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Battery life while on inverter....

Yahoo Message Number: 18653
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 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. We 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 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, that you should turn the inverter off before starting the generator or hooking up to shore power. Is this true?

Kary

05 Inspire 36'
#51499

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18654
If you go to www.xantrex.com, they have all kinds of cool info and faq's. I have never turned off the inverter in any motorhome I have owned, but I did pop my inverter last week ... maybe when I startd the genset. Did not see anything about this on the xantrex site, but did not read everything.

John and Terry
2005 Affinity

Quote from: 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 that > long before needing charging. Obviously it depends upon what you

are

Quote
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

have

Quote
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,

that

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18655
I got this from the Xantrex site ...

*******

When shorepower is available, you may leave your inverter ON or OFF.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. If the inverter is left ON, you have immediate backup AC power if you lose shorepower. You may not be aware shorepower is lost until your batteries are fully discharged. If you choose to leave your inverter OFF you have the advantage of knowing when you have lost shorepower.
This, however, is at the expense of losing automatic backup power capabilities.
*******

This would be the place to say "turn off inverter when hooking up to shore power", and they don't say that. I assume running the genset is samo samo ...

John and Terry
2005 Affinity

Quote from: 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 that > long before needing charging. Obviously it depends upon what you

are

Quote
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

have

Quote
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,

that

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18656
According to info in one of the pieces of Xantrex lit that came with my coach, it takes about 15 minutes for the indicator to correctly reflect the state of the battery charge.

Tony Ferrara
04 Inspire 51172

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18658
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

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18659
Hi Kary,

Sorry I mispelled your name.
Fred Kovol

[quote author=fredkovol" \.\.\.\>] >

Hi Kerry,

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

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

These

Quote
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
>

Re: Battery life (dip stick too)

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18660
Quote from: kary993
We have a 2005 Inspire which ....> > We also notice when we hook up to shore power or start the

generator

Quote
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

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

Kary

05 Inspire 36'
#51499
Good morning all,

I went through the battery charging exercise when I first took delivery of the coach. Something just didn't seem right and I thought I had major leakage in my 12V system.

Repeatedly after a day on the road, my house voltage was low, indicating that the alternator was not doing its thing.

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.)

After much frustration, a wiring diagram, three solenoids overnighted to me by CC, and blown diodes out the yahoo, I discovered that the solenoid was miswired. After straightening that out, the boost switch would close the solenoid but the oil pressure switch would not. CC provided a new boost switch and the local Caterpillar service facility installed it. In the process, CAT discovered not only that the old switch was faulty, but it was wired backwards too! Arrghhh!

I have not yet done my post-maintenance checks on the system, but am hopeful that this gremlin is behind me.

Test: Get your multimeter and check the battery voltage AT THE HOUSE BATTERIES in the forward driver's side bay. Then start your engine and check the voltage again. You should read alternator voltage AT THE HOUSE BATTERIES. If not, you are not charging from the engine. You will have no indication of this, other than depleted house voltage at the end of the travel day.

(By the way, CAT installed the oil pressure switch at the same time that they installed the new dip stick assembly. Now I know how much oil I have in the pan. Do you?)
Jay

05 Inspire DaVinci 51457

Re: Battery life (dip stick too)

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18661
Quote
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.) >
It is very likely that you have one of these installed: http://www.intellitec.com/pdfs/BATTERY_web/5300366.000.pdf Tom Fisher
Dallas, TX

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18662
Also bear in mind that these voltages are "open circuit" voltages. That is, with out a significant draw on the batterys. (Technically with no draw on the batterys)

--

Quote from: 
;fredkovol"
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
>

>

Re: Battery life (dip stick too)

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18664
Hi Tom,

Your last sentence - I don't believe it is installed as the pressure switch and solenoid does the job. When on shore or generator power the converter (i.e. inverter/charger) charges the house batteries and the echo charger the chassis battery.
Fred Kovol

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18666
Hi,

The statement below is true - one must remove most of the load (turn off lights, appliances and inverter, etc)and wait a few minutes for the voltage to rise and stabilize before taking a reading.
Fred Kovol

-

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18670
Sure nice to see Fred back online. I've been "on and offline" for awhile now and haven't seen him nor his unbelievable font of knowledge here in the Forum for quite a while.

Fred- if you've been gone. Here's a hardy "welcome back".

Tom

05 Magna #6479

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18672
I just signed up a new friend to the group and am writing this email to welcome him.

Everyone - please welcome Bill Bradford to the group.

Tom

05 Magna #6469

Is anyone from the CC Forum at Camp Country Coach?

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18675

We are at Davis Cabinets getting some work done and just was wondering if anyone from the forum was at CCC. We will be at Davis until Friday.
Please feel free to stop by and say Hi - Would enjoy meeting some forum friends.

Happy Trails - Safe Travels - -

Emerson and Kathy Marsh
2000 Allure #30536

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18686
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 parallel.
Thus you should get 400 amp hours from that set up, or 200 amp hours 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 from: kary993
We have a 2005 Inspire which has 4 house batteries. We have

noticed

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

are

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

only

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

have

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

more

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

from

Quote
other owners.

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

generator

Quote
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

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

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

that
 

Re: Battery life while on inverter....

Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 18734
That is if you are using only 20A at 12vdc. When you invert it to 120vac, 200Ahr battery capacity will only last about one hour when drawn at 20A. 12vdc X 200A = 2400watts & 120vac X 20A = 2400watts.
Taking into consideration the power the inverter and other invisible loads use, you will likely get less than the one hour.

Jim Hughes

2000 Allure #30511

Quote from: seven_siamese_cats
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

parallel.

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

hours

Quote
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

that

Quote
long before needing charging. Obviously it depends upon what

you

Quote
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.

We

Quote
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

there