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Old 06-15-2018, 04:40 AM   #21
flybouy
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I do not think that holds water, you can have a cut off switch that cut off everything but those safety items. But with a 1.7 amp parasitic drain the safety devices will have no power to them after a week. I would think after a month with the battery discharged it is a bad battery. Seem like it would be better with cutoff switch. It seem to me if it was a problem they would all have their own battery, the smoke detector in my house runs for a year in my house on it's own battery. Since the manufacturer does not supply a cut off switch that the safety devices are hot. The owner has no chose to put in a cutoff switch ( or pull a wire off the battery) that cut off everything. How is that better?
I think it's all about litigation. If the mfg installs a disconnect switch that disables safety devices then the responsibility falls in their laps. While your point in the battery will die after a given time therefore disabling the safety devices is correct, however the responsibility now falls on the owner for not properly maintaining the battery and ensuring that it's properly charged.
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Old 06-15-2018, 06:42 AM   #22
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Well you guys convinced me no way will I put in a cutoff switch, as someone will be dead, because the safety device will be turn off. Too bad the manufacturers can not figure out how to do this to save lives for longer than 4 days. That is how long it take my battery to go dead.
I guess I need to replace all the safety device with ones that have their own battery then I can safely use a cutoff switch to save the main battery.
Well I came up with a better system for me, I justed added a 100 watt solar panel to the top of the trailer. Now the battery is alway topped off and the safety devices are alway active.
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Old 06-15-2018, 07:08 AM   #23
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Well you guys convinced me no way will I put in a cutoff switch, as someone will be dead, because the safety device will be turn off. Too bad the manufacturers can not figure out how to do this to save lives for longer than 4 days. That is how long it take my battery to go dead.
I guess I need to replace all the safety device with ones that have their own battery then I can safely use a cutoff switch to save the main battery.
Well I came up with a better system for me, I justed added a 100 watt solar panel to the top of the trailer. Now the battery is alway topped off and the safety devices are alway active.
Put in a battery cutoff switch (if you want). ALL of the posts commenting on your concerns, are about the legal responsibility (and who absorbs that responsibility), not about whether it's safe to disconnect the battery and "disable" the safety components.

OBVIOUSLY, if nobody is using the trailer while it's in storage, there's no need to "arm" those devices. On the other hand, they "should be powered on and working" if you're going to be inside the trailer, using it as a place to sleep and relax. No RV manufacturer is going to provide you with a means to "not know it did that" and create an unsafe environment, just as no vehicle manufacturer will provide you with information on how to bypass your safety belts, view movies on your "dash screen" and how to bypass the speed limiter on the vehicle. In fact, Ford (probably others) has a "My Key" feature so that owners can place even more stringent safety features on specific keys used in the vehicle.

Our society has become so "court award oriented" that every manufacturer from "extension cord importers" (look at the number of tags on your new 6' white extension cord) to RV's with safety devices to save your family from possible dangerous situations.

I haven't seen a propane detector that has a self contained battery and I don't know of any carbon monoxide detectors that are rated for RV use and have an internal battery.

The important matter isn't "dead batteries" it's "dead people".

Common sense would guide most people to disconnecting the safety devices when the trailer is not in use and keeping them connected when the trailer is being used. Unfortunately, common sense isn't always apparent when "some" people enter into the picture. I don't blame Keystone, or any other manufacturer, for protecting their butts from stupidity. Seems it's the only way they can survive as a company in today's legal system.
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Old 06-15-2018, 07:18 AM   #24
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John I get all of what you are explaining and it makes perfect sense but why were all those silly tags on our new RV mattress. Still not sure I should cut them off for fear of prosecution.

Now back to the more serious thread.
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Old 06-15-2018, 10:36 AM   #25
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Just listen to the house fire news stories. Homes/apartments etc. must have working smoke detectors. In the story they will always say working or not working or removed smoke detectors as part of the story. Many do not have working detectors. Why?
Someone took batteries out or removed them due to going off and never replaced them.
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Old 06-15-2018, 03:51 PM   #26
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When I was learning to fly I asked my instructor why an older Cessna had a manual that was less than 10 pages (mainly weights and balances and performance tables) and the new Cessna on the flight line had a manual with over 20 pages. Seems that in between the manufacturing of the two a 15 yr old bold broke into an airfield, broke into a Cessna 172 , hot wired the plane and attempted to steal it. Tragically he crashed and was killed at the end of the runway. His parents successfully sued Cessna for several million because nowhere in the manual did it say you have to be a licensed pilot to fly. Cessna, Piper, and a few other companies nearly went bankrupt over so many lawsuits every time a pilot got in over his or her head and crashed. While we question the stupidity of it the companies are warming off their exposure to the attorneys who specialize in making companies pay for peoples stupidity instead of letting Darwanism take it's toll. We've all been desensitized by all the labels and warnings.
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Old 06-17-2018, 08:22 AM   #27
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jhuffman - did you ever determine what was actually causing the draw? Sounds like there is a lot of speculation and possibilities presented here, but I'd be interested in what the OP found out in his particular case.
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Old 07-02-2018, 06:58 PM   #28
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Battery charge problem

I was having problems with the batteries on my new 5th wheel staying charged. The only drain was the CO2 detector. This went on for a couple of years until I got fed up with the problem and bought new batteries. I also installed a battery disconnect that isolated the batteries from everything. The problem went away. I believe cheap batteries were installed when I bought it. I haven't had any problems with the electrical system since installing new batteries and the kill switch.
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Old 07-03-2018, 05:31 AM   #29
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I left my 5ver at the dealership for repair went back 4 weeks later to pick it up and the battery was dead. I had a brand new battery in the rv. The dealer told me unless I turn the disconnect to the off position the battery would last only a couple weeks. However I do keep it plugged in when at home in the backyard so I never have a dead battery problem
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Old 07-03-2018, 07:28 AM   #30
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I left my 5ver at the dealership for repair went back 4 weeks later to pick it up and the battery was dead. I had a brand new battery in the rv. The dealer told me unless I turn the disconnect to the off position the battery would last only a couple weeks. However I do keep it plugged in when at home in the backyard so I never have a dead battery problem
Keeping it plugged in means constant battery charging. Keep an eye on the electrolyte as it can boil out over time. Use only distilled water to fill. Even a "maintenance free" battery typically has a removable plate to check and refill the cells.
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Old 07-03-2018, 07:46 AM   #31
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... The dealer told me unless I turn the disconnect to the off position the battery would last only a couple weeks. However I do keep it plugged in when at home in the backyard so I never have a dead battery problem
Remember, ALL battery manufacturers recommend that a "marine/RV" battery not be discharged below about 60% and a "true deep cycle battery" not be discharged below about 50%. Discharging beyond that level will potentially damage the lead/acid plates and destroy the battery.

Turning the OEM battery cutoff switch to OFF will not completely disconnect all loads on the battery (in almost every RV), so there is still a small "parasitic drain" that will continue to draw battery power. Once the battery charge falls below the 50-60% level, destruction/sulfur plating starts to occur and battery damage begins. Many times this is irreversible, meaning permanent battery damage is occurring while the trailer is in storage with the OEM battery cutoff switch in the off position due to the small, parasitic load. Every time an owner goes to the storage yard to get his trailer and the battery is dead, he has "killed a part of his battery" and shortened its lifespan.

Keeping the trailer plugged in will prevent discharge below the "safe level" but any time a battery is being charged, bubbles occur on the plates inside the battery. As these bubbles rise, they "aerate" the acid and lead to evaporation of the acid/water mixture. As this moisture moves through the vent holes in the battery cell covers, the liquid level falls. This is occurring, even in "maintenance free" batteries. Even though evaporation is "minimized" by battery construction and monitored by the converter/charger in most RV's, it still occurs and checking the batter electrolyte level is an important step in ALL batteries that are in a "constant state of charge" in any RV setting.
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Old 07-20-2018, 08:28 PM   #32
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I spent a considerable amount of time to figure out my battery supply wiring. I finally got a shunt and battery monitor; the increased data helped a lot to understand why batteries go down so fast while in storage.

I have a cut off battery switch for the "load" But even when that switch is off, the system draws .13 amps for just standing by of levelers, slide-outs, and remote control of the rig (tapped off before the switch). When I turn ON the battery switch the current draw becomes 0.6 amps. I have learned to keep switch off when in storage!
I'm also thinking of getting solar panels.
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