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Old 09-08-2010, 12:12 AM   #1
dcowie
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Electrical Question - electricity with no battery

If I pull my RV battery can I still get electricity from the 50 amp pedestal to operate say the water pump? Is there a downside to connecting to the pedestal without a battery in place?
I plan to leave my RV at a campground in New England this winter and pull the battery for winter storage (about 7 months). When the camper is winterized I presume the tech will need the water-pump to run some antifreeze into the lines. The process will not happen until I have left the campground with the battery in hand. Hence the question above.
 
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Old 09-08-2010, 03:11 AM   #2
HamRad
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Doug the 12 volt stuff in the rig should continue to work. As I understand it the CONVERTER supplies DC power to those items that need it. But you must have shore power hooked up or be running a generator. The converter does not make its own power it simply turns some of the AC into DC.

Good luck.
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Old 09-08-2010, 09:15 AM   #3
RCN.Stoker
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Interesting question. I know the battery is required for the slides (landing legs??) but everything else running 12 volts does it through the converter.
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Old 09-08-2010, 09:52 AM   #4
SlickWillie
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by RCN.Stoker

Interesting question. I know the battery is required for the slides (landing legs??) but everything else running 12 volts does it through the converter.
Landing legs should be OK on the converter. Most have 30 amp fuse; some 40.
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Old 09-08-2010, 12:31 PM   #5
rich6506547
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I believe that anything that is 12 volt well not work you a lot of things in your trailer need 12 volts, but all 110 well work
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Old 09-08-2010, 12:44 PM   #6
drknapp
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Not sure how well it will work, but if you do, I would make sure you insulate the battery connecters with tape or something so they don't touch each other or ground.
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Old 09-08-2010, 02:27 PM   #7
HamRad
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I don't know if this will help or not but it is an interesting read.
Dennis


http://www.rversonline.org/ArtTipsConverter.html
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Old 09-08-2010, 06:59 PM   #8
firetrucker
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That converter article is pretty much out of date. Most converters now can supply over 50 amps, and the voltage regulation (how stable the output voltage is) is very good.

Think of the converter as another battery whose voltage is much more constant than a lead-acid battery. It works in parallel to the house battery. When it gets to its maximum current, it will usually overheat and pop a thermal breaker. It's not as efficient as a lead-acid battery, though, which is why it has a fan, which you will hear running depending on the current draw.

Often, the reason why the converter alone will not run the landing legs is because there are a lot of current draws (standard 12 volt bulbs draw close to an amp or more, a good reason to go to a lower wattage bulb or LEDs), and they can add up quickly. When you add the big load of the landing legs, it can reach its capacity very quickly.

A charged battery can supply a lot of current in parallel to the converter for those big loads, and it charges at a much lower current over a longer period of time. This reduces the overall load on the converter. It's kind of a hidden load, though. If you are on battery overnight when it's cold enough to run the furnace, the next morning when you first start the generator, a good portion of its power is going to recharging the batteries, and you may get a surprise when you turn on the microwave to heat up your coffee.

Bob
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