Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: rlamb on September 15, 2011, 05:53:19 pm
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Would anybody like to share any words of wisdom concerning battery storage over the winter season. My rv is in a heated garage and a I'm a little concerned leaving them in the compartment and periodically charging them via plugging in the Rv. Comments or tips are appreciated.
thanks in advance.
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I also store my 2010 2551 in a heated garage and I use this instead of the on-board charger if stored for an extended period:
http://www.batteryminders.com/batterycharger/catalog/BatteryMINDer-Plus-12-Volt-133-Amp-Charger-Maintainer-Conditio-p-16134.html
I like the idea of de-sulfating and re-conditioning the batteries, so far the batteries have performed great after extended time on the batteryminder. I know the on-board charger is also a three stage charger that should not over charge and boil off water, but I like the idea of the de-sulfating function that you get with the batteryminder.
Hopefully this is not all hype,
Bob A
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I too store my PC in a heated garage. I leave everything hooked up, but kill the power to the interior using the power switch by the entry door. I place a low 4 amp charger every 6 to 8 weeks. The same for the engine battery. The cycle time is measured in hours not days.....maybe 4 to 8 hours on the coach. About an hour on the engine.
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Ron:
When you state you leave everything hooked up and apply a small 4 watt charger -. your working off the combined leads off the positive and negative terminals. Is this correct?
Thank for you help.
Bob
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I set my charger to the low 4-amp setting and simply do in my garage as shown here when we were camping. The black/ground terminal is hidden in this picture. The picture was used in another post to show what I do when I need a quick charge from the generator while boondocking. But then the orange Black & Decker charger is set to 40 amps, not 4 amps.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2674/3966282501_688f2315b3_b.jpg)
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How about words of wisdom for those of us who don't have a heated garage for storage? We will be storing ours in a shed that has three sides enclosed and no electricity available. And Nebraska winters can get a tad on the cold side. :'(
Any tips would be greatly appreciated (as usual).
George
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I advise to remove all 3 batteries, bring them home and store them inside where temps are controlled. I would not worry about starting up the rig in the winter either. People do that, but I really question the benefits. Others will chime in with opposing views to mine so you will have to decide for yourself.
When placing the motor home in storage....
- top off the main fuel tank
- completely drain the black and gray tanks, and also the sanicon by using the 3" poop drain cap
- completely drain, then put in the pink anti-freeze in the freash water system
- put 80psi in all tires to minimize ground contact
- cover all windows with sunshade material because using your regular shades just degrades them from the sun
- open all cabinet doors, fridge and freezer to circulate air better
- turn your dash board to max a/c to deter rodents from getting into the interior through that air iinlet
- place mouse/rat poison on the floor, just in-case
- don't leave any windows or roof vents open
- a full RV cover or tarp is not required, but never hurts
If you inspect it on rare occasion, bring the chassis battery with you. You might need to start the engine to heat up and dry out the interior of any dampness. But if it's well sealed and fairly dry, don't.
If you do run the engine, make sure the dangling RV battery cables are insulated.
Also run the generator.
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In addition to Ron's list, I would add: don't forget to run antifreze through the kitchen sink spray head as well as the hot/cold faucets. I didn't the first 2 years, and each year experienced freeze break water leaks in the spray head after winter (you'd think I would have wised up after the first year, but...--3rd time's the charm). Also, don't forget the outside shower head.
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Geojude:
I see you have an 06 Cruiser. I would bet it does not have an antifreeze pickup line that makes it easier to get the pink antifreeze into the system. I did not have that on my first Cruiser and just found it easier to blow out the lines with air than running the pink stuff through. Our winters here in PA get a tad cold too.
I bring in my two house batteries and place them on a piece of wood and attach a trickle charger to them. I also use them once and a while to run the fan on my pellet stove just to give them use. I leave the chasis battery on and run the rig often and the generator too. I keep the chasis ready to run so that I can use the generator if I lose power in my home during the winter. It makes it nice to have that as a standby generator.
Good luck
DJM
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I'll 2nd that recommendation.
I remove the drain plug and drain the hot water tank then replace it before I charge the water system with 40 PSI of air to blow all the water out of the lines and fittings. Then I loosen the hot water tank drain to allow any stray water out (but I've never seen any). I also disconnect the water pump to allow water to drain. Lastly, I put approx. 2 cups of pink anti-freeze into each water trap (don't forget the shower).
I leave the "House" batteries in place but connect a trickle charger to charge them for 4 to 8 hours every week (I also check water levels monthly).
When the roads are clear I'll take the Phoenix on the road for an hour or so to get everything to operating temperature.
I've been doing things this way for nigh onto 20 years and have not yet experienced a problem when it's time to recommission the MH for the new season (which consists of tightening the hot water tank drain valve, putting water into the tank and testing all appliances.
As for the "House", I do what Dittmer says (open all doors, refrigerator, putting the dash heat/AC to recirculate, etc.)
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Love that.. "I do what Dittmer says." lol roflol
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I followed Ron's advice re: winterizing the rig, and I decided to remove the house battery. The plan was to go down and start it once a month and run the generator for an hour or so (read somewhere that needed to be done). Went yesteday and it started right up (of course, the weather has been really nice for this time of year, so I expected it to). But when I went to start the generator - nothing. No cranking, no lights, nothing. Did I miss something, and the generator starts off the house battery? Do I need to lug it down and connect it back up each time? That doesn't seem right to me.
Any help, as always, is greatly appreciated.
George
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After winterizing, I put STABIL in my gas tank. Drive around the block to mix it well in the gas tank and to get it into the gas lines and carb. When I get home, I run the generator for a half hour to get the gas/STABIL mixture through the gen too. I also use the BATTERYMINDER for house and engine batteries. This seems to do the trick in New York State's freezing winter.
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Check the breaker on the generator. It has tripped on me before.
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"I followed Ron's advice re: winterizing the rig, and I decided to remove the house battery."
Does the generator start off the rig or house. I don't really know?
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Why do you remove the house battery? You leave the engine battery in and remove the house battery? I have been to West Yellowstone, Mt where it went below minus 30 degrees and never had any problems with a battery. Do you think the everyone that lives in that kind of cold brings there batteries in at night? Yes you can read on the internet to remove the batteries but this is a case of you have to think for yourself. Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Ron is one of the guys telling you to bring them in, yet he keeps his motorhome in a heated garage. I bet in the winter when he goes to work and parks outside he leaves the battery in his car.
Read the stuff here and make up your own mind as to what applys to you.
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Tom,
I advise to bring the batteries inside if storing the motor home outside off-site in extreme cold temps where people are easily tempted to leave their rig unattended through the winter season. Batteries left in the RV hooked up and ready to go, there is a small continuous power drain, both on the chassis battery as well as the house batteries. Once completely drained, they are suseptible to freezing. If they freeze, they are permanently damaged.
If the owners are certian all batteries are fully charged at the time they park their rig off-site for many winter months, they could simply unhook the ground connections. That eliminates the small continuous power drain, giving them a much better chance of surviving the winter. But no guarrentee. So I blanketly state, it's best to bring the batteries inside.
If the owners live in a less severe climate where winters will see freezing temps, but never get below the 20 degree zone, they could get by with unhooking the grounds and leave the fully charged batteries in with the rig. The climate where they live is the main variation, but a blanket question yields a blanket answer. Many people get lost when I get into such detail, so I try to keep it simple.
I live in the Chicago area and volunteer in a ministry HERE (http://www.willowcreek.org/Cars) where cars are donated. We have a lot in back, sometimes having hundreds of cars parked. Many batteries were checked to be fine, later to be dead if still hooked up and unattended over the winter.
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I would have to echo what TomH has to say....your PC is a "recreational vehicle" and with that said I like the ability to just head out regardless of the weather and not have to reinstall batteries, etc. My coach sits out here in NH all winter. I just put a timer on the outlet and leave the coach plugged in. Every day the power/charger comes on for a couple of hours and the batteries stay fully charged. I have never had a battery freeze or not get full life out of the. Ron D. is right in that with no electricity to the coach it would be a totally different story and you would have to protect the batteries.
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Thanks for all the additional info. Since my plan is to visit the rig once a month (regardless of the temperature) and let things run a while, I will go with putting the house battery back in. This way I can exercise the generator as well. Unfortunately, I don't have power where I am storing it, so charging it while it sits isn't an option. But I figure if I run the generator with about a 2K watt load for an hour or so, that should bring up the battry. It sounds like it will also help to disconnect it when I leave and re-connect when I come for the monthly visit.
Thanks again for your help. As always I appreciate it :)
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Ron, I think it can be your blanket statements sometimes can cause a problem. A lot of people on here see your name and think that everything you say applys to them. You and I both know it does sometimes and not other times. Things like "bring your batteries in" only apply if you are in long term storage without running your engine or generator. I have had a seven different motorhomes here in Maryland since 1984, where it can go down to zero at night, and have never taken a battery out of a motorhome yet. I disagree with you about not running the engine. I spent four years working at an RV dealership and we ran all the motorhomes at least every two weeks for about 15 minutes or until they warmed up. During this time you are charging up the batteries. You would be surprised at the amount of water that comes out of the tail pipe after sitting for a few days. Water means rust in the exhaust and the engine. Every generator manufacture recommends running the generator at least once a month for up to one hour. Going to the motorhome once a month or every other week and running or driving it for 20 - 30 miles is not asking to much to keep it in good shape. I bet if you go to your motorhome and start it, you will get water out of the tail pipe. What works for you may not be right for everyone just the same as what I say is not right for everyone. I would not and am not recommend driving it in the winter on salty roads without washing the salt off of it.
I understand that we all have our opinions and we need to make sure that whoever reads this forum understands that and that they need to think about what should apply to them. I hope you take this in a friendly manner and not that I mean any harm to you. Your input has and will continue to be usefull to a lot of people and to me also.
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George,
IMHO you can leave your batteries in the motorhome and just use the switch by the door to disconnect the batteries and turning off the inverter behind the drivers seat. No cables to mess with and you don't have to stand out in the cold hooking and unhooking batteries. The most definitive answer to this issue would come from someone calling Kermit at the factory.
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"I followed Ron's advice re: winterizing the rig, and I decided to remove the house battery."
Does the generator start off the rig or house. I don't really know?
It starts off the house batteries; if you look underneath, you can see the heavy gauge wires going directly from the house batteries to the generator.
Bob
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Thank you Bob. That was the answer I was originally looking for :-D although the remainder of the discussion was quite informative.
George
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Tom,
You make a good point. I always assume worst case scenerio......people parking their rig in an open field in North Dakota in October, and return in April.
I don't understand why, but with my main house power shut off using the kill switch at the door, the house batteries still experience a small power drain. I have to place them on a charger every couple months for 3 days on a 4 amp setting, or they go dead in 4 months time. I think this is common to many motor home owners of various brands.
My chassis battery seems more tollerant.
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I agree with last post, I believe part of the problem is equalization between batteries.
But there is also still an insidious/parasitic drain happening that I have not been able to track down and I am too lazy to start pulling fuses one at a time an attempt a voltage loss plot over time.
As to the chassis battery it never runs down and always has parasitic drain from the computer and the radio memory.
Back about '97 or so Wallyworld had some 1 amp tenders/minders that shut completely off at 13.4 volts on their sale table and I bought 8 or 9 for gifts.
Only gave a couple away and they do a fine job on the chassis battery and yard equipment batteries. I used to buy new tractor batteries every year and with the tender have not had to replace one for 3.5 years and still going strong, like the bunny. Funny thing, they will not work on parallel coach batteries and that kinda re-enforces the equalization thought.
Now having said all of that I will be spending untold big bucks for batteries next year, more than likely.
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A thank you is in order to bobander and everybody for your help and comments.