Electrical Power in Storage 2000 Journey 36G

[Rodger-WO]

I have my 2000 Journey 36G hooked up to house power (120 volts). Should I leave the converter on all the time or turn it off. As of now I am only using 12 volts for the LED inside lights when I need them. I thought I read in the manual that if you leave the converter on it will charge the batteries.
Thanks,
Rodger

 

[powercat_ras]

I assume you have flooded lead-acid or AGM lead acid batteries.

When you are 120 volt AC powered from shore or generator, a converter is providing 12 volt DC power. It will sense the battery state of charge and set its voltage accordingly. It should drop into a mode called "float" when batteries are charged which will not harm the batteries. This voltage should be 13.5 volts or less. You can confirm this with a digital volt meter.

If you are using the OEM year 2000 vintage equipment you'll want to make sure it still drops into float mode, sometimes things fail and it can damage the batteries.

In any case you should check your batteries at least every 3 months and make sure the electrolyte level in all the battery cells is at the bottom of the cap holes. If not add distilled water. NEVER put anything other than pure distilled water into them.

 

[Rodger-WO]

Thanks. I am not sure if it is a OEM converter from 2000. I check my batteries to make sure they are OK, though. Just didn't want to do anything to them. Noticed you are from Manhattan. I was stationed at Fort Riley in 82-83.
Thanks,
Rodger

 

[Bobn1957]

I have my 2000 Journey 36G hooked up to house power (120 volts). Should I leave the converter on all the time or turn it off. As of now I am only using 12 volts for the LED inside lights when I need them. I thought I read in the manual that if you leave the converter on it will charge the batteries.
Thanks,
Rodger

To be safe I would update the converter to a modern three or four-stage charger to prevent overcharging, they are relatively inexpensive and leave the power on all winter, it will keep the batteries from freezing and give them a nice long life! I also installed a Trick-L-Charge relay between the house and chassis batteries to keep the chassis battery charged as well!

 

[Morich]

Some things to consider. That year likely has a charge system that will overcharge the batteries if left on full time. To get charge to them, the battery disconnect switch needs to be on. Don't think to save power by cutting off 12Volt use at the switch because that also cuts off charging!
One way to work around the situation takes a bit of time/effort and thought.
There are items like safety stuff left connected when we store the RV. Even with the disconnect turned off the batteries will drain over time. But if we charge them full time it is too much!

One way to go is to turn off the disconnect to reduce any drain but then also watch the voltage as a way to see how quickly they are draining. Then when they get down a bit, turn the disconnect on and plug in to let it charge for something like 6-8 hours. Charging is a slow process, so don't mistake seeing 13 volts as being fully charged as that is only the charge right at the posts, not the full battery!

Is this something that works where the RV is stored? Can you see checking frequently, connecting charge for a time and then come back to shut it down when it reaches full charge?
It will take some time and really careful watching to run down a fine line between too low and too high! I did it when stored here at home but would not want to try it is not there full time.
But if does avoid a fair amount of effort and expense in changing the converter!

Maybe an alternate is getting a really good quality stand alone battery charger which has better regulation that involves the bulk charge that drops to float voltage and connect it directly to the batteries and monitor that it is not overcharging?

 

[BCam]

I also installed a Trick-L-Charge relay between the house and chassis batteries to keep the chassis battery charged as well!

Unfortunately, the family company that manufactured and sold the Trik-L-Start and its big brother, the Amp-L-Start is no longer in business due to the owner's death. It was a great product.

Options are available from Victron and other manufacturers . Newer MHs have bi-directional battery combiners that can replace your current relay that enables your alternator to charge your house batteries. The bi-directional device will charge in both directions. I'll leave it to others for specific recommendations since I'm not currently familiar with them.

 

[Morich]

If we are a bit creative on things and also set up some way to not forget, there is an alternate in many cases.
The trik-L was great for a hands free and no mind stress as it was a one way charge only. But if we want to move power from coach to chassis while stored, a simple strap between them will get it done.

If not handy to open the battery compartment, etc, adding a heavy duty switch where it is handy might work well?
The mode solenoid is one place where we have battery cables from each that are close together for a short strap if the battery locations are too far apart to make it handy.
In normal operation the solenoid straps them together as we drive. If we want to keep them strapped together after we drive home, a set of alligator clips and a 12 gauge will do to keep both charged. Current flow and overheating the wire is not a factor as we arrive home with them both near the same voltage from being connected while driving!

The DOWNSIDE?
If we forget to take this strap off when we go to a campsite, we are prone to not only running the coach battery dead but BOTH coach and chassis!
That could leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere if you are a loner!

 

[Rodger-WO]

Has anyone ever heard of this place:
RV YARD
4646 West Pasadena Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85301

(602) 272-0301

 

[Bobn1957]

Unfortunately, the family company that manufactured and sold the Trik-L-Start and its big brother, the Amp-L-Start is no longer in business due to the owner's death. It was a great product.

Options are available from Victron and other manufacturers . Newer MHs have bi-directional battery combiners that can replace your current relay that enables your alternator to charge your house batteries. The bi-directional device will charge in both directions. I'll leave it to others for specific recommendations since I'm not currently familiar with them.

I called the relay I used as the Trick-l-charge relay because I couldn't remember the name of the product I actually used, it's a generic voltage sensing relay, available on Amazon, and easy to install, just remember to fuse the connections for safety! The chassis battery is charged at about 1/2 volt less than the house battery and because I replaced the 1996 converter with a modern three-stage charging converter the batteries so far have used very little water (three years).

 

[Morich]

Never heard of them but it does look like they have a lot of junk.
That may be a good sign if you want some salvage!

 

[Rodger-WO]

I bought a center cap for the rear wheel on my Journey. It has been a week or so and they have not sent it yet. I was just wondering if they were actually a business.

 

[Morich]

Maybe they parked them so close they can't figure how to one out?
Sometimes business just gets a bit more weird than we think?
Best of luck on the chase!

 

[Rodger-WO]

I saw where they charged my paypal account for the center cap so maybe it will be on its way soon.