battery issues
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Topic: battery issues
Posted By: gaileee
Subject: battery issues
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2016 at 11:57pm
| I've been doing a fair amount of dry camping. The issue I am having is that my battery does not last very long. Last time it lasted about 7 hours and then the carbon monoxide detector went off. Ended up spending that night in my car. What am I doing wrong? |
Replies:
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 8:30am
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What's the state of charge of the battery when you set up camp? Use a multimeter to know the true answer. What all do you have running on 12v? Dry camping you should get several days out of the battery unless it's bad, or you have to run the heater a lot. Starting with a fully charged, good condition battery, +12.6v Make sure the fridge is on propane. Make sure the antenna booster is off. If your pod doesn't have LED lighting, change the bulbs to LED. Run the heater sparingly. If you have a 12v entertainment system, turn it all the way off. Or at least the display. Each time you take the battery so low that that the alarm sounds, it harms the battery ( I have read it reduces the battery life by half, anytime the battery goes completely dead, 10v or so ). How are you maintaining the pod, and it's battery, between trips? ------------- |
Posted By: gaileee
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 12:05pm
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After reading your message, I am thinking it may have to do with maintaining the battery when not in use. Not sure about how or what to do between trips?? Someone suggested I get a battery tender? Thanks for your reply!
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Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 12:14pm
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Good comments by Furpod. Battery life while dry camping is very dependent on initial charge. Before you leave charge the battery overnight with the onboard converter. Do not depend on the TV to recharge while driving unless you're driving for 4-6 hrs. Also, do not run the fridge on 12V while driving. That will likely discharge the battery. Run the fridge on propane while driving and while dry camping. If you find you need even more battery life you should replace the dealer supplied single 12V battery with two 6V golf cart batteries in series. They will deliver more than 2.5x the original battery.
------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: gaileee
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 12:32pm
| Thank you! |
Posted By: sailor323
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 2:18pm
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A battery tender is a good idea. Another maintenance thing that many people overlook is topping up the electrolyte. Use distilled water and bring the liquid level up to the bottom of the filler tube. |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 4:02pm
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All excellent posts by furpod, charlie, and sailor. By following furpod's advice your batteries will last a long time. My 2 deep cycle group 24 batteries are nearing their 6th year of service. Only once did I bring one of those batteries to complete deadness and that was when it was brand new. Not knowing any better and being a brand new pod owner (spring 2011) I decided to precool the fridge on battery mode. So at 5 pm I turned the fridge on battery mode. The next morning, about 14 hours later I was shocked to not only find the fridge at room temp, but also the battery icon blinking. I tested the battery, it showed 8 volts, totally dead. Took almost 3 days using a trickle charge at 2 amps to bring it back to full charge. Still works great today. In fact going to the UP of Michigan tomorrow after church for a week of boondocking, hiking along Lake Superior, rock picking and enjoying the autumn colors.
------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: Mojave1
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 4:32pm
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How does the battery affect carbon monoxide levels? This is dangerous and you need to get to the bottom of it. If the battery is tired you need to replace it. A Group 24 battery has about 70-80 Amp Hours of electricity. If your battery is healthy, I wonder what's pulling the juice? One possibility is the fridge. Never run your fridge on battery, as it uses a lot of current. Dry camping the fridge should be on propane. Heaters in general pull about 5 amp-hour, but don't run constantly. Even in cool weather, I think one charge on the battery is enough for a weekend. Also, you don't want to discharge your battery more than 50%. The less you discharge it, the more charges the battery has in it (it will live longer). If you need more power. Consider a Group 29 battery (about 114 amp-hour, $99 at Walmart). Or two group 24 batteries (75 Amp-hour x 2). RV battery sizes by group are 24, 27, 29, & 31. Or two 6v golf cart batteries (about 200 amp-hours). When dry camping, I find my generator very helpful. I'm speaking in generalities above. I don't know your situation. The purpose is to help you find an answer.
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 5:21pm
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 5:25pm
If you park the pod at home, buy an adapter and plug it in, or install a 30A outlet at home. If you store away from home, at the least, disconnect the battery when away from it, and best, take it home with you, and put it on a tender at the interval the tender suggests. ------------- |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 8:06pm
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Question for you Mark. For the past 5 plus years I have run my batteries until it shows on the wall gauge 1/3 full charge. At that point I change over to my other battery. Yet many posts claim that you shouldn't take them below 50%. How do you check your battery while camping (wished I asked you that at the ERU in Traverse City this summer)? I ask that because both my batteries will be 6 years old next March and still seem to be working well even though I have made it a habit to bring them down to 33%, at least according to that gauge on the wall. I know how inaccurate that is when it comes to showing the black and grey water levels, maybe the same for battery charge?
------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 8:29pm
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The gauge on the wall is hokum. HOKUM!! I installed a voltage monitor long ago..   ------------- |
Posted By: gaileee
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2016 at 8:41pm
| Thank you all! |
Posted By: Mojave1
Date Posted: 09 Oct 2016 at 8:58am
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When I store my Rpod, I disconnect the wires on the negative side of the battery. With an inexpensive multi-meter (< $10 on eBay) you can check your battery's state. Volt DC (Vdc) reading of the following indicate state of charge: 12.6 vdc is about 100% charged; 12.4vdc abt 75%; 12.1 vdc abt 50%. Batteries have something known as leak voltage. Even disconnected they can lose about 10% charge a month (lead acid battery). In the disconnected state, I recharge my battery about once a month (or as needed). Battery tender (or trickle charger), another option, I believe has been discussed. Note: Volts can be thought of as pressure and amps (Amperage) as quantity. The above testing scheme only works on a healthy battery. An unhealthy (tired) battery may read charged (Volts) but not be able to deliver enough amps.
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Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2016 at 8:12pm
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See this link: http://www.solar-electric.com/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html - https://www.solar-electric.com/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html Good to read the whole thing, but just to answer the question on how to check on the battery, scroll 2/3 of the way down to the colored chart. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: PilotPodder
Date Posted: 29 Sep 2021 at 8:58am
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I've still have my original battery for my 2017 179 (new April 2017). I do not boon-dock and I have replaced my converter once. So I am always plugged into shore power so the battery stays charged. I likely will look at replacing it next year when it turns 5, but really haven't had a single issue with it. ~PP ------------- Portage, MI — 2017 RPod 179 - sold / 2017 Toyota Tundra — https://johnmarucci.com/r-pod-video-list/ - My RPod YouTube Videos |
Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 29 Sep 2021 at 9:27am
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If the battery is performing well and if you get it tested and it is good, I don't see why you would need to replace it just because of time. It may last a few more years since you are not really stressing it. ------------- StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
Posted By: Colt
Date Posted: 29 Sep 2021 at 6:42pm
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With 4 hours of full sun a day, this panel and charge controller will keep your battery fully charged. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IFJ73X4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Q820UK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ------------- John '16 R-Pod 180 |