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Old 12-20-2014, 11:44 AM   #1
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Battery life over night

I'm looking for your thoughts. In a few weeks We will be heading south with our TT. Plan on staying in a Crackle Barrel parking lot for the first night. I checked with them and they said "come on you are welcome to stay" It looks to be in the 30's over night and I was wondering if my batteries would last the night with the furnace cycling on and off. I have two deep cell batteries wired in parallel. Also I will not be un hitching for the night but should I un plug the electric hook up from my TV?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. This will be our first time with no electric hook up.
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Old 12-20-2014, 11:49 AM   #2
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Would help more if we knew what size batteries. With specs.
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Old 12-20-2014, 12:21 PM   #3
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You should't have any trouble. I've dry camped at about the same temps and made it two nights with a pair of group 24's and didn't drop below about 60% charge. Granted, I was very sparing with the furnace..I believe I kept it on about 55 and just dressed warmer and brought extra blankets. Nearly completely recharged after a three hour drive. DO unplug while parked or you could possibly end up with a mostly dead truck battery by morning.
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Old 12-20-2014, 01:05 PM   #4
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Thanks for the feed back. My batteries are the group 24. I'm glad I ask about unplugging the TV. Sounds like we will be fine.


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Old 12-20-2014, 01:31 PM   #5
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We were able to overnight for 2 nights while traveling with a single group 27 battery running the furnace and a CPAP machine (on an inverter). We did drive for 10-11 hours the day between them and started out with a completely full battery.

I do not, however, know how far I drew the battery down. It could be that I went below the recommended charge on it unknowingly.
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Old 12-21-2014, 03:21 AM   #6
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Back when I had only on battery I could not make it one night with the furnace set at 55 and about 35 outside.

Get yourself one of these. It is inexpensive and tells you where your battery (s) are at. You can wire directly to the panel or plug into 12 volt outlet. You can set the alarm so you won't wake up to a dead battery. I set mine at 12.2v

VoltMinder Digital Volt Meter w/ 6 Foot Cord for 12V Batteries: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

I try not to let my bats drop below 12.2volts
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Old 12-21-2014, 05:30 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by 1l243 View Post
Back when I had only on battery I could not make it one night with the furnace set at 55 and about 35 outside.

Get yourself one of these. It is inexpensive and tells you where your battery (s) are at. You can wire directly to the panel or plug into 12 volt outlet. You can set the alarm so you won't wake up to a dead battery. I set mine at 12.2v

VoltMinder Digital Volt Meter w/ 6 Foot Cord for 12V Batteries: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

I try not to let my bats drop below 12.2volts
Just remember to unplug after taking your reading. This type of voltmeter has a continuous amperage draw to run the display and measure the voltage.
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Old 12-21-2014, 07:41 AM   #8
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Thanks Herk I have a meter that plugs into the 12 volt outlet that does the same thing without the alarm. Never knew the magic number of 12.2


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Old 12-21-2014, 08:24 AM   #9
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The "Magic Number" is at 50% battery capacity which is 12.1 volts.
Voltage below that number will cause permanent reduction in battery life and recharge capacity.

Excessive depth of discharge is the number one cause of early battery failure. Using the "idiot lights", that number is just when the "G" (good) light goes out and no more. Waiting for the fair (F) light to go out will cause real damage. When the "L" (low) light goes out it is time to buy a new one.
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Old 12-21-2014, 09:14 AM   #10
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Just remember to unplug after taking your reading. This type of voltmeter has a continuous amperage draw to run the display and measure the voltage.
I don't know how many amps this can pull, can't be to many is my guess. I leave mine plugged in all the time. I would bet my CO2 alarm would pull more. What would be the use of it setting the alarms if you do not keep it plugged in? I have had 1 for 3 years now......
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Old 12-21-2014, 10:16 AM   #11
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I don't know how many amps this can pull, can't be to many is my guess. I leave mine plugged in all the time. I would bet my CO2 alarm would pull more. What would be the use of it setting the alarms if you do not keep it plugged in? I have had 1 for 3 years now......
You are correct; just one more unneeded parasite when boondocking though...
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Old 12-21-2014, 11:00 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Tomgky View Post
I'm looking for your thoughts. In a few weeks We will be heading south with our TT. Plan on staying in a Crackle Barrel parking lot for the first night. I checked with them and they said "come on you are welcome to stay" It looks to be in the 30's over night and I was wondering if my batteries would last the night with the furnace cycling on and off. I have two deep cell batteries wired in parallel. Also I will not be un hitching for the night but should I un plug the electric hook up from my TV?

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. This will be our first time with no electric hook up.
Before a second Battery,I would consider a (Small/Quiet) generator. The (Weight/Size) is close to what a second battery is. You can then run the (12V) items (Refer/Furnace/Water Pump/Lights/ExFans/Water Heater/ Slides) without ANY Worry about LOW Volatge! Youroo!!
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Old 12-21-2014, 11:51 AM   #13
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I think OP has two batteries.

All should be fine.


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Old 12-21-2014, 12:27 PM   #14
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You are correct; just one more unneeded parasite when boondocking though...
Yes I do understand what you are saying, but when you boondock, you would want to know what your pulling and what your battery voltage is. If I added a voltage monitor with a stunt wouldn't that even pull more amps? If I was a boondocker I would surely go for the Monitor. Even that it pulls more amps. It would give you a lot more info. But as an average volt monitor with an alarm is better then a guess. Mine shows me what charge is going in when plugged in, also it will give me a voltage reading when not plugged in. I think I have my alarm set at like 12.3 or 12.5 I don't remember. But we are really talking milli amps to leave it plugged in. Really I never saw it on Amazon before. It was developed by a long haul driver that got tired of waking up to a dead battery. He used to sell it direct only, but congrats to him for now I'm sure his sales have gotten a lot higher. I remember in Goshen VA Frank was having a problem and I lent him mine to check. If I remember right I think his batteries wouldn't hold a charge he found out by it. But I can't remember Nov. let a lone August. By the way Marry Xmas to you both, still praying for your family. I feel good news will becoming your way.
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Old 12-21-2014, 12:52 PM   #15
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I leave mine plugged in all the time. I doubt if the voltage usage by this little meter draws any more power than the blinking light on other detectors in the trailer.. The 12.2 is just where I want to be alterted when my batteries are getting to a point where more conservation or attention may be needed.

I dry camp about 6 to 8 weeks a year so I up my battery bank to 340 amp hours... My next plan is to go with at least 300 watts of solar.
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Old 12-21-2014, 01:15 PM   #16
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Once again I must remind everyone that a voltmeter measuring battery voltage WHILE the coach is in use is NOT indicative of anything ...other than a dead battery OR a completely full battery plugged into shorepower!
You can be reading 11.5 on a voltmeter and actually have a REAL STATIC voltage of 12.5 OR you can be reading higher than you actually are. You can drive all day and take a reading at nite of 12.7 before starting to run stuff and then discover later that you never did have a full charge on the battery....or that your REAL capacity is no longer 100% of rated amp hours. It is better than nothing but gives you not a clue about your real state of charge...unless it is reading 10.5V

The OP should be fine with a couple of group 24's overnight with the furnace. This post is directed at those who think they are monitoring their batteries with a cheap solution.
The only REAL way to monitor batteries is with a monitor from Trimetric or Victron or similar and they couldn't sell them for $150 if they had REAL competition from $10 volt monitors. If you boondock a lot then you either should spend your $$ on a Victron or on the early replacement of batteries you "monitored" with a volt meter.
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Old 12-21-2014, 01:20 PM   #17
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CPAP

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Originally Posted by ependydad View Post
We were able to overnight for 2 nights while traveling with a single group 27 battery running the furnace and a CPAP machine (on an inverter). We did drive for 10-11 hours the day between them and started out with a completely full battery.

I do not, however, know how far I drew the battery down. It could be that I went below the recommended charge on it unknowingly.
We have a Georgetown Motor Home and have been unable to overnight without shore power because my CPAP requires either 110 or a cigarette lighter plug in. Do I have to convert the 110 outlet next to our bed to a 12V then get an inverter to plug the CPAP into?
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Old 12-21-2014, 01:40 PM   #18
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We have a Georgetown Motor Home and have been unable to overnight without shore power because my CPAP requires either 110 or a cigarette lighter plug in. Do I have to convert the 110 outlet next to our bed to a 12V then get an inverter to plug the CPAP into?
Because it will work with a cigarette lighter plug....my GUESS is that you have a fairly low amp draw and have no need to use an inverter. The BEST solution would be to wire in a 12V cigarette lighter plug receptacle near the bed. While you could tap into any nearby 12 wiring to do this. (i.e one of your bed lights)... I'd prefer you wire direct to your DC panel (which I think is in your bedroom) and use a little heavier gauge wire. If you don't feel good about doing that yourself...any car stereo shop or RV service dealer should be able to do this for a minimal charge.

My guess is that on the AC plug for the CPAP...you have a "wall wart" or in line box which converts the AC to DC...just like a laptop charger. There will be a lot of small writing on the box...but it should have a listing for OUTPUT VOLTS and OUTPUT CURRENT or AMPS in DC volts and amps.
If you can supply those...we can easily figure out how much battery power the CPAP itself will use overnite....and whether your existing set up is sufficient.
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Old 12-21-2014, 01:42 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by ependydad View Post
We were able to overnight for 2 nights while traveling with a single group 27 battery running the furnace and a CPAP machine (on an inverter). We did drive for 10-11 hours the day between them and started out with a completely full battery.

I do not, however, know how far I drew the battery down. It could be that I went below the recommended charge on it unknowingly.
You do know Cpap are 12 volt and you can buy a 12 plug, that well run them.
The plug from the wall goes to a coverter box the converts 110 to 12 volt. You can save yourself a lot of battery by not running the inverter
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Old 12-21-2014, 01:53 PM   #20
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"Once again I remind everyone" Really?

Actually I am pretty happy with they way my cheap battery monitor is setup. I wired my cheap monitor directly to the batteries and ran multi stand 8 GA wire. When I compare the reading with the cheap monitor and battery bank direct the reading is the same with no measurable voltage drop.

Your explanation is to assume your tying to get a accurate reading when running alot of amps at the same time. I get my most accurate reading in the morning when the system as been at rest.
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