Short battery life

[afg83133]

I have a salem Hemisphere 366BH
, When I Dry camp I have a very short battery life. Even when I am trying to be conservative . I go totally out of power in a couple of hours. I looked to see what's could possibly drawing power but I can't figure it out. The unit is only a couple of months old. The only thing I'm thinking is that the battery is defective .(no good)


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[bikendan]

usually, a single battery will only last one night if you use the furnace overnite.

to really dry camp with a trailer your size, you need two batteries, especially two 6v golf cart batteries.

but the battery has to be bad or not fully charged to only last a couple of hours.
are you expecting the tow vehicle to charge it enroute? generally, most tow vehicles only provide a trickle charge while driving.
so, if the battery wasn't fully charged when you left, you'd have to drive 8-12 hours to fully charge it.

also, if you plan on dry camping a lot, a generator may be a necessary purchase.

[Cypressloser]

First question would be: what kind of battery is it, deep cycle or starter battery.
Second Question: How many Amp/h capacity (only ~50% of what the label says is usable)
Third Question: What are you trying to run when dry camping?

You're loosing at least 25 Amp per day for your LP Gas detector, CO detector, smoke alarm, system monitor, thermostat.
You also need electricity for water pump, lights, radio, tv, maybe the furnace kicks in a few times, you get the idea.
If this battery came with the trailer I bet it wasn't the most expensive one they had available, so lets say a 12 Volt Marine type battery with 100 Amp/h capacity. That leaves you with ~40 Amp/h to burn, which is nothing for dry camping. The next problem is when these type of batteries are being discharged to often to far down they will die prematurely plus the converter/charger in the trailer might not have the power and or the time to charge it to 100%.
What you want is at least 2 true deep cycle batteries like 6 Volt golf cart batteries or good 12 Volt deep cycle batteries with a minimum of 200 Amp/h nominal capacity for a weekend.

Edit: I almost forgot, check how many Amps are being drawn from the batteries using an Amp meter and then do the math.

[afg83133]

Thank you for the replies, I am camping for a week. Also I would run the generator all day and at 9 pm turn it of and about about 10-10:30 start seeing the lights go dim to eventually off. The battery is a Interstate deep cycle "Rv/marine " battery. Also I have picking peoples brains and everyone suggest going with the golf cart batteries too. Some people have solar set ups . I think for now the golf cart batteries are my option that I'm gonna go with. Thank you once again for the replies.


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[dlc49]

I have a similar problem, brand new unit (26RLWS) and battery fully charged only lasting 36 hours. Generate to charge w/ on board converter for 5 hours with same life. No door heater switch on fridge that I can find either, old 2000 26RBSS could go several days under the same conditions. Any ideas - we used minimal lighting and no heat.

[Herk7769]

Hi draw DC items you may not think of:

"Climate Control" on fridge - DC
TANK Heaters - DC
Light bulbs (1.1 amps per bulb)
Furnace - DC
Antenna amplifier - ON if light is on even if not using the roof antenna for TV

[camaraderie]

Suggest you get a clamp on amp meter and SEE what you are using.
A single Group 24 up to Group 31 battery is only going to give you a USABLE amphours of 35 to 50 before needing recharge and recharge will take 4 to 6 hours on the converter either plugged in or with generator running.
If you are using just 5 amps...then you will exceed what your battery can supply in 12 hours. If you use more...you get less time. You need a meter to determine if you have a battery problem or just need more of them!
http://www.amazon.com/MASTECH-MS2108...ref=pd_cp_hi_0