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Old 09-24-2008, 03:43 PM   #1
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I love our Tour, but have noticed that the batteries seem to drain rather quickly when drycamping. The batteries have been tested a couple times and check out good when under load.

When boondocking, I have turned the inverter off, run the fridge on LP, and make sure lights are off. The batteries will be down to the 11.9v range after 12 hours while running a fantastic fan on medium. This seems like poor battery performance to me based on our prior coach and I wonder what other current drains might be going on.

Any ideas how I might be able to identify these?

Thanks!
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Old 09-24-2008, 03:43 PM   #2
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I love our Tour, but have noticed that the batteries seem to drain rather quickly when drycamping. The batteries have been tested a couple times and check out good when under load.

When boondocking, I have turned the inverter off, run the fridge on LP, and make sure lights are off. The batteries will be down to the 11.9v range after 12 hours while running a fantastic fan on medium. This seems like poor battery performance to me based on our prior coach and I wonder what other current drains might be going on.

Any ideas how I might be able to identify these?

Thanks!
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Old 09-24-2008, 04:19 PM   #3
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hello rv rick, what you need to test is the amount of draw, what you need is a multi meter with amperage testing, either with inductive pick-up or a shunt, first shut everything off and check for draw, note co/ gas leak detectors, refrigs, etc. may draw maybe 20 to 30 milli amps, also check your reserve rate. if all is okay, with an inductive pickup it is easier test, turning on items and checking the amperage draw of each item test that each draw what it is rated at, if the draw is high with every thing off, go to fuse panel, pull fuses one at a time to isolate circuit which has the draw. i suspect you may have something left on somewhere or something is drawing over it rating, which can cause battery run down, these check are off hand what i would do, may take some time, but i think you find your problem, good luck!!!
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Old 09-24-2008, 04:19 PM   #4
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How were the batteries actually tested? Has the specific gravity been tested?

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Old 09-24-2008, 05:05 PM   #5
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Great idea on a the ammeter -- I even have one (why didn't I think of that ). I will take a shoot at that tomorrow.

The batteries have been tested by load and specific gravity and all seems OK. I think there is something running that I am not aware of.
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Old 09-24-2008, 05:13 PM   #6
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Do you have satalite TV? The box is still drawing a lot even when it's off (don't believe me, just put your hand on it) and some people forget to even turn it off.. I unplug mine
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Old 09-25-2008, 04:33 AM   #7
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by new-to-rving:
--snip--go to fuse panel, pull fuses one at a time to isolate circuit which has the draw. --snip-- </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Ordinarily an excellent idea except the house DC is protected primarily by pop-out circuit breakers.

Measuring the current is the thing to do. Also don't rely on your OnePlace voltmeter as gospel - use a meter right at the battery bank.

11.9 volts with a small load after 12 hours might be about ball-park depending on the accuracy of your meter. Another thing to try as I ponder this is to cut your house 12V off with the disconnect rocker and let the batteries rest for a an hour or two, then measure the voltage at the batteries. If they still read 11.9 V, then they are way discharged.

Between the fridge running (it needs 12V for the control board and running the fans) and the ventilation fan, you might be drawing more current than you think.

Please let us know what you find out...
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Old 09-25-2008, 04:44 AM   #8
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Antenna booster turned off? That is a 12 volt item. Are you sure your inverter is actually turning off? Feel it for heat after couple of hours after turning it off. The bedroom and basement radios (if installed) are always on (another parasitic drain).

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Old 09-25-2008, 01:02 PM   #9
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Rick,

Most satellite boxes run off of 120VAC. When I am on 12V power, I don't get TV.
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Old 09-25-2008, 04:14 PM   #10
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I had a similar problem when dry camping and learned that the fridge on LP will draw a little over 3 amps. So in 24 hours that's 72 amps out of your battery bank. If you have 3 group 31 batteries they are rated somewhere north of 110 amp hours each for a total of about 330 amp hours. At most you can discharge them 50%, but this low is not recommended. Rule of thumb is you will get 80% of the capacity. So you will get about 265 amps to use if you take the batteries to dead. You can count on about 80% of your capacity so you really have 211 amps. After one day of the fridge you have 139 left. Your microwave on inverter will draw 150 amp-hours (AH) or 25 amps per 10 minutes of use. Now add lights (1.5-3AH), water pump (8 AH), TV/surround/satellite or DVD (10AH)sensors etc. and you can see where your power is going. Start adding up your consumption to see how much of it you can account for. Let us know what you learn.
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