Isata 5 storage 110V setup

[Ekg]

My question is, how much damage can I cause storing our 28ss for the winter if it is plugged into a 110v circuit for battery maintenance?

We have found covered, heated storage for the unit during the New England winter. The facility has 110v outlets for battery maintainers. What most of the RV owners do (almost all of them are Class As) is:
1). attach a 50amp to 15amp connector plug onto the RV;
2). use a standard extension cord to the wall outlet;
3). Eliminate as many draws as possible.

At the moment, I just have it sitting there with the battery disconnect switches engaged. We haven’t plugged it into the wall yet because I am concerned about three things:

1). Even when I shut everything down (inverter, all lights, appliances, etc.) I know it will draw some charge for the firefly panel, the charging system, and the float charge itself. Is that enough to cause a fire?

2). I’ve read that “low voltage” situations can fry the Magnum protection system. Will the setup described above create such a situation?

3). Does plugging into a standard household-style outlet create other problems I haven’t thought of?

The 28ss will be in storage for approximately 4 months. I know I will be able to pull it at least once (and I hope four times) to run the generator under load. In between those times, however, I don’t want the house and chassis batteries to go dead. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Erik

[Bill Davis]

Originally Posted by Ekg

My question is, how much damage can I cause storing our 28ss for the winter if it is plugged into a 110v circuit for battery maintenance?

We have found covered, heated storage for the unit during the New England winter. The facility has 110v outlets for battery maintainers. What most of the RV owners do (almost all of them are Class As) is:
1). attach a 50amp to 15amp connector plug onto the RV;
2). use a standard extension cord to the wall outlet;
3). Eliminate as many draws as possible.

At the moment, I just have it sitting there with the battery disconnect switches engaged. We haven’t plugged it into the wall yet because I am concerned about three things:

1). Even when I shut everything down (inverter, all lights, appliances, etc.) I know it will draw some charge for the firefly panel, the charging system, and the float charge itself. Is that enough to cause a fire?

2). I’ve read that “low voltage” situations can fry the Magnum protection system. Will the setup described above create such a situation?

3). Does plugging into a standard household-style outlet create other problems I haven’t thought of?

The 28ss will be in storage for approximately 4 months. I know I will be able to pull it at least once (and I hope four times) to run the generator under load. In between those times, however, I don’t want the house and chassis batteries to go dead. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Erik

I’ve done that for years without any problems as long as all your powering is the converter. It should draw less than 15 amps.

[vlamgat]

Exactly what I have done for 7 years. The only problem is the propensity of storage areas to fool with breakers or even to lose power for extended periods because of the above ground electrical infrastructure with which we are plagued. I did lose a set of coach batteries over the years because of this issue flattening the batteries for over a month.

This is the best defense I have found so far. https://www.isocket3g.com/en/power-o...er-cut/alerts/

I have had it working for the last 3 months since they introduced a version that runs on their network card rather than our highly restricted and difficult to configure sim cards.

[milkman55]

My 30FW stays plugged in all year when not in use. No issues at all, both house and chassis batteries stay charged fully.

I use a 14 ga extension cord and this adapter.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07KQ...b_b_asin_title

[vlamgat]

Most of us are using the same; or a 50 Amp female to 30 Amp male plugged into 30/15 Amp adaptor to have maximum flexibility by carrying a 30 Amp 50 foot extension cord which is a lot easier to handle than the 50 Amp equivalent especially in cold weather when you dont need to run 2 ACs.

I have plugged that 15 Amp male into my iSocket power detector and the iSocket into the shore power in the storage area. Anytime i want I can check the prevailing temperature at the iSocket and it sends me an email/text if the power goes off or the temperature drops (or rises) outside limits that I can set. After losing 2 sets of batteries and the inconvenience of replacement (let alone cost) it gives me peace of mind.

I had an incident in June at an "event" where I was hooked up to 50 amps through a Power Dog surge protector. Hot - so AC was pretty much running all the time. I had the iSocket plugged in to one of the inside 110v sockets. I got a text to tell me that power had failed. I returned to the RV and after removing the Power Dog the problem did not occur again. Discussed the issue with the Operations Manager who was not surprised as they were experiencing brown outs which the Power Dog sensed. Lots of us running ACs and compressors. They got the problem resolved but would not have known until either there were a group of tripped breakers or ...

[Ekg]

I appreciate the replies. I’m headed to the storage facility next week to plug in!

[Reverse_snowbird]

My only caution would be the type of storage you are using.
We have ours stored inside a completely enclosed metal building with electricity. We have rather strong lightning storms come through and we think lightning struck the building and took out not only our surge protector, but batteries and fuses when we had the battery charger hooked up. We now disconnect the negative battery terminal which keeps the battery charged in storage.

[vlamgat]

This is such a real risk and a probable one as weather becomes more volatile. Surge protector capabilities could help? Anyone have a spec for this as installed today on Iata coaches?

[milkman55]

The Isata 5 transfer switch has a surge guard incorporated into the switch. It’s not serviceable and would need to be replaced if it tripped. I keep my Isata 5 plugged in 24/7 in a fully enclosed RV storage facility with maybe 150 RV’s in four buildings. Everyone has 15 amp service and stays plugged in. It is a metal building, but has been there for years and no issues I have heard about. I have been there 4 years.

When camping I use a portable 50 amp surge protector plugged into the pedestal and don’t rely on the transfer switch surge protector.

[halla]

I agree, I use an external power protector and the onboard one, even plugged in at storage. With 90% of the RV being electrical components, it is a lot cheaper to buy a $300 surge guard then to replace all of the appliances, tv’s, not to mention the wiring etc...

Probably overkill, but helps me sleep at night.

[vlamgat]

Originally Posted by halla

I agree, I use an external power protector and the onboard one, even plugged in at storage. With 90% of the RV being electrical components, it is a lot cheaper to buy a $300 surge guard then to replace all of the appliances, tv’s, not to mention the wiring etc...

Probably overkill, but helps me sleep at night.

I agree and have done as you have for 12 years in storage and at powered camp sites. In 2019, a tree next to my house was struck while the RV was parked there. Even with surge guards for the house a number was done on every electronic box around the exterior except the RV. The surge guard may have tripped and reset either in the vehicle or outside as both had an auto reset capability. Electric gate actuator board was fried, video doorbell, the PBX phone system, exterior low voltage lighting - all got fried. Lightning ran down the tree and dug a trench from the trunk to the concrete pathway leading to the front door. The trench excavation threw mud all over the front windows, about 30 feet away. Quite exciting!

What 15 amp surge guard do you use?