Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Dry camping House Batteries (Read 634 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Dry camping House Batteries

Yahoo Message Number: 76089
I have a 2006 CC Affinity 730. We have 4 8D batteries. Amp hour capacity of each is 210 for a total of over 800 amp hours. Batteries go to 11 volts over night with only fridge/freezer running. WE can't dry camp. What is the normal dry camp time in day not using generators?

Batteries check out. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
hugs,

amy

Re: Dry camping House Batteries

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76091
How old are your batteries? Anytime a 12 volt drops under 12 volts you need to be checking the status of your batteries. They could be at end of life. Use a hydrometer to check acid levels in each cell or a good volt meter to check voltage of each cell when charged and again in the am. Suspect you have some bad cells. As for charging, to recharge your 4 8d will take several days to bring them up to full charge, not hours but days. To day camp with a heavy load you will need a large solar array, a 3000 watt Honda generator, or turbine charger. All dependent on where you want to dry camp.

But first and for most, check the status of batteries first for bad cells.

Leonard

97' Magan 5418

Re: Dry camping House Batteries

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76092
Fellow up: IF you find bad cells, I would look at replacing the 8 D with banks of 6 volts. More capacity when done.

Leonard

97' Magna 5418

Re: Dry camping House Batteries

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76101
Amy,

You say batteries check out. How did you have them checked? In order to determine the condition, you need to fully charge (float on your inverter) then unhook the cables and load test. You will then have a good idea of what state your batteries are in. If your killing four 8D's overnight with just the fridge, the batteries are probably shot unless you have other AC amp loads. I have six Lifeline 8D's over 6 years old and with just the fridge and parasite loads, 24 hrs (sitting in the garage with no use) is no problem before reaching 50% discharge, 12.2 volts.

Tom

Lifeline Batteries
1997 Prevost

Re: Dry camping House Batteries

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76102
Like leonard said, check the batteries to make sure they can even hold a charge by checking the battery acid level. Sounds like you have flooded batteries if their rated at 210 amps each. If you have let them go to 11 volts quite a few times then you are definately damageing the batteries since they should never go below 12.2 volts which would be about 50% to 55% capacity. Otherwise you are just ruining the plates and probably causing alot of sulfating that eventually shorts the plates against each other.....then the cell goes bad.
While checking the accid levels, also check the water levels in the batteries too so that the plates are not exposed.
That said, to fully charge your batteries if that is possible, it would take 5 - 7 hours running the generator but that is not the best way to charge them if all you have is the generator. It should take about 2 hours to get them from 55% state of charge (SOC) to 90% state of charge before the charger goes into slow down mode and takes longer to top them off. You only have a maximum of 420 amp hours of battery assuming you have (4) 210 amp batteries that are in peak condition. If your refrigerator is using say 15 amp draw, you would have about 26 hours of battery life before you needed to recharge.
But that is not a practical number if you are using lights, water pump, microwave and tv at various times and on top of that your batteries have wasted away letting them go below 12.2 volts too often to where they may now have some dead cells. It only takes one dead cell to cause a uneven draw on all cells. A dead cell is effectly a short or a very intense lightbulb sucking electrons from all the other cells as it sits. Basicxally a dead cell will cause all the other good cells to come down to the level of the dead cells maximum output.
So, as Leonard said, eliminate the possibilty that you have even one bad cell let along a bunch of them and then look at your energy usage to see how many hours you can go before you are down to 12.2 volts at no use.
If you have no dead cells then try putting a desulfinator on the terminals to get rid of the sulfate that can rob your plates of producing efficient amounts of electons. Battery minder makes a desulfinator that only works when the battery is charging so it just sit there and has no draw while not charging. It brought my starter battery back to life (flooded battery).
One of the best items I installed on my negative cable side of my terminal before going into the inverter was a shunt that measures the amp hours drawn from the battery bank. It allows my inverter panel to keep track of my cumulative battery usage as if it were a gas tank full of gas. When it gets to 55% full it kicks on the generator that does a massive bulk charge on it till it gets to approximately 90% of capcity then it shuts down. Less than 2 hours of generator gives me 35% battery usage or 320 amps of electricity. As Leonard eluded to, it is impractical to try to use yoru generator to charge the batteries the last 10% of their capcity because they no longer will accept bulk charging at that point and start to trickel charge. A waste of generator power to throw 15 amps into a battery for 4 hours.
My residential refrigerator draws 12 amps at 12 volts through the inverter and my lights that I replaced with LED's use less than 2 amps. with some microwave and tv usuage I easily get about 16 hours between charges and that cost me about 2 gallons of Diesel per 16 hours or 3 gallons per 24 hour period ~ $14/day of moderate electrical use.
Your numbers will probably be different than mine because I am running AGM batteries that hold about 980 amp aours total and love to take take heavy charge rates (+135 amps) in short periods of time. My refirgerator is a real miser on elctrical usage and my indoor and our door lights are mostly LED lights that use 1/10 the amps of a normal light that came with the coach.

I am set up for boondocking all the way.

Hope that helps a bit.

Dallas 2004 intrigue ovation 11688

Re: Dry camping House Batteries

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76104
I assume you have a residential fridge? That does not help dry camping, but still, with only that running seems something is wrong with 4 8D's that check out. Do you have something in the system to check the actual amp draw at night? That is where to start.

Rich 2002 Magna
 

Re: Dry camping House Batteries

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76112
Have you removed all your quartz ceiling lamps and installed LED's. That would save you a bunch of amps.
TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731