.

Once I’m set up at camp, I’ll have the battery connected and the power cord plugged into my generator during the day. I assume this will power all my 120v needs and charge the battery along the way for all 12v needs? Am I correct in that? Yes

Well now I have to go and pull my battery cables...I know our old converter did not supply 12v directly, but responses here make me wonder if replacement does. Just out of curiosity-

[burningman]

valhalla360 wrote:
Lights and water pump run off 12v...disconnect the battery and you had no 12v.

No reason to disconnect the battery when plugging into shore power.

The power converter in camper does provide 12 volt DC power and everything should be working whether there is a battery present or not, when plugged into shorepower the battery is entirely unnecessary.
That’s why that device is called a converter.

Either your converter is dead or something is turned off or disconnected.

[time2roll]

Quick read to help you get acquainted:

The 12 Volt Side of Life

[Ty151]

Got it,I will check the voltage today. I hooked the battery up to my charger last night and it should give me a voltage reading.

Yea, it was t 7ntil after I read the first few responses and started thinking about it that I realized it only makes sense to have the battery connected to power 12v items like the lights :S

I’m learning a lot about this stuff and I’m sure I’ll look back and laugh at some of the questions I had along the way. I am storing the camper at a friends house right now so I’ll try to get over there tonight to mess with it again.

[valhalla360]

Lights and water pump run off 12v...disconnect the battery and you had no 12v.

No reason to disconnect the battery when plugging into shore power.

[wnjj]

It will only charge the battery if the converter is on and working and the battery switch is connected (obviously). Since you have no 12V without the battery, I don’t think your converter/charger is working yet.

[time2roll]

Put your meter direct on the battery terminals. Very important if going off-grid.