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Old 10-28-2019, 11:30 AM   #1
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Isata 3 winter storage and batteries

First winter that my Isata 3 will be parked outside. On plus side, I do have electric hook up this winter for the first time. In past, I brought coach batteries inside and had them hooked to a Battery Tender. I had to leave the chassis battery connected in case they had to move it during the winter, with no ability to have it on a charger. No problems the first two winters but after the third winter the chassis battery had to be replaced.
Have read quite a few postings on this forum, the Sprinter forum, and watched general videos regarding long term storage of batteries. Pretty confused. Unit will be parked for five months in frigid Mn. Should I just park it hooked up to 20 amp service, (all that is available), for the coach batteries and then connect a battery tender to the chassis battery? Would probably plug the chassis battery tender into a coach outlet and take off the cover (floor in front of driver seat) and install the Tender on that battery. Does this make sense? I do have a concern regarding the 20 amp service; can't find an exterior plug-in surge protector. I could also remove the chassis batteries and charge them at home (I do hate pulling them out of the stairwell; pretty heavy for this old guy) and just run a heavy duty cord directly to the engine compartment and hook the Tender up to the jumper connections in that area. Any thoughts? Thanks.
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Old 10-28-2019, 01:49 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by RolandRevenger View Post
First winter that my Isata 3 will be parked outside. On plus side, I do have electric hook up this winter for the first time. In past, I brought coach batteries inside and had them hooked to a Battery Tender. I had to leave the chassis battery connected in case they had to move it during the winter, with no ability to have it on a charger. No problems the first two winters but after the third winter the chassis battery had to be replaced.
Have read quite a few postings on this forum, the Sprinter forum, and watched general videos regarding long term storage of batteries. Pretty confused. Unit will be parked for five months in frigid Mn. Should I just park it hooked up to 20 amp service, (all that is available), for the coach batteries and then connect a battery tender to the chassis battery? Would probably plug the chassis battery tender into a coach outlet and take off the cover (floor in front of driver seat) and install the Tender on that battery. Does this make sense? I do have a concern regarding the 20 amp service; can't find an exterior plug-in surge protector. I could also remove the chassis batteries and charge them at home (I do hate pulling them out of the stairwell; pretty heavy for this old guy) and just run a heavy duty cord directly to the engine compartment and hook the Tender up to the jumper connections in that area. Any thoughts? Thanks.
Just hook it up to the 20 amp service. The coach converter/charger will not only keep you house batteries charged but will also keep your chassis battery charged. No need for an additional charger on your chassis battery.
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Old 10-28-2019, 06:39 PM   #3
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Thanks, Barch. Makes life a lot simpler; I guess I am a 'plug and play' guy. I do plan on stopping by the storage lot monthly to make sure that I am still plugged in and to check status of batteries. Thanks again

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Just hook it up to the 20 amp service. The coach converter/charger will not only keep you house batteries charged but will also keep your chassis battery charged. No need for an additional charger on your chassis battery.
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Old 10-29-2019, 06:26 PM   #4
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Are you sure the PD onboard charger charges the chassis battery. The reason I ask is there is only one set of wires coming off charge module and they go to house batteries. The only time house batteries and chassis battery are connected is when emergency start switch is pushed to temporarily parallel house and chassis battery. When I switched PD 9100 series charging modules for lithium, charging voltage to house batteries went to 14.6vdc. I did not check voltage to chassis battery but I will verify. If someone knows the “for sure” answer, please share.

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Old 10-29-2019, 06:33 PM   #5
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Are you sure the PD onboard charger charges the chassis battery. The reason I ask is there is only one set of wires coming off charge module and they go to house batteries. The only time house batteries and chassis battery are connected is when emergency start switch is pushed to temporarily parallel house and chassis battery. When I switched PD 9100 series charging modules for lithium, charging voltage to house batteries went to 14.6vdc. I did not check voltage to chassis battery but I will verify. If someone knows the “for sure” answer, please share.

Battchief
Hi Battchief. I am sure because I have a volt meter plugged into the 12 volt cigarette outlet on the Sprinter dash board. As soon as I hook to shore power the voltage increases from 12.6 to 13.2 and stays there. If I open one of the passenger doors you can see the voltage drop back to 12.6 -12.8 but it will then come back up to 13.2. I asked this same question last year and I think it was Magnitudes who convinced me.
CORRECTION: Maybe it was Milkman! These guys are always helping me out. See the other thread on this topic that is active and Milkman's post.
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Old 10-29-2019, 06:46 PM   #6
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It is very convenient to have your chassis battery being maintained by the Coach converter/charger while in storage. The only downside I see is that I don't think the converter/charger is capable of putting the chassis battery through a full 4 stage charge cycle. I think it just maintains it at 13.2 volts, but I am not sure about this. Maybe it does bulk charge periodically when I have not been present. Anybody know?
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Old 10-29-2019, 06:55 PM   #7
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I will have some data soon. I switched to a LiFePO4 chassis battery and installed a Victron 712 monitor dedicated to the chassis battery. It will provide real-time and historical data.

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Old 10-29-2019, 06:57 PM   #8
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I will have some data soon. I switched to a LiFePO4 chassis battery and installed a Victron 712 monitor dedicated to the chassis battery. It will provide real-time and historical data.

Battchief
Thanks. This is the one unanswered question I have regarding the lithium conversion: What happens to the charge profile for the chassis battery?
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Old 10-29-2019, 07:09 PM   #9
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If the PD 9100 for lithium is indeed charging the chassis battery, that becomes a really good question. 14.6 to a lead acid or AGM is a bit much continuously. Fortunately, the LiFePO4 batteries have built in BMS to prevent overcharging.

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Old 10-29-2019, 07:15 PM   #10
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I don't think I have ever seen the chassis battery get above 13.2 volts while on shore power without starting the engine..... It sounds as though your Victron monitor may give us this information.
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Old 10-30-2019, 02:38 PM   #11
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I don't think I have ever seen the chassis battery get above 13.2 volts while on shore power without starting the engine..... It sounds as though your Victron monitor may give us this information.
I have Battleborn house batteries and a Progressive Dynamics PD4060 LICSV Lithium Converter. I have experimented several times in the past taking my batteries down as low as 20% SOC with a 800W electric heater. I monitored recharge with the converter all the way to 100% with my Victron 712. I also monitor my chassis battery with my Victron. Converter charged house and chassis batteries at a constant 14.2V. Chassis battery climbed as high as 13.6V then stopped charging and dropped to about 13.2V due to being disconnected by the battery isolation manager in the battery control center. I even heard the audible click when it disconnected. The house batteries continued to charge to 100% and from 20% took a little over two hours to reach full charge.
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Old 10-30-2019, 03:17 PM   #12
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And, if you're going to the storage lot monthly anyways, start the engine and let it run to reach operating temperature. Same for your generator if you have one. This will tell you if you have batteries draining (slow crank) hopefully before they go totally dead and then risk freezing or being permanently damaged. And it will evaporate any moisture that may be building up in the motor crankcases and re-lube all critical surfaces to ensure you don't get any rust or pitting.

Also be sure and add fuel stabilizer to your fuel tank (gas or diesel) and top the tank off before putting the unit into storage. This will help minimize any moisture from developing in the fuel tank.
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Old 10-30-2019, 04:05 PM   #13
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And, if you're going to the storage lot monthly anyways, start the engine and let it run to reach operating temperature. Same for your generator if you have one. This will tell you if you have batteries draining (slow crank) hopefully before they go totally dead and then risk freezing or being permanently damaged. And it will evaporate any moisture that may be building up in the motor crankcases and re-lube all critical surfaces to ensure you don't get any rust or pitting.

Also be sure and add fuel stabilizer to your fuel tank (gas or diesel) and top the tank off before putting the unit into storage. This will help minimize any moisture from developing in the fuel tank.
There are limitations on when to run your generator when it is cold. Can’t remember the exact limitations. Our MN winters can be cold. Find a warm spell ( if there is one) before you fire up the generator.
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Old 10-30-2019, 04:34 PM   #14
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There are limitations on when to run your generator when it is cold. Can’t remember the exact limitations. Our MN winters can be cold. Find a warm spell ( if there is one) before you fire up the generator.
First time I have ever heard that. I worked on the Trans-Alaska pipeline and we started every type of engine, gas, diesel, air cooled, etc no matter how cold it was. The only thing we did different is we never shut some of the big diesels off simply because it was too hard to get them to start when it was -40. These little on-board generators should not be a problem to start if they are gas, and the diesels have glow plugs for pre-start.
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Old 10-30-2019, 04:41 PM   #15
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Ahhh! My generator is propane not diesel.
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Old 10-30-2019, 04:50 PM   #16
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Ahhh! My generator is propane not diesel.
Then you are OK at -40 since propane stays a vapor until -44.
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Old 11-01-2019, 03:49 PM   #17
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Additional Battery Question

Thanks for the thread, very helpful. I’m parking our 2018 Isata 3 FW in the Pacific Northwest for two or three months where snow is infrequent and temporary in the winter and temps rarely drop to 20 above zero.

I have access to shore 120 power, but plan to rely on the two roof solar panels to keep the coach batteries healthy. Water can’t be added to them, and I note the discussion about keeping your eye on Battery water if you use shore power.

I’ll engage the coach battery disconnect. And I’ll be back here in two to three months to restart the vehicle. Everything else is winterized.

questions: does the solar power pass to the chassis battery too?

Should I pull off the chassis battery master switch or just leave it connected.... don’t believe there’s much of a load on it and we’ve not had motor vehicle battery issues parked in the same location over the winter. Maybe pulling the chassis battery Master switch can also potentially mess with the onboard computer? Thank you.
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Old 11-01-2019, 03:57 PM   #18
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If you have access to power, why rely on just solar? I would think most winter days would not be sunny and don’t know if the solar charges when disconnect is engaged, maybe someone else knows. I would just keep it plugged in if not difficult to access.
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Old 11-01-2019, 04:29 PM   #19
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Agree with Milkman55. Use the shore power if you have it. The solar may or may not be adequate and for certain it will not provide a bulk charge. All the batteries are AGM so adding water is never necessary. Leave the battery disconnect OFF or shore power will not charge the batteries.
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Old 11-01-2019, 04:36 PM   #20
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Thank you both for your helpful responses. So in other words, I don’t engage the coach battery disconnect... leave power on to the coach so the batteries will be maintained...
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