Quote:
Originally Posted by Jgkopp
X2 You could also consider an RV expansion tank to minimize the pulses along with the on-and-off. May also help if the check valve has a small bleed back of water. Batteries such as two-6V would be good in solving your issue.
The furnace blower motor is a large drain on the battery.
Another large drain is from the RV refrigerator. When the refrigerator is on, there is a resistive heating element drawing 12v power 24-7. This is for a door heater on the refrigerator. Generally it is between the two doors and you can tell if it's on because the surface the gaskets touch will be warm to the touch. The manufacturer built it this way to keep little water droplets from forming around the door gaskets. Usually, condensation does not occur when humidity is low such as desert camping or if the rigs indoor temps are low. If it did occur, you could simply wipe down this surface from time to time and realize your saving your valuable and limited 12v amperage. It would be nice if there was an option to turn off the door heaters when your dry camping. However, looking at the modern RV refrigerator wiring diagrams it seems the manufacturers have not made this an option. I did once have a Dometic RV refrigerator with this option. Anyway if your wondering why a battery drains down so quickly when your not using to much power and dry camping, this is why. Also, LED lighting is a must have option when dry camping. Hope this helps.
John
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There is a "heating element" in the frame of the Dometic DM and RM refrigerators. In the DM2662 and DM2862 models (upgraded versions) there is a switch on the underside of the eyebrow panel. On the DM2652 and DM2852 models (OEM or most Keystone RV's) the switch is missing and the heating element is "powered" during all refrigerator operation modes.
One member posted a "fairly simple" modification to add a switch to the circuit. The switch enables the operator to either turn on or turn off the heating element. By turning it off, significant "dry camping battery power" can be achieved.
Here is the original thread, the schematic and pictures of the modification are on page three of the thread:
http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/sho...rigerator+door