LP/Co Alarm

[John House]

Hi, I am a new member and I have a 2018 1940 LTD Rockwood Tent Trailer. When I put my trailer away for a few weeks at some point a beeping sound starts and some times a fan is running. I was told it was an alarm for the LP/CO sensor letting me know the battery is low. Someone suggested to install a battery discount. However, If I was camping somewhere with no hook ups I would like to use the lights off of the battery until the battery drained down. I would hate for the alarm to start beeping in the middle of the night. I am looking for suggestions. Thanks in advance for you help.

[Bama Rambler]

One thing you could do is install a dedicated battery just for the alarm, that way it wouldn't depend on the house battery for power. You would have to install some diodes in the wiring to the converter so it would charge it, but it would not drain with the house battery.

[pgandw]

The purpose of the battery disconnect is to prevent your battery running down between trips. It does not affect you while camping, your battery should be connected while towing and while camping. When not camping/towing, is the pop-up stored plugged in or not? If not plugged in while in storage, you NEED to disconnect the battery while in storage. Either a disconnect switch or remove all wires from one battery terminal.

If you are plugged in while in storage, a low voltage alarm means your converter is not working correctly OR a blown fuse/circuit breaker between converter and battery. In any case, if plugged in and getting a low voltage alarm means battery is not being charged.

If your propane/CO alarm is alarming for low voltage, one of several things could apply:

• if plugged in, converter is not working or fuse is blown. While plugged in and all is working correctly, you should see 13+ volts - and no alarm.
• (not plugged in) battery charge is low due to using more AH than you should before recharging
• (not plugged in) battery charge is low because battery has been discharged too many times to too low a level. You probably need to have your battery checked, and quite possibly need to replace the battery. Typical battery life in RV use is 5 years, less if you drain the battery pretty low before recharging.
• (not plugged in) propane/CO alarm alarms at too high a voltage. You need to replace the propane/CO alarm. Check battery voltage when the alarm first comes on - should come on at 11.9 volts or less. But at 11.9 volts, your battery is already too low for a long life. 12.0 -12.1V is 50% charge, which is the minimum for long battery life. Taking the battery lower repeatedly means a shorter battery life. The CO portion of the alarm also has a limited life - usually 5 years, after which the detector element doesn't work. The alarm will have an expiration date on the back of the case.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[Flybob]

Originally Posted by John House

Hi, I am a new member and I have a 2018 1940 LTD Rockwood Tent Trailer. When I put my trailer away for a few weeks at some point a beeping sound starts and some times a fan is running. I was told it was an alarm for the LP/CO sensor letting me know the battery is low. Someone suggested to install a battery discount. However, If I was camping somewhere with no hook ups I would like to use the lights off of the battery until the battery drained down. I would hate for the alarm to start beeping in the middle of the night. I am looking for suggestions. Thanks in advance for you help.

Using the battery much below 50% (12.1V) will shorten its life. The CO/LP detector alarms below that level. If you are going to camp where you have no shore power for a length of time, you should consider a second battery, a small generator or a solar system. All have advantages and disadvantages. As mentioned, the battery disconnect is to keep a fully charged battery from discharging through parasitic loads like CO/LP detector, remote controlled radio etc when stored. You would not use it camping. I strongly recommend against any method of disabling the CO/LP detector. They have saved lives.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by John House

Hi, I am a new member and I have a 2018 1940 LTD Rockwood Tent Trailer. When I put my trailer away for a few weeks at some point a beeping sound starts and some times a fan is running.

Usually when our battery is low, the LP/CO alarm doesn't beep, it screeches.
You need to find out by getting into the rig where beeping is coming from.... the LP/CO detector, from the smoke detector or something else. Smoke detector alarms beep when the 9v battery is low after about a year, LP/CO usually beep when they need to be replaced after about 5 years.
At the very minimum, disconnect the negative cable from the battery when storing it and reconnect it before traveling. That will help preserve the battery charge.
Are you plugged into electric when you hear the fan running? That usually indicates that the battery is charging.
As for lights, you might want to pick up a couple of solar/battery lamps to preserve the battery when camping without electricity.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

Usually when our battery is low, the LP/CO alarm doesn't beep, it screeches.
You need to find out by getting into the rig where beeping is coming from.... the LP/CO detector, from the smoke detector or something else. Smoke detector alarms beep when the 9v battery is low after about a year, LP/CO usually beep when they need to be replaced after about 5 years.

A good reminder. In my A122 A-frame, I started hearing a beeping, which I assumed was coming from the propane/CO detector. I could not reset it, finally I cut the wires to the propane/CO detector. But it didn't stop the beeping. Looked up and discovered to my embarrassment that the smoke alarm was doing the beeping. Replaced the 9V battery, and the beeping stopped. Got to rewire the propane/CO detector, which was actually working fine the whole time.

Fred W

[John House]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

One thing you could do is install a dedicated battery just for the alarm, that way it wouldn't depend on the house battery for power. You would have to install some diodes in the wiring to the converter so it would charge it, but it would not drain with the house battery.

Thanks for the info.

[John House]

Originally Posted by pgandw

The purpose of the battery disconnect is to prevent your battery running down between trips. It does not affect you while camping, your battery should be connected while towing and while camping. When not camping/towing, is the pop-up stored plugged in or not? If not plugged in while in storage, you NEED to disconnect the battery while in storage. Either a disconnect switch or remove all wires from one battery terminal.

If you are plugged in while in storage, a low voltage alarm means your converter is not working correctly OR a blown fuse/circuit breaker between converter and battery. In any case, if plugged in and getting a low voltage alarm means battery is not being charged.

If your propane/CO alarm is alarming for low voltage, one of several things could apply:

• if plugged in, converter is not working or fuse is blown. While plugged in and all is working correctly, you should see 13+ volts - and no alarm.
• (not plugged in) battery charge is low due to using more AH than you should before recharging
• (not plugged in) battery charge is low because battery has been discharged too many times to too low a level. You probably need to have your battery checked, and quite possibly need to replace the battery. Typical battery life in RV use is 5 years, less if you drain the battery pretty low before recharging.
• (not plugged in) propane/CO alarm alarms at too high a voltage. You need to replace the propane/CO alarm. Check battery voltage when the alarm first comes on - should come on at 11.9 volts or less. But at 11.9 volts, your battery is already too low for a long life. 12.0 -12.1V is 50% charge, which is the minimum for long battery life. Taking the battery lower repeatedly means a shorter battery life. The CO portion of the alarm also has a limited life - usually 5 years, after which the detector element doesn't work. The alarm will have an expiration date on the back of the case.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

Thanks for your feedback.