Battery drain, maintainer?

skidooxman · 12-03-2015, 12:15 PM

So its storage time, I have a 2016 Fuzio 345 Chrome, twice this year the battery drained to 0 with the disconnect off. I know the rear camera is wired direct but I cannot find what else. My question is, can any 12v maintainer be hooked up to the RV battery? I really dont want to take out the battery or disconnect it bc I run the generator once a month. Thanks

Pull Toy · 12-03-2015, 02:42 PM

If you plug in a "Battery Tender" type unit, it will keep your battery at "Float Levels". This is a good thing for a battery with no parasitic drain (ie... Radio/TV memory settings, direct wired CO/Smoke Detectors, Alarm systems, Remote cameras etc... It might not hold up to a real charging situation, but a trickle charger or low amp battery charger might COOK your battery if it doesn't have a logic circuit.

As an alternative, NAPA, AutoZone, JC Whatnot, EBay etc.. sells a "Knife switch type battery isolator, disconnect that should fit your needs. You secure it to the positive terminal of the battery, hook the cable terminal to the wingnut on the opposite end, and open the switch. You now have a totally disconnected battery. Close the switch, you have instant 12 volts with no tools required.

Good luck!

Way Of Life · 12-04-2015, 02:10 AM

What I have been doing is pulling the 12 volt in line fuse located in the battery compartment. I to was coming out to a dead battery even with the cut off switch being used. Removing the fuse disables EVERYTHING so you will lose stored stations on your FM tuner and any digital clock settings but you will not lose a charge......Trust me.....I speak from experience.

Someone did share that the battery cut off switch should be replace which is causing the drain on the battery. This will be one of the winter projects to complete.

notanlines · 12-04-2015, 03:08 AM

I might also add that if this is a two-battery setup, the $25.00 "maintainer" might not keep up with both if there is a small drain or two. The small unit does fine on my wife's car for the five months we are gone. But the unit would not keep up with our boat's two batteries with a couple drains on them.

Javi · 12-04-2015, 05:09 AM

I'm curious as to why you would buy a separate battery tender to keep the battery charged... That implies that you have 110 available... Just plug the trailer in to the 110 and it will run the convertor which has a built in battery tender/charger... Then all you have to do is check the water in the battery once a month..

dcg9381 · 12-04-2015, 05:17 AM

Is the smoke detector and C02 detector lit in the "0" position. I found a not-insignificant drain on mine. Given it's "better" in the off position, but there is a definite drain - that switch does NOT disconnect the battery completely.

I actually recorded the mA drain On/Off somewhere on this forum.

My guess is that leaving things like the smoke detector and *likely* other stuff is an exercise in liability control. Maybe someone would know if there is a RIVA standard indicating that those things should remain connected.

This, of course, isn't good for your batteries. And it's no different with Keystone that the last X RVs I've owned from other brands - they all had some parasitic drain.

I installed a marine on/off/1/2/both switch running 6GA wire to each battery. This is a real disconnect.

A tender is good. Don't go completely cheap - you do not want one that charges and holds above about 13.9 volts or so, it'll boil your battery off if you don't keep after it. Most maintainers are at or under 1 amp - my OFF parasitic drain was less than that.

If you have two or more batteries, it's IDEAL to charge them individually, however that's not practical and they should be close enough to spec to have minimum influence on each other as long as they're the same type and about the same age.

I'm probably going to move to a solar panel connected to the front pin eventually (trailer is covered on top). Between that and the disconnect, the batteries could sit for more than a year and still be fine.

skidooxman · 12-04-2015, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javi

I'm curious as to why you would buy a separate battery tender to keep the battery charged... That implies that you have 110 available... Just plug the trailer in to the 110 and it will run the convertor which has a built in battery tender/charger... Then all you have to do is check the water in the battery once a month..

I have the battery disconnect with the red plastic key, that removes. I don't want the trailer plugged in bc I was told by the dealer that it should be left plugged in for a long period of time. Anybody use a sealed battery for RV? Like Optima?

dcg9381 · 12-04-2015, 12:41 PM

It absolutely can be plugged in for a long period of time. The dealer says that because most people won't look after the battery, which you have to do... Or if you want to do that *less* maybe invest in a converter that has a smart charging function. I've had at least one that over-charges by default.

A quality floating charger works too..

jje1960 · 12-05-2015, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skidooxman

I have the battery disconnect with the red plastic key, that removes. I don't want the trailer plugged in bc I was told by the dealer that it should be left plugged in for a long period of time. Anybody use a sealed battery for RV? Like Optima?

What I did this year was unplug from the house, installed a disconnect on the ground wire at the Optima sealed battery and plugged in an 18W solar panel next to the 5th Wheel. Working fine so far.

Javi · 12-05-2015, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skidooxman

I have the battery disconnect with the red plastic key, that removes. I don't want the trailer plugged in bc I was told by the dealer that it should be left plugged in for a long period of time. Anybody use a sealed battery for RV? Like Optima?

Well, I got to say that your dealer might need a refresher on modern RV convertors and power centers...

Almost all modern power centers have a automatic three-stage battery charger which maintains your battery’s life with three nominal voltage output modes: 13.2 VDC range “float” mode, 13.6 VDC range “absorption” mode, and a 14.4 VDC range “bulk” charge mode. I say almost because there might be some that don't but I do know that all WFCO power centers have this feature..

RV products have taken a leap forward since I first started using and working on them back in the early 80's... used to the fridge had to be nearly perfectly level in order to work and convertors had dumb battery chargers, you had to manually switch the propane bottles and manually light the fridge and water heater etc. Fortunately those things have changed..

If you do decide to plug the trailer in over the winter you will still need to periodically check the water in the battery or use a good sealed battery. Just remember to buy a deep cycle RV/Marine battery but not one designed for cranking unless it is doing double duty as the starter battery for your gen-set.

skidooxman · 12-07-2015, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Javi

Well, I got to say that your dealer might need a refresher on modern RV convertors and power centers...

Almost all modern power centers have a automatic three-stage battery charger which maintains your battery’s life with three nominal voltage output modes: 13.2 VDC range “float” mode, 13.6 VDC range “absorption” mode, and a 14.4 VDC range “bulk” charge mode. I say almost because there might be some that don't but I do know that all WFCO power centers have this feature..

RV products have taken a leap forward since I first started using and working on them back in the early 80's... used to the fridge had to be nearly perfectly level in order to work and convertors had dumb battery chargers, you had to manually switch the propane bottles and manually light the fridge and water heater etc. Fortunately those things have changed..

If you do decide to plug the trailer in over the winter you will still need to periodically check the water in the battery or use a good sealed battery. Just remember to buy a deep cycle RV/Marine battery but not one designed for cranking unless it is doing double duty as the starter battery for your gen-set.

Thank you. Yes I have an onboard generator that I try to run once a month. Last season on my 2013 fusion, I just ran the generator once a month and the battery held all winter. This new rig, I can't even get 2 weeks out of before the battery is dead. The dealer said put a charger on it and last night I noticed it boiled over and ran down of the landing gear.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

dcg9381 · 12-07-2015, 02:53 PM

What charger did you put on it? You need a decent (non-harbor freight) FLOATING charger, that probably puts down 1 amp or less.

Yea, the drain in the "OFF" position is non-trivial. They should label it "sorta off". I wish someone would comment on why they do this - again, I suspect for liability reasons.

Javi said that all modern RVs have a 3-stage charger. I'm not sure what modern is, but I had a 2006 RV with a charge center that would boil one out pretty good - 14.4+ volts constant unless you bought the upgrade. Pretty easy to tell if you check it a few times with a volt meter.

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