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Old 07-29-2011, 10:20 AM   #1
dennisl
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Battery question

I need to remove my battery to try and charge it. I think it is dead but want to try to charge it with my battery charger before I buy one. I am plugged in to shore power to run the refrigerator. Is it okay to remove the battery and leave shore power on, or do I need to unplug and run the fridge on gas while charging?
 
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Old 07-29-2011, 10:42 AM   #2
ExPatNW
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I would suggest that you cannot unplug from shore power and unplug your battery and run the fridge on just gas. If your fridge is like mine, I need 12V to the fridge to run it on gas. With neither battery or shore power you won't have 12v to the fridge.

I would leave shore power connected and disconnect the battery to charge it.

Sure others will chime in with helpful advice too.
Chris
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Old 07-29-2011, 11:02 AM   #3
8.1al
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That's right, the fridge will not run on gas without 12v to operate the electronics
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Old 07-29-2011, 11:19 AM   #4
mhs4771
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CAUTION--Make sure you insulate the Hot lead going to the battery, because if you leave the unit plugged into shore power and the converter on, you will have 12 volts on that cable. If it were to short to Gnd you could damage the converter, but hopefully you would blow a fuse or overload protection on the converter would shut it down. But the sparks that would fly can scare the Heck out of you.
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Old 07-29-2011, 12:45 PM   #5
Art-n-Marge
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I agree with ExPatNW. If you are connected to shore power you get 12v from the converter that is powered by the shore power. I have a quick disconnect switch for my rig batteries and disconnect them while in storage and can still use the 12v lights via the converter. The furnace, the fridge (12v/propane configuration), all without a connected battery. Try not to use the heavy duty 12v stuff (slideouts or landing legs) while on shore power but even these are possible but sometimes the converter may not provide enough power for the higher amp stuff.

I leave my rig at the house on shore power (15 amp) and can use the 12v stuff just fine because of it. In fact, the batteries are disconnected and by using shore power, I plug the Battery Minder into a 110v outlet of the trailer its leads are connected to the batteries for recharging/reconditioning. My converter does not have the "smart" controller to do this so I use the external Battery Minder for this purpose.
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Old 07-29-2011, 12:49 PM   #6
dennisl
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by ExPatNW

I would suggest that you cannot unplug from shore power and unplug your battery and run the fridge on just gas. If your fridge is like mine, I need 12V to the fridge to run it on gas. With neither battery or shore power you won't have 12v to the fridge.

I would leave shore power connected and disconnect the battery to charge it.

Sure others will chime in with helpful advice too.
Chris
Now that I actually think about it, you are correct. Thanks to others for the tips as well, especially about the possible converter damage. I will make sure not to ground the lead when I leave the shore power on. I have already blown a fuse today by over-extending the landing gear. Old-timer's disease is taking its toll, maybe I should go back to a tent or just check-in to the old folks home and pretend I'm camping!
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