Battery box full of water and dead battery

[HemiCab]

Will do!

Thanks Lou

[sherdep]

Nice addition with the solar - let me know how that works out for you - I might be intrested in doing that Mod

[walker238]

On one of my old trailers my battery box had two vents on top and when it rained the water ranoff the front of the trailer on to the top of the battery box through the vents and built up inside the box. I took care of the problem by putting 2 pieces of electricins tape over the vents No more water inside the box

[walker238]

after seeing pic of battery box with the solar panel i could see the vents on top of the battery box

[HemiCab]

The solar panel is keeping the battery topped off. The disconnect switch is Great!

I wanted to keep the vents open for escaping gases...the drain holes worked to keep the box empty of rain water.

[rhyno76]

Originally Posted by HemiCab

OK I added the disconnect switch (Blue Sea 6006 M - front of battery box) yesterday and while I was at it I added a solar charger (top of propane cover) to maintain.

Thanks for the advice and guidance.

HC

What kind of solar charger did you buy? We're trying to find a good one to keep our battery topped off.

[HemiCab]

Sunforce 50013 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001D6GYLO

I liked the fact it connected directly to the battery unlike the model 52013.

[Herk7769]

The only reason the 1 watt solar charger is keeping a charge is your battery shutoff switch. At 83 milliamps of charge in full sun it will just barely replace the current loss due to internal resistance in the battery thereby keeping the battery "topped off" as you stated.

Since the Propane detector uses 100 milliamps of power when the battery is left connected there will still be a net loss of power over time (especially since the propane detector runs 24/7 and the sun does not).
Dead battery will just be measured in weeks instead of days.

For a new installation a 10-15 watt panel would be a better choice along with a battery disconnect. That would keep the battery "ready for camping" longer.

NOTE: What these small panels will not do is charge your battery if it was discharged at all to start with.

[rhyno76]

Originally Posted by herk7769

...For a new installation a 10-15 watt panel would be a better choice along with a battery disconnect. That would keep the battery "ready for camping" longer.

NOTE: What these small panels will not do is charge your battery if it was discharged at all to start with.

Thanks for the tip, Lou!