Dry Camping and battery

[cjcoult]

I have a 2018 Cougar 366RDS - I had to change the battery every day when dry camping. I had a 12v battery solar panel connected to the battery - 7amp max rate. We did not use the lights at all. The only things drawing power were the fridge, water pump and water heater only when in use and CO2 sensor. With nothing on but the CO2 sensor - .45 amps being pulled, CO2 + Fridge flame 1.7 amps and fridge fan + CO2 sensor + (no flame) 2.8 amps. Fan runs very often. If outside temp matters, days were mid 70s and night 50s. I should get more than one day, right?

[JRTJH]

I have a 2018 Cougar 366RDS - I had to change the battery every day when dry camping. ... I should get more than one day, right?

Iwould guess that you meant to say "charge the battery every day when dry camping"

Depending on the size of the battery, you probably are going to have to charge it daily. If it's a GP24, it's doing all it can do to run the lights and refrigerator for 24 hours. If it's a GP27, you might get nearly 2 days before you'd have to recharge.

A 7 amp solar system really only produces the maximum output on a bright, sunny day, and then, only when the solar array is directed at the sun. As the clouds move between the array and the sun, as the sun's position changes, the output is significantly reduced. Really, about the most you can expect from a 7 amp solar system is a "trickle charge output". So it really won't help much, and certainly won't keep up with the electrical use when dry camping.

If you're planning to do much dry camping, you should consider a dual battery system. Either GP27/GP31 if you want to stay with 12 volt batteries. If that's your plan, try to find "true deep cycle batteries" not "RV/Marine" batteries. They usually aren't "true deep cycle batteries" and don't hold up well to repeated discharging below about 70%. Realistically, if you plan on significant dry camping, I'd suggest a dual 6 volt system using golf cart batteries. Most of us use GC2 or EGC2 size golf cart batteries. For the purchase price, they are hard to beat and provide sufficient power for 3 or 4 days of summer dry camping. Ours are 5 years old and still perform the same as when we bought them. As a comparison, our last 12 volt system lasted 2 camping seasons.

There are several very thorough discussions of battery systems on the forum. Do a search for battery systems or for dry camping and you should locate them.

[cjcoult]

First, thank you for the reply. I have 2 GP27 batteries. One used at a time and I charge one, then switch them out and charge the one that was being used... We dry camp once a summer for 10 days. I will do the search you suggested. I was surprised to only get 1 day as I got 3 - 4 days with my old 5th wheel. But this fridge is 12 cu feet and has a fan and my old one was 8 cu feet and didn't have a fan. The fan runs alot and I am wondering if it is running more than it should. Thank you!

[Canonman]

Something just doesn't sound right. We also dry camp for multiple days using 2 group 24 batteries connected in parallel. Parallel connection keeps the voltage the same but doubles the amp hours. so two 12v 100 a/h batteries will provide 12vdc and 200 a/h.
Our 200w Zamp solar keeps the batteries topped off quite nicely. We use our lights, watch the occasional movie and have never run the batteries below 12.4 volts.
I'd suggest using your VOM to check the actual voltage of the battery when you install it and also when you remove the battery.12.6vdc or more is a fully charged battery. 12.2vdc is charged at 60%. 12.0vdc is about 50% discharged.
I'm suspecting since you're only using one battery at a time it may be dropping below 12.2vdc by the time you pull it. Your solar charger may not have it fully charged by the time you reinstall it so things just keep going down hill.
I'd also suggest looking at using the batteries in parallel and charging from the solar or generator directly while still connected.
You don't say what size solar you have but to get to 7amps it would have to be 160watt or better. Your solar controller will tell you how many watts/volts /amps the panels are providing and will protect your batteries from over charging. Bottom line, I think your system is capable for your needs and should be working better than it is.
Not sure what the big drain on the batteries is (refrigerator fan?)but I'd find out and see what I could do to minimize it.

[chuckster57]

Is the fan inside the fridge? Like a Norcold 2118? If so I know from personal experience they will kill a gp27 battery overnight.

If you have an external fan because your refer is on a slide, odds are you have at least 2 fans. They are “activated” by the temp of the cooling unit at the top. There is a “limit switch” that is attached to the last cooling fin and is set to allow current to the fan(s) when the fin temp reaches a set point.

I wouldn’t disable the fan(s) if they are on the back of the fridge because they are a vital part of keeping your fridge/freezer cold.

[cjcoult]

I charge the battery using electricity in the campgrounds bathroom. I use the solar panel just to help the battery that is connected to the RV. The fridge is on the slide out with the fan that I hear is at the top of the slide out.

As for the solar panel - I think it is simply too small to make a difference based on what I am reading.

Each time I put in the charged battery back in the trailer - I checked the voltage reading using the panel inside the storage compartment - the leveling control panel...each time is was between 12.9 and 12.6 volts. When I changed the battery is was reading in the low 11s and the inside the trailer indicator was either at 1/3 or E.

How can I figure out what the big draw is on the battery?

Thanks to everyone that is responding, much appreciated.

[bill-e]

OK, If I'm reading this correctly, I think that the OP is saying that he owns two batteries, but he only has one installed at a time. for the purpose of my supposition, let's forget the second battery.

So Guessing that it's a 100ah or less battery, you probably only want to discharge it 50% or no more than 50ah. Now with your 7ah solar system, you would need at least 7 hours of the maximum daily sun to bring that battery back up to full. I am also going to assume that the solar is connected to the RV battery, not the second battery.

Having said that, If what you stated is all that drawing power, here's an possible scenario. If we guess at total of 3ah of consumption which works out to 72ah for a 24 hour period, of which your solar is replenishing maybe 30ah on a good day, then you would have 8ah as carryover to the next day (-72ah +30ah = -42ah. 50-42=8ah) which when added to your next day's solar provided 30ah, maybe you should be getting a day and a half before running out of juice at the 50% level. If you've been drawing down your batteries more than that or they're old then you won't actually have a battery that can produce its rated capacity to start with.

Variables in this guess are the amount of sunlight, quality and condition of the battery, and the actual 24 hour current draw.

[bill-e]

So 12.2v is the absolute lowest that you should be discharging that battery to without having noticeable damage to its capacity.

[cjcoult]

In response to the lowest being 12.2 - I would be changing the battery probably every 12 hours if not sooner - based on the reading when I put the "charged" battery in, the reading was around 12.7 volts. That is a guess as I didn't check the time used when reading was 12.2.

[cjcoult]

Part of my issue may be the charging of the battery in the campground's bathroom and/or my charger. The most I got as a reading on the control panel was 12.9 volts, and that was only once - it was usually 12.7. I am home now and had the trailer plugged in to home electricity and unplugged it and checked the voltage reading and it was 13.1. So even tho my charger said "full", maybe the battery isn't really "full". But I am still thinking something is drawing more power than it should be.

[bill-e]

What is the ah rating of the battery?
How are you measuring current draw?
How old are the batteries/how many times have they been discharged below 12.2v?

[bill-e]

Part of my issue may be the charging of the battery in the campground's bathroom and/or my charger. The most I got as a reading on the control panel was 12.9 volts, and that was only once - it was usually 12.7. I am home now and had the trailer plugged in to home electricity and unplugged it and checked the voltage reading and it was 13.1. So even tho my charger said "full", maybe the battery isn't really "full". But I am still thinking something is drawing more power than it should be.Check your battery about an hour after it finished charging. Checking it right after charging gives a false high reading.

[cjcoult]

100 ah
used a digital amp meter to measure draw
each battery went below 12.2 4 times

[Canonman]

So we know you are installing a fully charged 100amp hour battery but within a days time the battery is discharged greater than 50% (12.2vdc or less), which is the max for a lead acid battery. So the use is around 50 amps per day. Your post says you are drawing around 5amps load with the items you tested so the battery is lasting roughly 10 hours? depending on how often the fan runs, pump is used etc. it could be more.
To increase the amp hours available to your accessories, you need to use both batteries at the same time connected in parallel. This will provide double the amp hours as a single battery.
Also, most solar panels can produce about 30 amp hours per 100w per day. In order to keep up with your charging needs you'd need at least a 200w solar system and lots of sunshine. If dry camping is your thing (like it is for us) then I'd suggest a generator to keep the batteries charged.
We're fortunate and have a generator to back up our solar. So for us it's solar to keep the batteries topped off and the generator as needed when the solar can't keep up due to weather or usage. Hope this helps.

[cjcoult]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I understand the point of hooking up 2 batteries to get twice the amp hours, but when I use one battery and then use another battery - I am essentially getting the amp hours from both batteries, correct? (I am just not using them at the same time) My issue with using 2 batteries at the same time is that if they need to be charged with electricity in the campground bathroom (can't use a generator at this state park), then I need 2 more to put in while those charge (or I guess at least 1 more to use by itself while the other 2 charge). So I guess I could get 2 days with 2 batteries, then 1 day from one battery while the other 2 charge...And my present solar panel is definetly not enough watts to help so I need to consider buying a new one with much more watts. Right now we only dry camp this one 10 day trip every year.

I am presently charging one of my batteries, so I will wait an hour to see what I get instead of checking right away - the false reading.

[cjcoult]

As for waiting an hour - that did happen while dry camping last week. It finished charging in the morning and I didn't put it in until each evening. It was still always 12.6 to 12.9 volts.

[bill-e]

cjcoult, great, that means that your battery is fully charged. The few times you've gone beyond 50% should not be a noticeable decrease in your # of cycles as it relates to battery lifetime.

As you've deduced, your battery and charger are working well, you're just using too much per day to keep up with the charging using your small solar setup. The ideal situation would be to consume no more power than your solar system can offset.

In my case I have two T-105 6v batteries which gives me about 110ah of available power at the 50% level. I typically use about 40-50ah/day which includes using my CPAP, running the fridge (heater disconnected), occasional hot water,occasional water pump, occasional awning Plus 4 cups of Keurig coffee using my 1000w inverter. My 200w portable solar panel can just about keep up with that and I get away with not running my generator at all for a 3-4 day outing.

[cjcoult]

I agree that I need a solar panel with higher watts. But I still think something is drawing more amps than it should or maybe the fan on the fridge runs more than it should. I am also dry camping for 10 days at a state park that won't allow a generator. I would be happy if I could get 2 days from a battery so I only need to switch every other day instead of every day. I think my next step is to try to figure out what is drawing the amps and how many amps. Thanks.

[Canonman]

Now that you're home, why not use the digital amp meter to verify your total amp draw?
Then start pulling fuses and see which device/devices are the big users. Our Cougar was supposed to be equipped with all LED lights. I have found that the light over the stove and the small decorative light over the dinette were the old 921 incandescent bulb.
A 921 bulb will draw 1.5 amps by itself. Worse, we were using these "smaller" lights to save power rather than the main overhead LED lights:banghead:
Further investigation will at least allow you to know what devices draw what power. You may find a problem that needs to be addressed or just that the ridge fans are the culprit and nothing you can do.
Good luck and please post with what you find out.

[JRTJH]

One significant drain (if you have a Dometic 2652/2662 or 2852/2862 refrigerator) is the door heater circuit. On the "upgraded '62 models" there is a switch to turn the heater circuit off. It's located under the eyebrow control panel. On the "standard '52 models" there is no switch and the circuit is energized "24/7"... Many of us have modified the refrigerator to allow for disabling that heater circuit. You might do a forum search, read up on the modification and consider whether it would benefit your style of camping. My guess is that it would save you about 1-1.5 amps, which may keep your current battery usage out of the "below 50% discharge" conditions. When dry camping for extended stays, every light bulb, every water pump cycle, every cycle of the refrigerator ignition system helps deplete the battery/batteries.

[bill-e]

Just using the figures you gave, 2.8x24=67.2 and lets guess at 25 amps for your normal solar that comes out to 42.2ah for a day. now add in other consumption like the water pump and hot water heater and you could be at or above your 50% level per day. We also don't know exactly how much your battery capacity really is, it may not be able to sustain its rated capacity.

Most less knowledgeable campers drain their battery way more than 50% getting the impression that they can go two days on a charge.

You can do the Fridge heater mod and save about .5ah and that would give you a little more margin.

If you went with a good 200w solar system you could replenish your battery on a good day 40-60 ah. and would not have to plug them in at all or at least only every few days.

I have a Zamp portable 200w system, high quality and expensive.

[bill-e]

Here's a link to a battery meter I installed.

$18 on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013PKYILS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

And a forum post showing it in action. This was just a test setup, I used 4 wire telephone cable to run to the meter which I mounted by my TV.

The meter comes with a shunt is seems to be accurate. I can monitor my power consumption and/or turn things on/off to see what's consuming what.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28952839/gotomsg/28956450.cfm#28956450

[cjcoult]

Thanks everyone - I will report back once I test all the fuses to see what is drawing what? Trailer is getting some minor warranty work done right now. I will also look at the fridge to see about the door heater circuit. Again, thanks everyone.

[cjcoult]

OK - so there just happens to be a battery distributor of my battery 15 min from me. I took both batteries there to have them tested. Both do take a charge and have the correct volts BUT then tested each cell with a Hydrometer and both batteries had multiple cells in the red - meaning they don't hold the charge or the charge gets used up fast, which was exactly my problem. I did ask if something about the trailer electrical system could cause them to go bad and he said no - just unlucky and had two bad batteries. Luckily since new trailer - new batteries so covered by warranty of battery - got 2 new ones free. When I bring my trailer back home, I will probably DRY camp in my driveway for a couple days just to see what happens. Thanks again to everyone that replied, this is the first time I have used a "Forum" - very happy with it.

[cjcoult]

Oh and I did ask 2 people there about how far to let the battery go down in volts as it was suggested to not go below 12.2. Both of them told me that letting them go to the low 11s is OK, if not better, so the battery doesn't "learn" that 12.2 is "empty" - their words not mine. I am not a battery person, so just thought I would include what I was told by the battery distributor folks. Thanks again!

[Canonman]

Glad to hear the good news about replacing the batteries under warranty.
Best of luck with your new 5er and safe travels!

[sourdough]

OK - so there just happens to be a battery distributor of my battery 15 min from me. I took both batteries there to have them tested. Both do take a charge and have the correct volts BUT then tested each cell with a Hydrometer and both batteries had multiple cells in the red - meaning they don't hold the charge or the charge gets used up fast, which was exactly my problem. I did ask if something about the trailer electrical system could cause them to go bad and he said no - just unlucky and had two bad batteries. Luckily since new trailer - new batteries so covered by warranty of battery - got 2 new ones free. When I bring my trailer back home, I will probably DRY camp in my driveway for a couple days just to see what happens. Thanks again to everyone that replied, this is the first time I have used a "Forum" - very happy with it.

I'm glad you found the issue and they replaced the batteries. Unfortunately, buying a new trailer doesn't necessarily mean you got new, or good, batteries. Mine failed 2nd season. It came with one battery, I had stipulated 2 when buying, took it back in and installed the 2nd one. Did not pull the LP tanks, battery covers etc. to look at them. They failed. I don't know which one was new but I suspect the Camco, covered in oily, greasy gook, with the bulged sides was the one they grabbed off a shelf and threw in. It ruined the other battery as well. My takeaway from buying a trailer, used or new, is, buy it then tear it apart to see what you got.:facepalm:

[cjcoult]

One battery was Jan 18 and other Feb. 18 - should not have been bad so yes glad they were replaced for free.

[megamile]

I do a lot of dry camping, so I installed a Xantrex battery monitor and 2 12 v deep cycle batteries in parallel. Monitor tells me charge, amp hours used, amp hours available, % charge, whether bank is charging or discharging, and was easy to use to determine power draw of each electrical item, including ghost draws. If you haven't yet, you should make a chart of each item in your trailer that uses power, 12 v or 110 v, with its current draw. This will help you greatly to keep an eye on how much power you are using. Trying to measure battery usage by using voltage is inaccurate at best, destructive at worst.
Solar power is a whole other subject, but I can tell you what I plan for my Hideout: 2 160 watt solar panels, charge controller, 2 12 v battery banks and a marine 4 place switch (off, left bank, right bank, both banks in parallel). Solar will charge off bank and allow cell equalization while I draw from the other bank. Each bank has 220 ah total, which allows 110 ah draw to 50%, and Xantrex sounds alarm at that point for changeover. I almost never get to alarm point.

[idanby]

Make sure you have water in your batteries. Most people don't realize that most RV batteries are not sealed units and require water occasionally. Use distilled water if at all possible, rather than tap or spring water (usual bottled water). This can make a huge difference on how much power the batteries will provide, as well as how well they will charge.

[Kim]

Is the TV booster on?
I had a Cougar with 2 12v batteries but I managed to kill them by allowing them to get drained too far, the furnace was the culprit. They wouldn't recover.
Then I bit the bullet and installed 4 6v t105s (Trojan) and followed that with a 400w solar system.
All was happy after that.
Hubby likes his TV so we upgraded to 6 t105s and 650w of panels.

Anyway, I think your battery bank is suffering like others have said. I learned the hard way.

[cjcoult]

Nope - we turned booster off too - but thanks for the thought and info of what you use now. We only dry camp once a year for 10 days - so I don't want to put a ton of money into it. My solution for next year is going to parallel my 2 12v batteries and get at least 100W solar panel if not 200W.

[PKraus29]

I have a 2018 Cougar 366RDS - I had to change the battery every day when dry camping. I had a 12v battery solar panel connected to the battery - 7amp max rate. We did not use the lights at all. The only things drawing power were the fridge, water pump and water heater only when in use and CO2 sensor. With nothing on but the CO2 sensor - .45 amps being pulled, CO2 + Fridge flame 1.7 amps and fridge fan + CO2 sensor + (no flame) 2.8 amps. Fan runs very often. If outside temp matters, days were mid 70s and night 50s. I should get more than one day, right?

I have the norcold 18 cubic foot refrigerator in my Raptor, it sucks the life out of a large 12 volt battery in one night. I put in 2 large 6 volt batteries and that solved the problem. I am also supplemented by 2 160 watt solar panels on my roof. Using regular lights in the evening and some heat in the mornings I still run my generator an hour or more each day to keep the batteries up.

[slman]

I Dry Camp during the winter for 30 days at a time in the SW desert. Honda 2000 watt Gen. is your friend, and...with a 50 ft. cord, you won't even hear it while inside. My ONAN Gen. shakes the trailer and with it under the forward bed, its misery trying to watch a movie playing off the 4000W. Onan.

[Canonman]

Nope - we turned booster off too - but thanks for the thought and info of what you use now. We only dry camp once a year for 10 days - so I don't want to put a ton of money into it. My solution for next year is going to parallel my 2 12v batteries and get at least 100W solar panel if not 200W.

I think you're on the right track now! Maybe look for a small used genny on Craig's list for a backup.
Safe travels!

[cjcoult]

Yes a genny would be good, but we can't use a genny at this state park and we go to this state park every year with 6 other families.

[Canonman]

Understood, (from your previous responses) I was hoping that you had other camping opportunities and would enjoy the genny if needed at one of the other campgrounds you will visit. IMHO it just gives you the maximum options for a better camping experience.

[Claudius]

I feel sorry for you in a way, after reading all these answers, who's contradiction do you go by? I have been involved with batteries for over 30 years and all we do is dry camp.
Solar panels not quite as long. Now retired i install them and sell complete systems. I'm not going to go through this post and tell you who does and does not know what they are talking about, there is a much simpler way. I'm not sure you even have a problem.
My 6volts are 9 years old and still going strong,i also put them on the charger once a month when the unit is sitting. No i don't leave them hooked up to a tender. When in use I use a controller that tells me what my solar panels are putting out, what charge if any is going into the battery and at what amperage. It also tells me how full they are. It will tell me if i have solar or battery issues also, if by chance i connected the up wrong. Each of my 150w panels puts out 7.90 IMP and 8.45 ISC. Over kill for what i need them for. We watch movies and the inverter draws a bit of juice but at night nothing charges anyways. So here's the deal. All of this doesn't really matter.
Here's what does matter and its simple no rocket science. On a cloudy day my i've seen my battery go down to 50% after watching movies at night most days it goes down to 75%. That's reading from the control panel in the unit...you know the one where your black water tank always reads full but its not...lol. Now if in fact that panel was worth anything at all and it was accurate you would be in a world of hurt. YOUR Fridge will shut down if it has less than 9.6V, thats what my Dometic will do. A yellow light comes on which means its off. 75% of 12V is what? 50% of 12v is what? My Light never comes on EVER. So guess what? I'm happy.

[Ken / Claudia]

Going back 40 years RVing, the new folks dry camping used to have fresh water and holding tanks too small for more than a overnight making water management a problem. Now with the RVs having more and more items using/needing 12v. I cannot inmage anyone dry camping with just a battery. To me it does not make any sense to even attempt it. Two yes if you can recharge everyday. Two 6v batterers if that is your main camping place.

[travelin texans]

I have the norcold 18 cubic foot refrigerator in my Raptor, it sucks the life out of a large 12 volt battery in one night. I put in 2 large 6 volt batteries and that solved the problem. I am also supplemented by 2 160 watt solar panels on my roof. Using regular lights in the evening and some heat in the mornings I still run my generator an hour or more each day to keep the batteries up.

If you have the Norcold rv fridge just run it on LP or just set to "auto", it then switches to shore power or generator, if equipped, & switches to LP when disconnected. The big rv absorption fridges won't run on 12 volt alone, the battery operates the control panel & is required, but gas or electric is required to operate the Norcold.
Now if you have a 18 cu ft residential fridge it WILL run on the batteries through an inverter to operate the fridge, WILL NOT run on LP & if opening the fridge regularly the batteries wouldn't last long.

[chuckster57]

If it’s a Norcold 2118 then it has fans in the interior of both the refer and freezer compartments. They will kill a GP 27 battery in one day.

[ctbruce]

I feel sorry for you in a way, after reading all these answers, who's contradiction do you go by? I have been involved with batteries for over 30 years and all we do is dry camp.
Solar panels not quite as long. Now retired i install them and sell complete systems. I'm not going to go through this post and tell you who does and does not know what they are talking about, there is a much simpler way. I'm not sure you even have a problem.
My 6volts are 9 years old and still going strong,i also put them on the charger once a month when the unit is sitting. No i don't leave them hooked up to a tender. When in use I use a controller that tells me what my solar panels are putting out, what charge if any is going into the battery and at what amperage. It also tells me how full they are. It will tell me if i have solar or battery issues also, if by chance i connected the up wrong. Each of my 150w panels puts out 7.90 IMP and 8.45 ISC. Over kill for what i need them for. We watch movies and the inverter draws a bit of juice but at night nothing charges anyways. So here's the deal. All of this doesn't really matter.
Here's what does matter and its simple no rocket science. On a cloudy day my i've seen my battery go down to 50% after watching movies at night most days it goes down to 75%. That's reading from the control panel in the unit...you know the one where your black water tank always reads full but its not...lol. Now if in fact that panel was worth anything at all and it was accurate you would be in a world of hurt. YOUR Fridge will shut down if it has less than 9.6V, thats what my Dometic will do. A yellow light comes on which means its off. 75% of 12V is what? 50% of 12v is what? My Light never comes on EVER. So guess what? I'm happy.Sounds like you've got it all together, and that's great. But what would be greater would be if you'd share your knowledge and how you set it all up to work. I dont dry camp, but I'm curious how you do it. You piqued my interest. I'm sure others would appreciate learning from you.

[Hoodlatch]

I can’t help any with your excessive dc draw, but I just have a question for the OP, which State Park Campground does not allow the use of a genny?
For everyone else, is the common in certain areas?
We’ve logged around 35 State Parks and Army COE campgrounds in just 4 neighboring states and every one of them allowed the use of generators in non electric sites during daylight hours, many as late as 10pm.

Just curious since I’ve never experienced this.

[cjcoult]

Kettle Moraine - Northern Unit Campground in Wisconsin

[Hoodlatch]

Wow, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind for our trip through lower Wisconsin next year. See, I learn something every time I visit this forum.

[cjcoult]

The northern unit is called Long Lake and there is also Mauthe Lake. Long Lake does have a few electric sites, but not enough and close enough for my group - so ya we dry camp even tho there are a few electric. Mauthe Lake also has some electric. Enjoy WI when you come. What type of campground are you looking for - maybe I can help?

[bill-e]

75% of 12V is what? 50% of 12v is what? My Light never comes on EVER. So guess what? I'm happy.

http://nhwoodworker.com/Gallery/12vcharge-state.gif

[Claudius]

Blah thats measured with a hydrometer......lol you carry that around with you.
That wasn't my point at all, that goofy thing you press all the time does not measure specific gravity of a battery. Holy smokes where did that come from?????
It measures voltage. I guess i need to spell it out. 75% of 12 volts is 9. I would say that thing would say 100% till it reads 11.9 maybe then go down to 75%. Point here is that that thing is all for show in most of the trailers. They might work better in some coaches where they are digital. Some trailers might now have them also. Either way if your light on the fridge comes on because of low voltage you will be below 9.6 volts.
Thats why i said, if that panel reads 75% and if it were accurate your fridge then would not be running. So don't be overly concerned about it reading 75%. I said in my earlier post i had gone down to 50% on that panel and my fridge light did not come on.

[datasponge]

The Richard Bong state park (near Burlington) also does not allow generators. However, it's a great park otherwise.

[bill-e]

Blah, that's measured with a voltmeter. Surely not as accurate as specific gravity but certainly better than the light panel in an RV. Here's another chart.


No need to spell it out, a discharged state in a 6v battery pair in series without overly damaging the battery is about 12.2 volts. You're basing your percentage calculation on 0-12v, not 11.8-12.65+v

There are minor voltage differences depending on where you look but they are all substantially the same.

http://nhwoodworker.com/Gallery/12vvoltmeter.gif

If what you do works for you, great but nowhere will you find any battery manufacturer recommending discharge voltages based on a 0-12v scale because the deeper the discharge the more it adversely affects the manufacturer's stated battery life (bad for sales)



http://nhwoodworker.com/Gallery/number%20of%20cycles.gif

[KimNTerry]

And of course please also remember the 12v nomenclature is a nominal 12 volt. Not literal 12 volt.

[Claudius]

Sounds like you've got it all together, and that's great. But what would be greater would be if you'd share your knowledge and how you set it all up to work. I dont dry camp, but I'm curious how you do it. You piqued my interest. I'm sure others would appreciate learning from you.

Holy smokes you would open up a kettle of worms in here.
The arguments would never stop. I'll have to pass on this, i was hesitant on commenting in the first place, but after seeing all these contradictions leading the poor fellow all over the place. I don't spend a lot of time in here anyways.
I do better one on one...lol less friction

[Claudius]

And of course please also remember the 12v nomenclature is a nominal 12 volt. Not literal 12 volt.

I tried to keep this simple and you just had to post that? lol

[JRTJH]

Holy smokes you would open up a kettle of worms in here.
The arguments would never stop. I'll have to pass on this, i was hesitant on commenting in the first place, but after seeing all these contradictions leading the poor fellow all over the place. I don't spend a lot of time in here anyways.
I do better one on one...lol less friction

So far, what has come across seems to be more of "I'm smarter than you and here's a part of my secret".... The rest is missing. If you'd care to "open up a kettle of worms" and provide the basis for your system and explain how or why it's better, we could all learn something. Otherwise, it's just a "You're doing it wrong and I'm not kind of discussion" and that doesn't help anyone solve their problem or even work toward fixing their issues..... Please share your knowledge with us "mere mortals".....

[Ken / Claudia]

I always had the impression this was to share information and give advice. Silly, just down right silly to say someone is wrong and not help or say I have the answer but will not share. Opened up a can of worms all right and down right rude not to share. Sharing the right information is easy to back up, giving opinions is just that, opinions and we all have them many different ones at that. If not agreeing with everyone or anyone on here ruins your day, I guess it is better not to post anything.

[Claudius]

I'm sorry i posted here, won't happen again. By those last two comments i see there would be a pissing match if i detailed my original post and yes in my opinion in this specific topic most of you have no idea what your talking about.

[JRTJH]

Thread closed, My apologies to the OP. Hopefully he has the information he needed and our most recent contributor won't create another antagonistic slant to future threads.