Battery Problem

[wildcard]

Appears that the battery in my 2955 is on continuous charge. It will have a constant 13.6 volts going to it as long as the A/C cable is connected. Has anyone experienced this ?

[faeb and genb]

I think anytime you are plugged to shore power that it will have a trickle charge going into it. I leave ours plugged in all time. They say if it completly discharged it is hard on your battery.
Gene

[ken]

If you plug into outside power, your inverter will put a trickle charge into your battery and the gage will continue to show 13.5 volts. In addition, continue to check the water (distilled water) in your battery. Two years of not checking one of ours, grounded out the battery and had to be replaced.
Ken and Velda
Dahlgren Va
2003 3655FL Montana/Ford F350 Diesel

[stiles watson]

From what I have been reading, your described condition is normal for that installation.

[padredw]

From my experience with our 2955, I would say that "Yes, this is normal; but yes this is a problem." Just yesterday I purchased two 6 volt 'golf cart' (Trogan) batteries with which I intend to replace the one 12 volt battery. I believe that the converter/charger system has been the problem causing my batteries to fail. We are not full timers and it has been my practice to leave the RV "plugged in" while here at home. I intend to be far more careful in the future. I do not mean to say that the converter/charger is defective, just that it is an inadequate system and if not closely monitored it can easily lead to premature battery failure. I will post this while I get a link that is very helpful... and be right back

Back-- here is the link:
Mark Nemeth's Battery Info

[sreigle]

Padredw, we used to leave ours plugged into shore power whenever it was at home. That included the entire Kansas winter. As long as you check water in the battery every month or two it should be fine. We never had a battery problem because of leaving it plugged in. Now we're fulltiming and it stays plugged in anytime we're not on the road and no problems. What I'm saying is maybe there's something wrong with your converter?

[Chester]

Like Steve, our fiver is always plugged into the shore power when it's parked at our house. This could mean several weeks. From July this year until mid Oct we had our trailer parked at a local campground and it was plugged in the entire time. I have found in the past that if I didn't leave it plugged in the batteries would go dead in about 2 weeks. I'll get a cutoff switch in our next trailer.

I used a battery additive (OB I think it was called) and I only added water once in 3 years.

[padredw]

Thanks, Steve and Chester, frankly I had thought there might be a problem with my converter. For sure, my batteries have not lasted as long as I thought they should. I am adding a cut off switch with the two new 6 volt batteries I am installing. While I'm on the floor, I'll ask for some more help. I have almost everything I need for the installation, but I am having trouble finding a battery box similar (better even identical) to the one which came on my Montana. Can anyone give me any suggestion for suppliers? One fellow MOC member from Michigan has been extremely helpful, but I'm touching all the bases.

[stiles watson]

My battery went dead after a week and a half in storage. I have been trying to figure what may have caused the drain. In the mean time, I disconnected it and recharged it and tested it for drop while disconnected and it has remained at 12.6 consistantly for more than a week, no loss at all. I also found a hefty cutoff switch that is mountable to the bay wall. It was priced at about $30. The battery terminals have wingnuts, so I may just disconnect.

[dersequim]

The drainage culprit is the CO2 alarm. It takes my unit down in 4 days. Therefore when not pluged in I disconnect Battery.

So far tonight you guys are costing me a bundle:Batteries $150, cut off switch $30, Second Batt Box with plastic T and hose, also Selector Switch AHHH??? Nighty Nite!!

[Countryfolks]

This is not the same but should work. I plan on getting one when I switch to 6v batteries. It holds 2 batteries.

http://www.bluesea.com/product.asp?P...62&l1=7462&l2=

Skip

[padredw]

Thanks, CountryFolks, I note you seem to be from Arkansas. I live about an hour Southwest from Texarkana. Have you been able to find a supplier for the "Bluesea" battery box? From the web site, the closest dealer I can find is in Dallas. Hope I can do better than that.

[Countryfolks]

David;
I will go online, maybe to this one:
http://www.iboats.com/mall/index.cgi...t_id=597274631

Skip

[padredw]

CountryFolks, Thanks for the link. I gave up on my search yesterday and placed an order from iBoats. They seemed to have the best price on this box, even though it was more than I had intended to pay. I still wish I could have found a box similar to the one which came on my RV, and I could have just added it ... But I will look on this as an addition to the RV. Again, I thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

[Countryfolks]

You're welcome David. Just figure you're getting one for the price of two! [and it's much better than the stock ones anyway.]

Skip

[Broome101]

Not only the CO2 draws power but the TV antenna booster also has constant draw. If you leave plugged inas Steve has said you need to check the water ever few mopnths if not the charger will cook the battery.