gdeal
Southern California
Full Member
Joined: 05/31/2007
View Profile
 Offline
|
When my camper is in the garage which lead do I take off the battery and let hang to the side, the positive one?
2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
2007 Palomino Pony 280
|
troll3193
SouthWest, MI USA
Senior Member
Joined: 07/07/2004
View Profile
 Online
|
this has been discussed a lot here. There are people in both camps. I used to disconnect my positive terminal, but saw some good arguments a while back for disconnecting the negative instead.
Actually got tired of disconnecting it and put a marine battery switch in the negative leg.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseac........d/20120392/gotomsg/20121357.cfm#20121357
Bryan
2006 RAM 3500 MegaCab w/Cummins Turbo Diesel
Mopar Exhaust Brake
2004 Dutchemen 31BK
|
smkettner
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 03/21/2005
View Profile
Online
|
If you remove a cable remove the negative. If you add a switch put it on the positive. If you have a good converter leave it plugged in and the battery connected.
|
NPD MECHANIC
Hooksett, NH
Full Member
Joined: 01/15/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
We have a inline 30 amp fuse that kills all power from the battery to trailer just a idea. I would hate to pull the cover off the battery everytime we get back from camping. I would put a inline fuse in.
2008 Jayco 1207
2002 Suzuki XL-7 "Surprisingly Powerful Little Engine That Could  "
Tekonsha P3 Brake Controller
|
gdeal
Southern California
Full Member
Joined: 05/31/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
SMKettner wrote:If you have a good converter leave it plugged in and the battery connected.
My folding camper has an inverter or converter or what ever it is. I can plug an external cable into a wall outlet and the battery will charge up. But if I unplug the wall outlet, I'm thinking the 3-way fridge will draw from the battery. Are you saying with the inverter or converter or what ever I have, will prevent the battery drain?
|
|
|
mike4947
N. Syracuse, NY
Moderator
Joined: 08/26/2002
View Profile
Online
|
It's a converter. As for the fridge, no it won't drain the the battery unless you leave it set to 12 volt. Unlike larger RV fridges, on 120 volt or propane the small fridges use no 12 volt.
BUT the propane detector will drain the battery over several weeks.
Our recommendation is to disconnect the battery from the trailer except when actively camping or connected to shore power.
blog.rv.net Your daily guide to the Open Road
Subscribe to the daily digest
Want to sell some of your gear? -
Free Classified Listings on RV.Net
They say you learn by your mistakes, in that case I must be a genius.
|
gdeal
Southern California
Full Member
Joined: 05/31/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
Thank you Mike4947.
|
smkettner
Southern California
Senior Member
Joined: 03/21/2005
View Profile
Online
|
If you unplug there are generally items on that will drain the battery so you are correct.
Batteries love to be float charged as long as the voltage is not too high and the water boils out. If you post the make and model of the converter someone will help with how good it is with battery maintenance. Or after four days measure the battery voltage. 13.2 to 13.5 is OK, and 13.7+ is a bit high and may use some water. Either way you should still check the water once a month until you get a feel for it.
12 volt side of life
|
stacaz822
Phoenix, Arizona
Senior Member
Joined: 10/21/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
A battery will self-discharge over a period of a few weeks or so, even if it's totally disconnected. Doing this on a continual basis over many months will severely short its lifespan. It's best to leave it connected to at least a trickle charger that maintains it at 13.2 volts. You just need to check water level in the battery every month or so.
The better converters will have a three stage charger with an equalization cycle that bumps the voltage up to 15.5 for a few minutes each day to keep the electrolyte inside the battery mixed up. This will prevent sulfates from building up on the plates. You'll need to consult your converter manual to see which type you have.
A battery maintained at full charge at all times will last a lot longer than a battery that is disconnected and stored for a period longer than a couple weeks, over and over.
Stacaz
|
mike4947
N. Syracuse, NY
Moderator
Joined: 08/26/2002
View Profile
Online
|
Close but no cigar. Battery self discharge ranges depending on the make/type from 1% to apx 4% a month. If a battery self discharges more than this it's time to desulfate/equalize the battery or replace it if that fails.
Many folks think their batteries are self discharging when what's actually happening is they put them in storage partially discharged to begin with.
One of our rules for battery care is to charge any battery when returning from camping before storage.
|
|
|
