Battery life while boondocking

[ScottBrownstein]

Don't know about SCHWINTEK slides, but my 335DS slide motors do not draw current when not running. They can draw 70 amps or more when they stall at the end of travel but that is for less than a second.

[Snowman9000]

This was already mentioned, but is worth repeating. If you are using the stock converter to charge, powered by the genset, and if the converter is a WFCO brand, you will run your batteries down over a period of a few days. That is unless you run the genset for several hours a day. The WFCO converters, combined with the way they are wired by FR, charge at a low rate. If you have a Progressive Dynamics converter, you would be better off. Even then, you'd probably need at least 2 hours a day running the genset.

With a good converter or charger, 2 hours a day should get you by for a week or so. Eventually your batteries will suffer permanently from being run under-charged for weeks.

WFCO converters are basically designed for providing 12V while connected to shore power. Battery charging is an afterthought. The same comments apply to most RV charging systems, really. If a person is serious about running off grid, it is probably time to upgrade the converter and the wiring for same.

[brandon 2]

We do a lot of boon docking and after we had a solar panel installed on the roof our batteries stay charged and we only use the generator when the wife wants to micro wave something The biggest draw, of course is the fan for the furnace and with the solar panel this has never been an issue to maintain the batteries. .


Brandon2
2014 2500TS
Sun Seeker

[ScottBrownstein]

X2 on brandon 2. The basic design of all RVs is to be connected to 110 v for days at a time. Running the generator for a couple of hours will boost you back up to the 85% SOC region, but that last 10 or 15 percent will takes days. Even PD specs something like 70 hours to 100% SOC. If you are not connected for these long periods, solar panels will do the trick perfectly.

[rbetzwieser]

Originally Posted by Snowman9000

This was already mentioned, but is worth repeating. If you are using the stock converter to charge, powered by the genset, and if the converter is a WFCO brand, you will run your batteries down over a period of a few days. That is unless you run the genset for several hours a day. The WFCO converters, combined with the way they are wired by FR, charge at a low rate. If you have a Progressive Dynamics converter, you would be better off. Even then, you'd probably need at least 2 hours a day running the genset.

With a good converter or charger, 2 hours a day should get you by for a week or so. Eventually your batteries will suffer permanently from being run under-charged for weeks.

WFCO converters are basically designed for providing 12V while connected to shore power. Battery charging is an afterthought. The same comments apply to most RV charging systems, really. If a person is serious about running off grid, it is probably time to upgrade the converter and the wiring for same.

Ditto!

[acadianbob]

What about hooking a real battery charger directly to the batteries and powering the charger with a generator? I've always wondered if this would harm the electrical devices in the trailer. I have a smart charger but I have seen the voltage go as high as 16 volts. Is that going to wreck things in the trailer? I suppose you could always disconnect the batteries with a battery disconnect switch.

Does anyone one know for sure?

[Blackhat6mike]

I haven't turned my converter on since adding solar. The battery bank never goes below 12.6 VDC. During the day, unless it's raining all day, my bank shows 12.8 -13.8 VDC. The breaker for the converter has a piece of red tape over it to make sure it isn't turned on, not that it would hurt anything, just don't need it.
IMHO solar is the greatest thing since sliced bread. You don't have to break the bank to put a small system in.

[f5moab]

Originally Posted by rbetzwieser

Ditto!

NON-DITTO at least in regard to my WFCO in my popup. It does charge the batteries. So maybe the ones they put on our junky little popups is better than the ones in the larger trailers.

[Skyliner]

Biggest issue I see with converters charting is LOCATION!

The converter should be located within several feet of the battery bank. The voltage drop over a 20-30 foot distance can mean the difference between bulk charge and absorption charge.

If you are going to move a converter to an optimum location consider replacing it with a better one that is a triple charger instead of a constant voltage charger that takes a very long time to charge the batteries.

Solar is incredible and for us is worth every penny as a boondocker.

[Bluepill]

Originally Posted by acadianbob

What about hooking a real battery charger directly to the batteries and powering the charger with a generator? I've always wondered if this would harm the electrical devices in the trailer. I have a smart charger but I have seen the voltage go as high as 16 volts. Is that going to wreck things in the trailer? I suppose you could always disconnect the batteries with a battery disconnect switch.

Does anyone one know for sure?

The good thing about the WFCO is that it usually only outputs 13.6 volts, so connected loads in the RV are not subjected to excessive voltage.

The bad thing is that the battery does not get a full charge, which is damaging over time.

As you suggest, I run a dedicated charger about every 10 days of camping or 2 months of storage. I disconnect the battery from the RV while doing this, since my charger puts out about 15 volts at the beginning of the charge cycle.

[benagi]

Originally Posted by Blackhat6mike

I haven't turned my converter on since adding solar. The battery bank never goes below 12.6 VDC. During the day, unless it's raining all day, my bank shows 12.8 -13.8 VDC. The breaker for the converter has a piece of red tape over it to make sure it isn't turned on, not that it would hurt anything, just don't need it.

IMHO solar is the greatest thing since sliced bread. You don't have to break the bank to put a small system in.

What solar system are you using and how many watts? Also, is it portable or stationary ?