Country Coach Owners Forum

> We have a 2005 Inspire which has 4 house batteries. We have noticed > that when using the inverter the batteries really do not last that > long before needing charging. Obviously it depends upon what you

doing in terms of power consumption but we have noticed that we only > get about 5 to 7 hours of what seems to be about 2 or 4 amps. We

not run them down to the red in the indicator so maybe there is more > power available. At any rate I was wondering if this is normal from > other owners.
> We also notice when we hook up to shore power or start the generator > to recharge the batteries the indicator goes to red and stays there > for a while even though the batteries were not in the red zone prior > to hook up or starting the generator, is this normal? >

Also, I was told, though I cannot find it in any of the manuals,

> We have a 2005 Inspire which has 4 house batteries. We have noticed > that when using the inverter the batteries really do not last that > long before needing charging. Obviously it depends upon what you

doing in terms of power consumption but we have noticed that we only > get about 5 to 7 hours of what seems to be about 2 or 4 amps. We

not run them down to the red in the indicator so maybe there is more > power available. At any rate I was wondering if this is normal from > other owners.
> We also notice when we hook up to shore power or start the generator > to recharge the batteries the indicator goes to red and stays there > for a while even though the batteries were not in the red zone prior > to hook up or starting the generator, is this normal? >

Also, I was told, though I cannot find it in any of the manuals,

75%, 12.25 is 50%, 12.05 is 25% and 11.85 is 0% (dead battery).

numbers have been slightly modified for easy rememberance. See how > long it takes to get to 50%, that is your cutoff for battery > discharge/recharge cycles for longer life. Below this value, battery > discharge/recharge cycles drop rapidly and battery replacement comes > much sooner.
Fred Kovol
>

We have a 2005 Inspire which ....> > We also notice when we hook up to shore power or start the

to recharge the batteries the indicator goes to red and stays there > for a while even though the batteries were not in the red zone

to hook up or starting the generator, is this normal? > ....

Kary

05 Inspire 36'
#51499

While your engine is running, your alternator is supposed to charge > both the chassis and house batteries, through a battery boost > solenoid in the chassis battery bay on the passenger's side, aft.
An oil pressure switch on the engine closes the solenoid. (This > solenoid also ties the batteries together when you depress the boost > switch on the side console, allowing house assist to start the > engine with a low chassis battery.) >

vol"]
>

> Hi Kerry,

> As posted sometime ago - try this.
> Monitor the battery voltage, 12.65 vdc is 100% capacity > left, 12.45 is

> 75%, 12.25 is 50%, 12.05 is 25% and 11.85 is 0% (dead > battery). These

> numbers have been slightly modified for easy > > rememberance. See how long it takes to get to 50%, > > that is your cutoff for battery discharge/recharge > > cycles for longer life. Below this value, battery > discharge/recharge cycles drop rapidly and battery > > replacement comes much sooner.
> Fred Kovol
>

>

We have a 2005 Inspire which has 4 house batteries. We have

that when using the inverter the batteries really do not last that > long before needing charging. Obviously it depends upon what you

doing in terms of power consumption but we have noticed that we

get about 5 to 7 hours of what seems to be about 2 or 4 amps. We

not run them down to the red in the indicator so maybe there is

power available. At any rate I was wondering if this is normal

other owners.

We also notice when we hook up to shore power or start the

to recharge the batteries the indicator goes to red and stays there > for a while even though the batteries were not in the red zone

to hook up or starting the generator, is this normal? >

Also, I was told, though I cannot find it in any of the manuals,

Although you can deplete the batteries below 50% capacity, it will > shorten their life. Look at the batteries for their 'amp-hour' > capacity. Lets say you have 4 6 volt batteries which provide 200 > Amp Hours. That is 2 pairs in series and then those 2 in

Thus you should get 400 amp hours from that set up, or 200 amp

used 'gently'. So if you draw 20 amps, you should be able to > approach 10 hours of usage (there are losses in the system, of > course).

[quote author=kary993"

>

> We have a 2005 Inspire which has 4 house batteries. We have > noticed

> that when using the inverter the batteries really do not last

long before needing charging. Obviously it depends upon what

are

> doing in terms of power consumption but we have noticed that we > only

> get about 5 to 7 hours of what seems to be about 2 or 4 amps.

have

> not run them down to the red in the indicator so maybe there is > more

> power available. At any rate I was wondering if this is normal > from

> other owners.
>

> We also notice when we hook up to shore power or start the > generator

> to recharge the batteries the indicator goes to red and stays