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Battery management
Just curious what the recommended procedure is for turning off the batteries when parked at home. We usually plug our unit in when we return home but do not shut the batteries off.
Is it best to shut everything down when parked?
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6 Replies
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You didn’t specify if you’re asking about chassis or house batteries. For house batteries when plugged into shore power, leave everything on, the inverter/chargers will maintain your house batteries. Good chassis batteries should last several months without charging, but I always installed a 3 stage smart charger to maintain the batteries.
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What Tom said about house and chassis with one exception. Keeping a charger, even a three stage can mask a potential chassis battery issue so I let them sit for a few months and if it will not start after that, the bus is in my garage where it is easy for me to deal with, not in some rest area or RV park miles from a battery dealer.
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I agree (again) 100% with Jon. Contrary to the strong recommendations and scoldings from Prevost gurus on Faceback, don’t like to leave the smart charger on all the time. We experienced slowly failing Interstate batteries that were only 3.5 years old as we moved from Florida through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and into Arizona. I could tell they were going soft in Mobile AL. My plan was to replace them in Phoenix, but they (maybe only one) died in Tucson and no amount of charging would let start the coach. So I replaced the four with top of the line with NAPA’s.
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Thanks everyone. We usually do not leave it unused more than a month at a time. I think next time I will leave the house batteries off just to see if they are good
ThaThanks again
Bob & Gerri
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This is what works for me.I own a lot of batteries. I’ve owned a lot of batteries for a lot of years. It pays $ and there are fewer surprises/headaches to take good care of them. One of the worst things you can do to a lead acid battery is “nothing”. Another is over charging.We don’t go from plug to plug. We are either running down the road or running the generator.We bought our bus almost 7 1/2 yrs ago. It has the same 4 NAPA commercial #7234 mx free lead acid chassis batteries in it today that we’re in it when we bought it. I don’t know how long they were in it before we bought it? Every week or two I rotate a cheap $5 harbor freight 12v trickle charger back and forth between the 2 easiest to reach chassis battery posts. All 4 chassis batteries are connected to each other, so when one gets charged, they all get charged to some degree. I had a little Lifeline Concord 12v battery in my airplane lasted 12 yrs with one of these cheap chargers hooked up to it 24/7/365. I call this success.Our bus came with a built in Marinco Guest dual 24v/12v smart charger installed for the chassis batteries. It never gets used. The bus would need to be plugged into shore power for it to work. When at home, it doesn’t see shore power until about 24 hrs before we are set to get on the road again, so as to get the frig/freezer down to temp.Our bus has three 12v Lifeline 8D house batteries. I installed them new 4+ yrs ago. The bus had 3 Deka 4D agm batteries when we purchased it. I don’t know how old they were or how they had been treated? Their capacity was getting low, so I replaced them with the correct size Lifelines.When parked at home, I do not plug the shore cord into shore power. Both the 24v and 12v master blade switches are left on. To keep the house and gen batteries charged, I have an old $10 Craftsman manual 2 amp dumb charger hooked up to the post on the battery isolator that allows it to charge both the house batts and the gen bat. It keeps a 13.1 float charge on both banks. The gen battery is a cheap Autozone group 27 Duralast wet cell that was new 7 1/2 yrs ago. It has never needed any water.When we’re traveling from point A to B, the 12v and 24v alternators keep all the batteries charged to about 14v. When dry camping, we run the generator and the 2 Magnum inverter chargers I’ve programed to do the trick.There is a PulseTech PP-12-L installed on the house bank to prevent sulfation 24/7/365.I never allowed my batt voltage to become less that 12.3 volts, even when dry camping with the generator off. I have never used the Liberty installed “Watch Dog”. By the time it is set to fire up the gen, at 11.8v or less, the damage to the house batteries has been done.Here’s is the latest real world test I did on our ole chassis batteries. Last week at our home near Leadvlle, CO (10,000′ asl). The morning after we arrived, it was 35*f. After cleaning the bus a little, it started right up and I put it in its garage. It then gets the 2 little chargers I mentioned previously plugged into 15 amp outlets to keep the batteries at a healthy state of charge during the stay.Again success, but I know the day is coming. I’ll probably replace them with some life left in them, but I know I’ve gotten my $ worth.Your results may vary.
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If anyone wants to know the secret it was clearly stated. Never let the batteries get below 12.3.
How that is accomplished is far less important than doing that.
Good job.
Jeff and Lindsay
91 Marathon XL
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