Winter Storage—Battery and Generator Maintenance ISATA 5

DavidMort · 11-17-2016, 09:08 AM

We found a place to store our ISATA 5 inside to protect it from the upstate NY weather this winter. There is no power available and there is no light in the storage building.

I believe I need to run the Ram motor and the generator periodically to keep the batteries charged and to keep the moving parts in the motors lubricated. If this is the correct procedure how often should I do this? How long to I need to run them?

Should I do something else?
Note that I shut the inverter off to reduce the load on the coach batteries while in storage.

DCM

FOURWHL · 11-17-2016, 01:50 PM

You can always remove the batteries and bring them to a garage or somewhere you have power and leave them on a tender over the winter.

I wouldnt worry about leaving the motors sit. Gas gelling would be the biggest concern but with diesel thats much less of a concern. There's some treatments out there I have yet to research but I might throw some of that in mine. I've read though diesel can sit for 6 mo and still be OK unlike gas. Just watch out for bio diesel. That stuff turns to gel quick.

5picker · 11-17-2016, 02:25 PM

David, I'm sure you are aware but it never hurts to have a friendly reminder... If your rig is stored in an enclosed storage building, be careful starting and then running the engine and the generator. Carbon Monoxide (CO) is the silent killer.

DavidMort · 11-20-2016, 12:48 PM

Checked on RV yesterday--- has been sitting in the dark for 3 weeks
Truck started fine , no issues
RV, no lights or control panels-- I assume voltage dropped below 12 V so they would not work.
The truck generator charged up the coach batteries after 5 minutes and controls came back on. Let truck rum for 15 mins and then turned on RV generator for 20 min.

I would like to disconnect RV batteries from all loads so they maintain charge in the cold weather. What is the best way to do this?

DCM

**bclemens** · 11-20-2016, 03:15 PM

marine disconnect in the battery bay.

markb422 · 11-21-2016, 01:27 PM

I store in a barn that does have electric. I plug in with a heavy duty timer that comes on for an hour each day to keep batties topped off. Good idea??
Exercising the generator once a month, they say, with at least 1/2 load is more for the generator than for the engine. Especially if it is stored in a moist area.

halla · 11-21-2016, 02:01 PM

I use a battery tender on the two truck batteries and leave the coach plugged in all winter. I start both the truck and the generator monthly.

2016 Dynamax Force. Just-Rite2

mlbellanti · 11-21-2016, 02:53 PM

I have a MBS 2401R and I store it outside with no power. I have this plug for an external solar panel and was wondering if I could use a solar powered trickle charger to keep the batteries charged. Anybody do this? Does it work?

Thanks Mike

markb422 · 11-22-2016, 09:33 AM

Depends. How many batteries do you have and what is the output of the solar charger. Anything above 10 watts requires a charge controller. Anything less than 10 watts may not be able to keep the batteries charged. Also, how much sun exposure can you expect during the winter.
On my MH the outside solar connector on the rv is a direct connection to the batteries with no charge controller. It is a Furrion connector and is made to be used with the Furrion portable solar panel that has the charge controller mounted right on it.

markb422 · 11-22-2016, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by halla

I use a battery tender on the two truck batteries and leave the coach plugged in all winter. I start both the truck and the generator monthly.

2016 Dynamax Force. Just-Rite2

What converter do you have? If you have a automatic three stage converter with float/trickle mode like the WFCO 8900 series is it okay to leave it plugged in long term with little to no 12 volt load?
Right now I had my MH connected to a heavy duty timer that comes on an hour a day. I checked on it yesterday and after 3 weeks the batteries where down to 2/3 on the panel. So I increased the time to 3 hours a day. Would like to be able to just plug in 24/7 and just check it every couple weeks.

SidecarFlip · 11-22-2016, 10:03 AM

I'd be adding a bio-cide like (Power Service Bio-Kleen) in a maintainance dose to your diesel fuel as well as an anti-gel additive because the diesel sitting in your fuel tank over the winter can accumulate moisture and cause algae growth.

I's also add a stabilization formula like Stabil Marine formula to the gasoline because E gas suffers from phase separation when sitting longer than a couple months. Keep in mind that regular Stabil (the red stuff) will not stabilize E-gas over the winter. Only the blue (Marine Formula) will.

It's also imperative to fill the tanks as full as possible to eliminate any air space in the fuel tanks.

Been there and did all that and algae growth in diesel fuel sitting is an expensive repair. It destroys fuel pumps, clogs filters and the end result is a big repair bill in the spring.

Same with E-gas. Phase separation of the alcohol causes sludge formation that will render the fuel system inoperative and another expensive repair bill.

Unless you are very mechanically inclined, a little bit of pre preperation foes a long way toward firing everything up in the spring with no issues....

halla · 11-22-2016, 09:19 PM

No idea in converter unless I pulled out the book. The fridge runs all winter and we have a dehumidifier plugged in. Batteries have lasted two years and seem to hold their charge as long as they did when new. Maybe Im just lucky?

2016 Dynamax Force. Just-Rite2

Kaadk · 11-22-2016, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markb422

...I checked on it yesterday and after 3 weeks the batteries where down to 2/3 on the panel. ....

Is your panel like mine where it uses the same set of LEDS for both the tanks and the batteries depending on which button you hit? If so, you're probably misreading it just like used to when I first got my TT. What I didn't know at the time until somebody pointed it out to me, is that the battery works off a different scale that's printed on the other side of the LEDs from the 1/3, 2/3 etc..

Mine's in black and easy to miss, but here's an example that stands out a little better:

What I've learned is that those letters C, G, F, L stand for Charging, Good, Fair, and Low. So, basically, it only ever lights up all 4 if it's plugged in (or running the generator if you have one) and therefore charging. When there's only 3 lights on, which is 2/3 on the tank scale, the battery is actually reading as full batteries.

DavidMort · 12-06-2016, 10:23 AM

Went and checked on RV yesterday. Coach batteries down again.
Ran tuck until charged enough to start generator. Ran both the generator and the truck for about 20 min.
I found the Marine switch to shut off the battery connection to the inverter.
Shut it off but the touch control and the front panel control were still powered. Not sure how much current they draw but even it is just an amp or two might be enough to pull the batteries down over a month. Is there a switch or breaker for the control circuits?

FOURWHL · 12-06-2016, 10:34 AM

How long did you wait to see if it turned off? Did everything else turn off right away?

The disconnect on mine and I know a couple of others has like a 30 min delay on it from the time you stop charging. So if you had the genny and motor running it could've just been delayed. I know its kind of weird / counter intuitive, but might be ok after it sits for a bit.

Only thing on mine that remains powered when disconnected is the stairs I believe.

DavidMort · 12-06-2016, 10:45 AM

only waited about 5-10 min, just until I locked everything up.
As noted in one of the previous posts, fumes in a closed building is an issue. Even with a strong breeze and the door open wanted to get out.
I will check on it this week.

DavidMort · 12-18-2016, 09:08 AM

Checked last week, the coach batteries were down again so marine switch is not turning off all the power to coach. There are other wires going to the battery bank in the coach. I assume one if the charging wire from the truck alternator and one is from the solar charger. It would be useful to have an electrical schematic for the RV. Is there on available?

**bclemens** · 12-18-2016, 09:30 AM

I thought I posted the 5 series electrical a while back. I'll see if I can find it.

DavidMort · 01-06-2017, 10:25 AM

did you ever find the post with the schematic for the isata 5, I searched and could not find it?

**bclemens** · 01-06-2017, 12:37 PM

Nope, maybe i was imagining things. all i found were the DX3 schematics. I emailed engineering again to see what is available. Regular wiring is not bad...but when it starts to go multiplex, they get very protective, because it is more proprietary. Although I'm not sure that someone would bother with trying to copy our stuff down to a T.

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