Our first outing will soon be to a state park without electrical hookups, which is fine. We will not be purchasing or taking a generator.
We will:
[ul type="disc"][li]Use hand crank LED lantern and flashlights and candles[/li][li]Run refrigerator on LP
[/li][li]Not run A/C or fans, or microwave off battery [if this would work anyways].
[/li][/ul][p]
[/p]So, about how long will I have on the battery for intermittent use of lights, or the minimal draw down of current from Co2 sensor, refrigerator circuits, blue light on CD player, etc?
I have heard one can do damage to battery if they go too far down. I need an Idiots Guide to RV Batteries.
Also, when fully charged, why is a 12v battery reading in the 13+v range?
Finally, do I need to order something from Amazon like this to monitor the battery? This looks to be able to plug into a receptacle near the TV mount. If yes, then what range do I need to monitor, and what is a bad range? [ I did not find a battery manual in my book. Is this covered in the manual for the inverter? My CL still is just sitting there and I am not thru the manuals yet]
http://www.amazon.com/INNOVA-3721-Battery-Charging-Monitor/dp/B000EVWDU0/ref=cm_wl_huc_item
Thank you.
Just time for one answer...
That voltmeter is the exact one I got:
[img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7089/13982189395_f7ccd4b1f3.jpg"]
Ran the wire for a 3-outlet adapter behind some wire mould, and plugged the voltmeter into that.
[quote source="/post/1176/thread" timestamp="1400855520" author="@ron"]Our first outing will soon be to a state park without electrical hookups, which is fine. We will not be purchasing or taking a generator.
We will:
[ul type="disc"][li]Use hand crank LED lantern and flashlights and candles[/li][li]Run refrigerator on LP
[/li][li]Not run A/C or fans, or microwave off battery [if this would work anyways].
[/li][/ul][p]
[/p]So, about how long will I have on the battery for intermittent use of lights, or the minimal draw down of current from Co2 sensor, refrigerator circuits, blue light on CD player, etc?
I have heard one can do damage to battery if they go too far down. I need an Idiots Guide to RV Batteries.
Also, when fully charged, why is a 12v battery reading in the 13+v range?
Finally, do I need to order something from Amazon like this to monitor the battery? This looks to be able to plug into a receptacle near the TV mount. If yes, then what range do I need to monitor, and what is a bad range? [ I did not find a battery manual in my book. Is this covered in the manual for the inverter? My CL still is just sitting there and I am not thru the manuals yet]
http://www.amazon.com/INNOVA-3721-Battery-Charging-Monitor/dp/B000EVWDU0/ref=cm_wl_huc_item
Thank you.
[/quote]Based on your description of usage you'd probably get 2-3 days. Count on 2, hope for 3. It also depends on your battery. The dealer provided batteries aren't always the greatest.
The 13+ volts that you're seeing is lingering from being charged. If you let it sit for a while it will settle down to around 12.7V or so. The same thing happens when you're actually using it. If you run the water pump for a while or leave a vent on, the voltage will read lower. Just keep in mind that the voltage is just one indicator of the state of charge, but needs to be considered along with the usage: If you just charged it for a few minutes and it reads 13v, that doesn't mean it's fully charged, and if you just turned on everything in the trailer and it reads 11.9v that doesn't necessarily mean it's empty.
I have that exact same battery monitor and it works pretty well. Just don't leave it in or it will also draw some current. Try not to go below 50%. Usually if you're taking it slow that means try to stay above 12V.
Hopefully that makes sense. Eventually you'll develop a "feel" for your battery situation. There is an exact science to it, but it's based on temperature, discharge rate, age of the battery... etc... nobody has time for that, so it's mostly guessing.
I posted this a while back, it'll give you a rough idea of what happening to your battery
[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][/span]Hourly [span] [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] [/span][span] [/span] Hours [span] [span] [/span][/span][span] [/span] Daily
[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span]Volts [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] Amps [span] [/span][span] [/span] Watts[span] [/span][span] [/span] Use/Day [span] [/span][span] [/span] Amp Use
Lights[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span]12[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span]1.20[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 14.4[span] [/span][span] [/span] 2 [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 2.4[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] Four, 3.6 Watt LED bulbs
Furnace[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span]12[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span]3.40[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 40.0[span] [/span][span] [/span] 0[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 0.0
Refrigerator[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 12[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 0.50[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 6.0[span] [/span][span] [/span] 24 [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 12.0 [span] [/span][span] [/span] On propane mode w/electronic control panel
CO Monitor [span] [/span][span] [/span] 12 [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 0.11[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 1.3[span] [/span][span] [/span] 24[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 2.6
Smoke Detector 12 [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 0.00 0.0 24[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 0.0
Water Pump 12 [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 4.00 [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 48.0 [span] [/span][span] [/span] 0.5[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 2.0
Water Heater [span] [/span] 12 [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 0.20[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 2.4[span] [/span][span] [/span] 0.75 [span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span] 0.2
[span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span][span] [/span]Total AHr Draw/Day 19.1
Given all this, a standard 85 amp hour battery will last about 2.25 days without draining it past the recommended 50% level.
Mitch
Great info from all. I copied and will keep this. Is this info in print somewhere in my manuals? Glad I had your input.
I don't believe it's in the manuals. Mostly I went to the component manufacturers and looked up the specific product specs.
Mitch
[font size="3"][font face="arial"]The subject is well covered here, and no, it's not in the manual. Factory manuals are for those that already know what to do.
The INNNOVA battery monitor seems to be very popular. I have one too. My only additions to the discussion would be:
[ol type="decimal"][li]Read the meter and ignore the colored lights.
[/li][li]Unplug it at night unless you need a really bright night light.
[/li][/ol]
[/font][/font]