Bill&Pam
If its winter - probably AZ, otherwise - who knows
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Joined: 11/05/2006
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You will have some parasitic loads - smoke & CO detectors, fridge control, etc. These loads should not exceed 2 to 3 amps.
You really need to have an ammeter put on to see what your draw is. If your batteries are 220 amp/hour and your load is 5 amps, fully charged batteries should take about 22 hours to discharge to 12.2 volts, which is 50% discharged.
Bill & Pam, Somewhere, USA
South Dakota domicile
2007 Monaco Diplomat 40 SKQ
2005 Chevy Colorado TOAD w/M&G Brake system
2006 Honda Rancher ATV
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doko
binghamton
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Joined: 05/03/2005
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would a short effect the system with the unit plugged into shore line?
The reason I ask is that when plugged in, the battery converter with 3 stage smart charger seems to cycle between 13.1 and 14+ V. I was under the impression that it should pretty much float at 13.6 (iota IQ4 smart charger with DL55 iota converter), but I suppose this bouncing around in the 100% range is normal cycling with the expected 1-2amp parasitic loads???
If this is entirely normal then the problem is only when unplugged. Does that make sense with a short??
ignorantly yours,
doko
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Hurricaner
Hurricane Utah
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Joined: 02/17/2007
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Quote:The reason I ask is that when plugged in, the battery converter with 3 stage smart charger seems to cycle between 13.1 and 14+ V. I was under the impression that it should pretty much float at 13.6 (iota IQ4 smart charger with DL55 iota converter) No it is not normal. The voltage should be fairly steady at the Iota float voltage(around 13.5 as I recall). Bouncing around is an indication of a bad battery or an intermittent heavy load such as a short.
Sam
Sam & Kari
Hurricane, Utah
2004 34' Damon Challenger 315
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tuckerin
morristown, ny
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Joined: 09/28/2004
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For what it is worth .02..had a similar problem and gave the dealer a shot at finding the load, the dealer told me that everything was OK, fine, normal, great..I finally traced my problem to the basement freezestat on the hydroheat system..The thermostat was running a circulator pump most of the time with almost no regard for the actual temperature and the hydroheat didn't even have to be on!
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GBaxter
Arlington WA
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doko,
this sounds like an aftermarket install of the Magnum inverter is that right? I don't know of any OEM using only 2-12v batteries when installing an inverter but that's not the real question.
You said the battery charge voltage is bouncing around and you have an Iota charger. The Magnum inverter is also a charger so the question is did the installer disconnect the Iota charger? If they did not then that is problably the drain on the batteries. If you have the inverter "on" the ac power is supplied to the Iota charger and it in turn is charging the batteries. A very common but battery draining mistake. You just can't create perpetual power buy drawing out of the batteries and turn around and run a battery charger, you need to make sure the Iota is unplugged. This can also cause the voltage flucuation as the two chargers fight each other to maintain a constant voltage.
One other note is that the breaker on the side of the inverter is an ac breaker and if it tripped it was because there was too large a load plugged into the outlets connected to the inverter. It is correct that when on shore power with the inverter off it is in "pass through" mode so ac is going directly through the inverter to the outlets and the inverter is also charging the batteries at the same time.
Gary
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doko
binghamton
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Gary, thanks for the info.
I'll double check, but the last time I checked the inverter was not a charging inverter. Its a little wimpy 600W, without the charging capability.
doko
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GBaxter
Arlington WA
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doko,
sorry you didn't mention the model and I didn't think about it but Magnum does have just one model without a charger and yep if you have a 600 watt then it is an inverter only.
The part about the ac breaker and the pass through still apply though so that part of the explaination is the same.
Gary
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