Battery Issues

[LongIslabdDom]

Let me start off by saying I have a Bullet 2190EX. It is a truly great camper. Added a few nice upgrades (auto tounge jack, black flush, etc) but it has been a great 1st camper.

My only issue is that even after charging the battery (plugging into my house). Running the generator when I get onsite until 9pm. The battery will go so dead that the fridge shuts off by 4am. Cannot figure out what could be draining the battery so quickly. I had the issue last season and swapped out the battery just to make sure that wasn’t the issue.

Does anyone else have this issue? Anything I should be checking?

Appreciate any insight as this is driving me nuts...

[Canonman]

You don't say how long you've had the Bullet or how old the battery is. But here is something to consider, all lead acid (flooded) batteries have a limited lifespan mostly based on how may times they've been recharged and the extent of the discharge. That's why it's always recommended to get "Deep Cycle" batteries since they allow for more recycles than the "starting" batteries. I'd say if you're recharging until 9pm and the battery is dead by 4am you've likely got a weak battery and and not a drain problem.
Best way to know is to take the battery in and have it tested. Or, if you're handy, test it yourself https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/battery-articles/troubleshooting-a-battery.html.
Get ready to buy a new battery. If you dry camp or boon-dock you might want to take the opportunity to upgrade to two batteries:)

[JRTJH]

Even a GP24 battery should last longer than 7 hours with minimal usage. You say that you run the generator until 9PM and the battery is dead by 4AM. I guess that means that there is not enough battery power to operate the refrigerator? If so, then your battery is below 50% charge. Usually, "maintenance free marine batteries" are not "true deep cycle batteries" and shouldn't be discharged below about 70%. I'd guess that's the type battery you have, so chances are it's been discharged beyond repair many times over the last year or so.

That would explain why it can't be charged enough to last more than 7 hours.

If you're going to continue to dry camp, on battery power, you really need more power than a single GP24 battery can provide in order to remain above the 70% charge rate in so you protect your battery/batteries from damage.

I'd suggest a pair of "true deep cycle 12 volt batteries" either GP27 or GP31. Alternately a pair of golf cart batteries GC6 or EGC6. Either system, two 12 volt batteries or two 6 volt batteries will provide significantly more power, remain above 70% discharge (if you use your generator daily) and provide power to last through the night.

All of the above hinges on "realistic, minimal" battery usage during the evening. You can't run the TV for 6 hours, run the furnace at 80F, leave all the lights on whether being used or not and expect the batteries to last.... "Realistic usage" is more "a couple of lights where needed, furnace only to prevent temps from falling below "truly uncomfortable" and not leaving anything turned on that's not being used.

[LongIslabdDom]

Thank you for the insight and I thought I had ruled out the battery. The camper and battery were brand new in 2017. Had this issues right out of the gate. At the end of the season last year it was under the 1 year warranty so they just replaced the battery but I am still having the same issue.

I wouldn’t have an issue upgrading to 2 batteries but figured there has to be something putting a large load on it because it should be lasting longer than this...

[LongIslabdDom]

Just to be clear on usage. I have nothing running at night, no lights, no furnace, no fans, just the 12 volt to run the fridge on propane and the stuff that is hardwired (smoke detector, carbon monoxide) and it is dead by 4 am.

Here is the battery

[BrentB]

Almost any battery that is fully charged should last longer than what you're seeing. Do you have a multimeter you can use to check the voltage at the battery while the camper is plugged in? It should be at 13.5 or higher volts while plugged in if the converter is charging properly.

[Brentw]

That would be a decent load in that case. I would still get the battery load tested, it is a quick and easy test, I have seen fairly new batteries fail ( an internal plate could crack or warp and cause a short).
You can start by pulling fuses and reinserting 1 system at a time, this will help you can narrow your search.

[Canonman]

OK, the fridge is using 12v for it's control circuit functions and everything else is off except for the parasitic devices. Let's also presume that you have checked the water level in the battery. The problem has been ongoing since new and the battery has been replaced once already. So it may not be the battery but it's easy enough to test if you have a volt/ohm meter.
Check the battery state of charge by simply selecting the DC scale and connect the leads to the pos and neg posts of the battery. Do this with no shore power connected to the Bullet. Note that voltage. If it's 10.2v you likely have a bad cell. If it's around 11.5v to 12v continue on.
Now plug in the shore power. This will power up the converter which should start charging the battery at around 13.2v. If it's not charging at 13+ volts then the converter is suspect. Let the battery charge for about 4 hours. Shut off the shore power and let the battery rest for an hour or so and check the voltage again. If it's up to 12.6 or 12.7v then it's probably ok.
If the converter and battery check out, then at this point you'll need to start checking for what's draining the battery. Could be anything (turned on or not) A very high resistance short through a motor winding or even a circuit board can be the culprit. Let us know what you find, once you test the converter output and the battery.

[JRTJH]

OK, the fridge is using 12v for it's control circuit functions and everything else is off except for the parasitic devices. ....

Good info and a well detailed process to check the battery/converter system... The one addition I'd make is in the "unseen battery drains" that are a common part of the trailer. If the refrigerator is a Dometic 2652/2852, there is a 12VDC heater circuit in the cabinet frame, around the door area. That heater warms the door gasket area to prevent condensation. On "luxury/upgrade" models of the refrigerator, there is a switch under the eyebrow control panel to turn the heater off. On the "base model" Dometics, commonly found in entry level/mid level trailers, that switch is omitted and there is no way to "conveniently" turn off that parasitic drain. It can, but itself, discharge a single battery system in 24-36 hours.

There are several threads on the forum detailing how to install a switch to turn the heater off. Not a difficult mod, and one to consider for anyone with limited battery power who does more than occasional dry camping.

[flybouy]

For $22 you can get a HF multimeter that will measure up ti 20 amps DC. I would connect it according to their instructions and note the amp load. Simple math will tell you how long the battery will tolerate that load when fully charged.

[MattE303]

I was experiencing similar problems (run generator for several hours before bed...while sleeping only thing drawing juice was furnace kicking on a couple times...wake up to dead battery). In my case it was the converter not properly charging the battery. Do the converter tests as Canonman described, and consider adding a volt meter display so you can easily keep an eye on battery condition and charging behavior (that's how I figured out what my problem was).