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Old 04-28-2018, 06:59 AM   #1
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Furnace drained batteries?

Okay maiden voyage last weekend in our 2018 2108DS. Second night we woke up to dead batteries? Yes we were running furnace but still. We have two new Group 24 batteries. We could dry camp in our R-pod for two nights in the winter no problem. And that was on one battery not two!

I did not run the generator during the day but I did get batteries back up close to 100% (all four lights on panel) with my 90 watt solar panel. Then 3am Sunday we wake up to dead batteries. Not good.

Took it to dealer and they tested everything and are saying everything is fine. How can that be. I'm sure you guys dry camp in weather needing the furnace. How do your batteries perform?
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Old 04-28-2018, 09:17 AM   #2
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Okay maiden voyage last weekend in our 2018 2108DS. Second night we woke up to dead batteries? Yes we were running furnace but still. We have two new Group 24 batteries. We could dry camp in our R-pod for two nights in the winter no problem. And that was on one battery not two!

I did not run the generator during the day but I did get batteries back up close to 100% (all four lights on panel) with my 90 watt solar panel. Then 3am Sunday we wake up to dead batteries. Not good.

Took it to dealer and they tested everything and are saying everything is fine. How can that be. I'm sure you guys dry camp in weather needing the furnace. How do your batteries perform?

Do you know if they load tested the batteries? What is the date on the batteries? A battery can show a full charge but fail a load test, they could also be cheap batteries, there is a large range of quality/amp hours on deep cycle batteries, or one could be bad but if they tested the bank with them connected together it could hide that and 1 bad battery could take down the good one.. What is the amp hour rating?

You can do a amp hour test with some 12 volt lamps of a known wattage and a timer. The lamps must be connected in parallel and the total wattage added up and divided into the voltage.

Regardless of what tests are being performed the batteries should always be tested individually from each other for the reasons mentioned above.

If everything tests out good it may be that the furnace draw, and whatever else you are using is greater than on your old trailer.
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Old 04-28-2018, 09:26 AM   #3
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Also a lead acid battery that has been stored with a low charge will sulfate, reducing the useable plate area. It will appear fine when charged but will deplete more quickly being that it is basically a smaller battery due to the unuseable portions. That is why you should check the dates to see how long they were stored before you got them (or left dead on the dealers lot)
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Old 04-28-2018, 09:40 AM   #4
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Good info. Thanks. Yes they load tested the batteries but did they test each one? I'm guessing not. I'll go out and check the dates.

Which brings me to another question I've always had. How sensitive are these circuit boards I keep hearing about? Does running on low voltage (batteries low on charge) smoke the circuit boards? And how many of these boards are there? I understand that ideally we shouldn't be running these deep cycle batteries down below 50% but for dry campers like us sometimes it's somewhat unavoidable. Does running on low voltage hurt the appliances? Or am I just way overthinking this stuff?
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Old 04-28-2018, 10:43 AM   #5
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Good info. Thanks. Yes they load tested the batteries but did they test each one? I'm guessing not. I'll go out and check the dates.

Which brings me to another question I've always had. How sensitive are these circuit boards I keep hearing about? Does running on low voltage (batteries low on charge) smoke the circuit boards? And how many of these boards are there? I understand that ideally we shouldn't be running these deep cycle batteries down below 50% but for dry campers like us sometimes it's somewhat unavoidable. Does running on low voltage hurt the appliances? Or am I just way overthinking this stuff?
Can't help you with that, I don't really know how that stuff is configured but I would think there would be some type of voltage regulation. We don't have our Micro Minnie yet and are still in the decision/preparation stage.
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Old 05-01-2018, 08:30 PM   #6
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Talked to an RV tech today. Antenna booster was in on position. That's a significant amp draw and it was as simple as turning it off at the switch. Also learned that these Dometic refrigerators have a heating element that is designed to reduce condensation inside the fridge. Older units have a switch to turn element to off position but in newer models it has to be disabled by disconnecting it. Easy enough to do though. Just access the wire at the light inside the fridge. You can either cut the wire - it's the smaller of the two black wires - or disconnect it from the terminal. I just disconnected it inside the little cover over the light in the fridge. Unplugging it also kills the light but I didn't feel comfortable cutting the wire. That is also a fairly significant amp draw or so I'm told. Heading out again this weekend. Will let you know how it goes.
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Old 05-16-2018, 06:03 PM   #7
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“but I did get batteries back up close to 100% (all four lights on panel) with my 90 watt solar panel.”

Not likely. Five amps at absolute best per hour. Five hours at absolute best equals ...25 amp hours of recharge. That won’t refill even one Group 24 battery.
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