360 RB Power Usage

[bnyosemite]

Most of the time my unit sits at an RV resort where I own a lot. As a result it has it's own power meter where I can see my exact power usage over time and I can get daily and hourly usage from the provider. It's easy to see the days I'm there and the usage for when the unit is occupied. However, most of my usage is from the unit sitting idle. It remains plugged into shore power but nothing of substance is running except for the refrigerator. Lights are off and the thermostat is off.

My old RV always used some mystery power but the Legacy is a hog. I'm using over 20 kwhr a day. The hourly usage is very consistent a just under 1k with mulitiple very small spikes during the day. I suspect those spikes are the refrigerator compressor and the rest of the usage is constant. I have put a meter on the refrigerator itself just to make sure it's not the problem and it uses very little power, pennies a day.

What could be causing this drain? Is there something I can set on the Magnum? I leave the charger on of course, but the drain there should be minimal.

It's costing me close to $100 a month to keep it plugged in to run the refrigerator and trickle charge the batteries. This makes no sense.

[fonzie]

The other power hog would be the water heater if left on. Also if it is a diesel engine maybe the block heater is connected?


120V Block Heater (750W)

[bnyosemite]

Thanks but it's an on demand water heater. There is no switch for a block heater. I don't believe this model has one.

[fonzie]

It mentions in the features that there is a block heater....

Legacy SR 340 Motorhomes by Forest River RV

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ent-80922.html

[bnyosemite]

Well, color me stupid. I got to thinking about the block heater, did a search and found there is pigtail in the power area and an outlet. It's for the block heater. Yes, it was plugged in. Yes, the breaker was on. So nice of the dealer to make sure it was on when I picked it up in MAY and to explain it to me (no). So nice of FR to provide a model specific manual (no) to tell me it existed. So nice that there is a forum to answer questions (yes).

At least my engine has been toasty all summer. I can't wait to see the electrical usage now.

[fonzie]

You're welcome.....

[Blacknchromehd]

Thanks for the power ideas....mine is indoor for the winter but I was shown the the male plug and the female rec...that's a lot of power usage for a block heater....I am installing a control in my power compartment which will turn on the heater automatically at 40 deg and below...

[kenenn]

Remember to take into account all the little things that are off but are still on ie; tv (s), radio's. clocks, antenna amps, small chargers for electronics, computers etc. These guys all use some power and it can add up considerably over time. Are there any automatic lights that can come on via motion sensors ?? Just thoughts

[pmsherman]

750W * 24 hours = 18kw/day. If your residential fridge draws 300W when cooling and runs 25% of the time, it'll draw a little under 2kw a day. Add in a little for all of the parasitic loads; televisions, radio, control computers, and possibly some others and you'll probably run 2kw a day.

An easy way to locate most of the loads is to try shutting off your AC breakers one at a time and seeing if any decrease the usage rate. DC loads are more difficult to track down because most go through the fuse panel but some of them will be separate connections to the battery that don't go through the shutoff switch. If your unit was built to RVIA specs, all of these will have a fuse in their power lines that should be located in the battery compartment. Some of these parasitic loads will also be connected to the chassis battery instead of the coach batteries. Chassis battery loads rarely connect directly to the battery but do go through a chassis fuse box which is normally located in a semi-accessible location under the dash and/or in the engine compartment.

Phil

[bnyosemite]

Definitely the block heater. I came home yesterday and power usage dropped after I left to about 20 watts per hour, down from around 800.

Thanks all.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by bnyosemite

Definitely the block heater. I came home yesterday and power usage dropped after I left to about 20 watts per hour, down from around 800.

Thanks all.

By chance did you see any Foot Prints going from your outside outlet box to the Neighbors? Youroo!!