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Old 02-04-2016, 09:37 PM   #1
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Keeping battery charged while in storage.

Hi Forum readers, Progolfer here and I am asking the question on how to keep the batteries charged while the unit is being stored for the winter? I would appreciate any replies and suggestions on this subject. Thanks in advance for your help as always. I love this forum.
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Old 02-04-2016, 09:44 PM   #2
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Take them home and put them on a Battery Tender.
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Old 02-04-2016, 11:10 PM   #3
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Is power available where you store it?
If so, just plug in your shore cord and let the converter keep it charged.
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Old 02-04-2016, 11:37 PM   #4
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If shore power is not available, go solar. You don't need that much wattage to keep the batteries charged. For around $400, you can install a 100-watt panel, 20 amp MPPT controller and wires. The reason for the overkill on the 20amp controller is because you will probably add more panels later. If not, go with a 10amp unit.
As long as you don't have a lot of parasitics, you will be good to go.
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Old 02-05-2016, 12:27 PM   #5
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Take them home and put them on a Battery Tender.
X2. And you won't lose it to thieves.
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Old 02-05-2016, 12:35 PM   #6
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Battery Maintenance

I throw mine on a charger for a few hours every couple of months. They do drain slowly with time and that is not good in the long run.
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Old 02-05-2016, 12:35 PM   #7
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I am in Fl so storing may be only a month or so for me (on family land). I leave my battery in and I have a solar unit from Harbor Freight ($40) and that is the last thing I put up on the roof before I leave to go to my house. My Battery is always ready to go.
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Old 02-05-2016, 12:51 PM   #8
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If you leave on charge make sure voltage is not higher than 13 volts or batteries may be damaged.
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Old 02-05-2016, 01:06 PM   #9
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I have a Sunseeker 2860 DS which has two 12volt heavy duty batteries in parallel. The batteries were brand new. I used the 120 volt adapter for my shore power and turned on the artic packs. In less than 24 hours the batteries were dead. Do I need to plug into dual 30 AMP to activate the charger. Or could my invertor/charger be bad ?
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Old 02-05-2016, 01:54 PM   #10
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My Trojan T-105 6V batteries are hooked up to a Bogart charge controller in my garage. They are powered by a Renogy 100 watt solar panel.
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Old 02-05-2016, 02:23 PM   #11
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We also have a new 2860ds - we have it plugged into our house outlet via an adaptor that the connects to the cord which goes into the Rv. Should the battery shut off switch in the Rv be on or off?
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Old 02-05-2016, 02:28 PM   #12
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Hi Forum readers, Progolfer here and I am asking the question on how to keep the batteries charged while the unit is being stored for the winter? I would appreciate any replies and suggestions on this subject. Thanks in advance for your help as always. I love this forum.
Even if you have solar (as I do) I still think it best to remove the batteries and put in a garage with trickle charger. Does your solar charge your chassis battery?
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Old 02-05-2016, 04:10 PM   #13
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Although there is some question regarding recent models, if you turn off your disconnect switch, the converter will not charge the batteries...and anything in your RV that is powered by 12 volts will not function.

A solar charger can be installed to either function or not function, depending on wiring when the disconnect switch is off.

If you have no auxiliary charging (converter with AC, solar, etc) and if you have significant parasitic loads, your batteries will eventually go dead (and freeze.) With healthy batteries, once charged and if you disconnect the main battery chassis ground connection, they will only lose a few percent a month.
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Old 02-05-2016, 05:21 PM   #14
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Hi Forum readers, Progolfer here and I am asking the question on how to keep the batteries charged while the unit is being stored for the winter? I would appreciate any replies and suggestions on this subject. Thanks in advance for your help as always. I love this forum.
I take the coach batteries out of my Sunseeker and put them on a battery tender.

I keep the truck battery in the engine compartment because it is too difficult to remove. I put a solar panel in my dash board and plug it into the cigarette lighter which is active even when I turn of the engine switch. Last year after storing for 7 months I had no trouble starting up my truck.
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Old 02-05-2016, 06:03 PM   #15
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I did a lot of research on this and heard many different suggestions/contradictions from lots of sources. So, I decided to go with the simplest and least expensive recommendation. I charged my parallel batteries to 100% and then just disconnected the negative terminal, leaving the batteries on the trailer. Sure, they'll lose a small amount of charge over winter but will still be in great condition come Spring. As long as the batteries are in good condition, I don't think it will be a problem. Time will tell.

I store the trailer on my property (covered) and am not worried about theft.
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Old 02-05-2016, 06:45 PM   #16
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Ebcobra93 has the answer X2!! Wetcell batteries 100% charged AND disconnected at the negative wire will lose not more than 10% of charge per month in colder weather. Make sure the water is topped up too (distilled only)
They will not freeze even in 10degrees below zero until the charge state has been depleted below 60%...i.e. at least 4 months. Suggest taking a voltage reading every 60-90 days and plugging in or running the genny to recharge IF the voltage disconnected falls below 12.3Volts

To avoid the hassle of removing the negative wire....use one of these $7 cut off switches on your negative wire.
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Old 02-05-2016, 07:45 PM   #17
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For years I have charged my batteries plugged into shore power using the RV converter. Just be sure to watch the water level.
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Old 02-05-2016, 07:45 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by camaraderie View Post
Ebcobra93 has the answer X2!! Wetcell batteries 100% charged AND disconnected at the negative wire will lose not more than 10% of charge per month in colder weather. Make sure the water is topped up too (distilled only)
They will not freeze even in 10degrees below zero until the charge state has been depleted below 60%...i.e. at least 4 months. Suggest taking a voltage reading every 60-90 days and plugging in or running the genny to recharge IF the voltage disconnected falls below 12.3Volts

To avoid the hassle of removing the negative wire....use one of these $7 cut off switches on your negative wire.
Yep, got one of these on my batteries.
Stored my HTT for 4 months and used this switch to disconnect. After the 4 months, the batteries were still nearly fully charged.
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Old 02-05-2016, 08:01 PM   #19
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I use these. They trickle charge and will not overcharge. They came with clips to connect to the battery. I use one to keep the coach barttery charged that plugs into a 12v outlet and just sits on the dash between the windshield and shade. They came with both options. Works like a champ. Sunforce is a Coleman product and there are many options.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Sunf...L4KDmQGbxJnICA


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Old 02-06-2016, 11:54 AM   #20
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We have solar panels on our rig but since our storage site is covered they are of little use when stored. We also have a lot of parasitics. So I installed cut off switches and shut the whole thing down in Winter. The 6 volt batteries keep their charge for the month or so we store it during Winter. Works for us.
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