Battery Shut-Off

[bear99]

I noticed that when I left the battery connected on my QS long enough, it'd end up dead before the next trip.  Haven't bothered to find out what's using the juice, but when I connected/disconnected between trips, or when moving between campsites, it always sparked.  So I knew something was draining it.

I bought one of those inexpensive battery shutoffs like they use in race cars, all of $5 on Amazon, with 2 keys, and a 12" pre-made battery wire from eBay for $8.  I cut a hole in the top of the battery case, bolted and sealed it with silicone (probably overkill), connected the negative terminal through the switch, and problem solved.

I keep one of the keys in the pocket I put inside the door so I didn't lose the darn jack tool.  I can connect/disconnect the battery easily now.


[attachment id="400" thumbnail="1"]     [attachment id="401" thumbnail="1"]

[pastorrandy]

That is a nice setup.  I've been considering something similar myself.

[gnies]

Just curious on how much time in between trip you noticed your battery was dead? Because I leave my camper sometime 2 weeks without charging, didn't noticed if the battery went down or not, I wonder if I should plug it more often.

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/4159/thread" timestamp="1412793245" author="@paul"]I wonder if I should plug it more often. [/quote]Yes you should   The biggest culprit is the CO/Propane detector. It will drain down your battery in a couple weeks by itself. The radio also draws some current even when turned off (to save the time and settings).

[gnies]

[quote source="/post/4164/thread" timestamp="1412795054" author="@tinkeringtechie"][quote source="/post/4159/thread" timestamp="1412793245" author="@paul"]I wonder if I should plug it more often. [/quote]Yes you should   The biggest culprit is the CO/Propane detector. It will drain down your battery in a couple weeks by itself. The radio also draws some current even when turned off (to save the time and settings).[/quote]Ok thank you for the advice I will plug it in when back at home

[aznighthiker]

My brother and most of my coworkers that have a battery equipped camper have installed a switch that they use to shut off power between trips. My brother also uses a checklist (which I also do) and is included in his checklist to check the battery, turn on the switch etc.

[bear99]

[quote source="/post/4159/thread" timestamp="1412793245" author="@paul"]Just curious on how much time in between trip you noticed your battery was dead? Because I leave my camper sometime 2 weeks without charging, didn't noticed if the battery went down or not, I wonder if I should plug it more often. [/quote]Sometimes I'll go a month or two between trips.  Part of my pre-camping checklist has been to put a 2A charger on the battery a couple days in advance.  Will always do that.  But on longer trips when I am not going to be near an electric campsite, it gives me peace of mind.

[david]

jammo:

Letting the battery discharge for 1-2 months and then recharging before the next camping trip isn't good for battery life. As the battery discharges, lead sulfate precipitates out of the electrolyte. If it stays that way long, it builds up a hard layer on the bottom that won't go back into solution when recharged.

Two things happen, both bad. You lose some of your capacity. And if the sulfate layer builds up too high it will short the plates and the battery becomes toast.

So, the moral is don't let deep cycle batteries stay partially discharged very long.

The disconnect switch is a great idea. But I am cheap, lazy and dumb- I disconnect the pos battery lead to accomplish the same thing.

David

[bear99]

[quote source="/post/4195/thread" timestamp="1412878476" author="@david"]jammo:

Letting the battery discharge for 1-2 months and then recharging before the next camping trip isn't good for battery life. As the battery discharges, lead sulfate precipitates out of the electrolyte. If it stays that way long, it builds up a hard layer on the bottom that won't go back into solution when recharged.

Two things happen, both bad. You lose some of your capacity. And if the sulfate layer builds up too high it will short the plates and the battery becomes toast.

So, the moral is don't let deep cycle batteries stay partially discharged very long.

The disconnect switch is a great idea. But I am cheap, lazy and dumb- I disconnect the pos battery lead to accomplish the same thing.

David[/quote]

[bear99]

[quote source="/post/4207/thread" timestamp="1412963774" author="@jammo"][quote source="/post/4195/thread" timestamp="1412878476" author="@david"]jammo:

Letting the battery discharge for 1-2 months and then recharging before the next camping trip isn't good for battery life. As the battery discharges, lead sulfate precipitates out of the electrolyte. If it stays that way long, it builds up a hard layer on the bottom that won't go back into solution when recharged.

Two things happen, both bad. You lose some of your capacity. And if the sulfate layer builds up too high it will short the plates and the battery becomes toast.

So, the moral is don't let deep cycle batteries stay partially discharged very long.

The disconnect switch is a great idea. But I am cheap, lazy and dumb- I disconnect the pos battery lead to accomplish the same thing.

David[/quote][/quote]Thanks for the good explanation about why you should keep the batteries charged.  I have had lead acid batteries short between plates because of the lead sulfate precipitation.  Result = dead battery, and $80 out of pocket to replace it.

I used to disconnect the positive terminal when using a wrench, but as you may/may not be able to see in the pic, the propane tank is quite close to the battery box.  I had to be extra careful not to short the wrench to the tank.  I only had a small amount of space to move the wrench before I had to take it off the terminal, reposition it, then wrench again.  

So the switch was MY method of being lazy.  :-)  And I can put a charger on the battery when I get home, and know it isn't going to discharge between trips.  

Also, I discovered that the disconnect switches should be attached to the negative terminal.  Not sure how, but it's supposedly safer.  So as you'll notice in the pic, I put the cutoff switch on the negative terminal.

Jim

[jeffrey]

[quote source="/post/4195/thread" timestamp="1412878476" author="@david"]

The disconnect switch is a great idea. But I am cheap, lazy and dumb- I disconnect the pos battery lead to accomplish the same thing.

David

I did that once with the truck still plugged in.  Bumped the frame with the positive lead.  Think I had to buy a $14 box of fuses to get the one I needed.  Off the top of my head can't think of any reason why you couldn't do the same thing with the negative lead as a precaution. If your disconnected guess it wouldn't matter unless you forget and plug your truck in before reconnecting the lead.[/quote]

[lanell]

 Is it ok to keep the trailer on a shore line at home ?

[whoofit]

[p]I killed my brand new Group 24 cheapo battery that came with the trailer. Was parking on the street until the snow melted so could not plug it into shore power. Thought I had disconnected the battery last trip. It sat for less than 2 weeks. When I retrieved it it read 3.6V...never to return to normal.

I replaced it with a Group 30 AGM Marine combo start/storage that Cabelas had on sale this weekend for $150.

There is a good thread about modifying the PD-4045 for long term storage on shore power here. http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=2123&start=24

If you read to the end of the page there is a switch that can be added to ensure that there will be no overcharging of an AGM/Flooded battery. It is actually a jumper to allow charging of Gel Cells. I'm a believer in this method. So for long term storage I'll flip the switch for a little lower voltage while maintaining the battery.[/p][p]
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[daplumbr]

I install one of these circuit breakers (of the appropriate amperage) on every deep cycle battery I use: trolling motor, camper, solar system, winch, generator, etc. I simply flip the switch off when I'm not using the battery and of course the CB aspect is extra insurance against short circuits when the battery is being used. To install one on the battery, I typically used 3M double-sided tape and cable ties. Since I've started using these, along with good quality AGM batteries, I've not had any trouble with sulfated batteries, even in fairly long term storage.  

http://www.solar-electric.com/mrcb-40-amp-dc-circuit-breaker.html

[whoofit]

[p]When building our solar setup I considered this automatic Low Voltage Disconnect. http://shop.pkys.com/product.asp?itemid=2800&gclid=CIDa1IDF18QCFcEkgQodwEwAxA

Instead purchased the Victron BMV battery monitor with alarm output for it's ability to monitor and run the SOC algorithm. Not a hands-free protection device but offers some audible indication at least.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I am considering all of the options listed in this thread for the TT. Those AC SquareD breakers you find at Home Depot are also DC rated. A little known fact for those so inclined.[/p]