Batter charger and converter. - Page 2

**wingnut60** · 12-05-2017, 11:56 AM

Just a personal experience with the basement slideout--I was happy to get one with my '05 and had it for 10 years. Did not have one in the'15 when we bought it.

In using the slide, I found it very helpful to get to things in the middle, but most of the time, something on it would hang up on something not on the slide and it would not come out. Probably due to my excellent organizational skills.
Now, I don't have one--have to move things in front to get to things in the middle. Am using plastic tubs and trying to place most-used items near outside. Still not working well. Probably due to my excellent organizational skills.
The slide itself takes up storage room and has a gap under it that small items always find a way to get under. Again, probably due to my excellent organizational skills.
So, have had one, and not had one. Need to buy another trailer with or without the slide to see where 2 out of 3 tries takes me.....

But, my problem has been solved--had solar installed and the 4 AGM batteries are now located alongside the gen housing back and would preclude having the normal-sized slide installed. Now using the stock battery area for small item storage--spray cans, oil cans, etc.

To slide, or not to slide, that is the question....

dmascheck · 12-05-2017, 12:35 PM

Mine has a dedicated compartment for only two batteries. Above compartment in the same door area has all the fuses and shut off! So you took your batteries out and moved them to the basement area? Id love to have 4 with a slide out to service them.

You have solar on your roof? I worry about breeching the roof and when I was young I was like a monkey crawling everywhere, not anymore at my age. I have a friend that travels to the Valley of Texas every year and he says there are folks that do maintenance on trailers at reasonable prices. He gets his trailer washed and waxed! We might try that once, but I'm not a big fan of the Valley. Many like to venture into Mexico for dental work and medicine. I used to daily in the old days, but no more!!

**wingnut60** · 12-05-2017, 03:24 PM

Guess you are located in TX?

I did not attempt the solar install myself--had it done by AMSolar in Springfield, OR. If they made a hole that leaks, I'll see how they take care of it...

The 4 batteries had to go somewhere other than the OEM slide compartment, but they are not on a slide--just sitting on the basement floor held in by wood lathe strips and straps. Not visually great, but effective.

dmascheck · 12-06-2017, 05:53 AM

you have any pictures? How many watts? I assume you can't run you ac? What cost?

**wingnut60** · 12-06-2017, 08:38 AM

Can't supply pics, on job away from trailer for several months.
The cost is strictly tied in with how many panels you install and how sophisticated you want the controls. If you visit AMSolar.com there is a contact window to ask them about an install. Not cheap, but done right, that I could not do myself.
At this point, I just have the panels recharging the batteries and running the fridge.
Cannot run the air conditioners, no. Will be having all the interior wiring reworked to allow solar to all plugins thruout the trailer, but will also require upsizing the 1000w inverter to a 2800w unit. Could not schedule the time to do it with the earlier work.

dmascheck · 12-06-2017, 06:38 PM

I have a friend that owns a place in Ellinger Texas. He is 100% off the grid. Sharp electronics wiz! His house is unique!

MASTERDRAGO · 02-28-2018, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmascheck

Can you run a batter charger and converter on your batteries simultaneously?

I know the question comes up WHY? Just curious?

I've always had the same question. If your on a charger, would not your converter simply go into standby or maintenance made all the time? And a question for
Wingnut60.... Just got our 5r in October (Montana 3791RD). Dealer tossed in a couple of el-cheapo 12v marine/deep cycle batteries that seem to do the job. Was looking at those Trojan 6v jobbers but at 100+#, not sure they could be lifted into the battery box. There is room in the box for them. Also, I know they are really good but if one fails, don't both have to be replaced?

dmascheck · 02-28-2018, 05:34 AM

I found out while hooked up to land power, the 12 volt pulls directly though the converter. The switch was fine. If I unplug from 120, the switch works perfectly turning the 12 volt power off. But again while hooked up, the switch is bypassed so you have 12 volt electricity all the time.

The problems comes in when your wiring something on the 12 volt side. To turn off the power, and if your hooked up to 120 voltage, it won't turn off the 12 volt DC power. You have to disconnect before the switch will work or unplug the converter temporarily. Lesson learned!

I replaced the switch to find out it was OK. So now I have a spare!

**wingnut60** · 02-28-2018, 09:19 AM

MASTERDRAGO,
As you get in to some time with your trailer, you will find a lot of these answers by yourself from experience. Your needs will reflect your camping style--hooked up all the time or not hooked up a lot/most/any of the time. One 12volt battery will do fine if you are always in a campground with electricity; having more/better batteries becomes a large item only when trying to get by without being hooked up--running out of battery power only happens when you most need it. Running out of battery power AND propane at the same time in winter conditions will christen you as a newly-experienced pro camper.....
The marine/deep cycle batts are not true deep cycle, but work just fine if you do the hookup camping. If the batt list starting cranks amps, then it isn't a true deep-cycle.
Yes, if one batt goes dead, it will affect the other, and you should always have batteries of the same ratings/age. Doesn't mean you can't put an old batt with a new batt, but you will find out this doesn't work as well as 2 new identical batts.
Again, with time and experience, you will learn things others have already come across and learned from--you can use a battery charger with a converter and you will get the charge accomplished much quicker. But, converters have gotten much better over time, so now many are multi-stage and work well. A battery monitor other than the red lights/bars/% will be a big help in understanding what is going on with charge/discharge. It is also helpful to know what some of the electrical draws actually are all the time--amp meter best for this.
You always have to keep in mind the mfgs work off lowest level of efficiency/cost with highest profit in mind--they don't provide the best of anything if they can find a lower-cost product to use.
Hope this hasn't been too wordy, but the electrical system of an RV is the heart and having heart attacks is never fun.
Joe

dmascheck · 03-01-2018, 06:06 AM

I bought a monitor, just need to get it hooked up and have two large deep cycle 12 volts. Wish I would have gotten two 6 volt Trojans, but I'll replace these when they die!

Rockyhud · 03-05-2018, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingnut60

MASTERDRAGO,
You always have to keep in mind the mfgs work off lowest level of efficiency/cost with highest profit in mind--they don't provide the best of anything if they can find a lower-cost product to use.
Hope this hasn't been too wordy, but the electrical system of an RV is the heart and having heart attacks is never fun.
Joe

This maybe related to deep cycle batteries - I don't know for sure - but a few years back I had a conversation with a pretty well informed employee at one of the local auto parts stores about batteries, particularly the vehicle start type. The reason the conversation started was years earlier I had bought two 8-year warranty batteries for my truck that had about 5+ years of use and had been working well up to the time the engine starter motor starting causing problems that affected the batteries. This employee told me he personally knew someone who worked for one of the very few actual battery manufactures and this person told him the makers had, in the last few years, gotten their "recipe" pretty well down as to how to make them only last about 5 years and die off soon after. That way there's always a constant return to replace batteries and the revenue stream it produces about every 5 years. He said they could and have made batteries that lasted longer, such as the 8-year units I had, but they decided to reduce their usable life so the customer returns sooner to replace them, keeping the revenue stream going a little more steady and often. You can't even find batteries with 8-year warranty any more. That said, he advised buying the top line starting batteries doesn't mean the customer will get longer life from them compared to batteries somewhat less expensive.

As I said, the deep cycle type may not be made using the same guidelines as above. Hopefully they do last longer - I just don't know yet. I just thought I'd pass on what I learned that at least applies to vehicle start batteries. Your battery "mileage" may vary.

dmascheck · 03-06-2018, 05:33 AM

I have several old collector cars. I used to use the high priced Optima batteries exclusively. Several years ago I started having problems with them constantly going out. I got tired of it and after inquiring, found out the factory was moved to Mexico and the quality control was not the same as when it ran in the states!

Pretty sad. I also notice my four wheeler batteries and UTV last about two years tops! Makes you want to go to Lithium, but checking on Lithium for a 1967 GTO was way too expensive!!!

Rockyhud · 03-06-2018, 09:42 AM

Until a few years ago we had a Jeep CJ-7 that I had modified quite extensively over many years time for hard core trail use. At one point, many years back, our 4x4 club had an opportunity to buy what Optima then referred to as "seconds" - batteries that were functionally fine but had slight cosmetic issues that weren't up to the standards for retail sales. I bought a red top for the CJ and was absolutely blown away with how good it was - using the Warn winch for extended run times didn't phase it and this battery lasted 12 years before I finally had to replace it. By then Optima had moved their factory to Mexico and the replacement battery didn't last but about 4-5 years and never seemed to have the reserve power the first one had.

I sold the Jeep to our son-in-law in 2010 as by then I was much more focused on big game hunting than 4-wheeling and the truck got me everywhere I needed to go so the Jeep pretty much didn't get used. He had to buy a new battery shortly after and tried another red top Optima. He had the same poor service life as I had on the second one I tried. No more Optima batteries for us now.

dmascheck · 03-06-2018, 05:57 PM

My first Optimas were awesome, but later turned to crap! When I checked they had moved productions to Mexico. I can understand having a bad one, but I ended up having several go bad. The NAPA dealer told me I was not the only one!

No more! Kiss me goodbye! Wish I could find a brand that is good today and with the last President closing the only lead mine in Missouri, the rest is history.