Six volt battery question.

[bcamp0404]

I have just bought a 1994 Pinnacle 30 foot Motorhome and it has a toggle switch to enable my six volt batteries to be on, or off.....my question is should I leave it on, or off if the Motorhome is not being used, or plugged into house, or campground electricity...?
Hope you can help....I just had two new batteries installed.

Brian Campbell.

[Flapper]

So much worry about batteries....
If your switch totally cuts the power for the batteries, go ahead and turn them off between camping outings. But make sure - many RV's have some small items that are wired direct, bypassing their cutoff switch - DVD players (for the clock), smoke/propane detectors, etc. So over a couple of months, they can drain your battery, even if you think it is "off".
Batteries do self-discharge just sitting over time. But it is a very long time...many months. Heat speeds it up - so in the desert Southwest in the summer, you may think about charging them after 3-4 months. Here in Minn. after a YEAR, they can still be at 80% or above. Cold weather dramatically slows the discharge rate. Google "battery self discharge" to find time vs temp charts that demonstrate this effect.
Healthy batteries will not freeze until they get to -70 (!) Just reflect on how many Canadians get to work in the winter....
Unless you get a high quality maintainer, the biggest risk to damaging the batteries would by charging too much, without using them.
So:
1. Make sure the cutoff switch really does cut all power.
2. Check the water level fairly often - every couple of months when in use. Ignore if you haven't charged them since the last time you checked.
3. Fully charge them at the end of each trip.
4. Forget about them until you get ready to go camping, then just plug them in the evening before to top them off.
5. If storing for long term - 6 mos to a year, then think about possibly pulling them, or getting the camper to a place you can plug it in overnight to again top them off.
Your back will thank you for not having to wrestle the beasts, and your pocketbook for not buying unnecessary charging equipment.

[wa8yxm]

Ava wrote:
I turn my house batteries off more than on. Once plugged in to shore power I turn them off until the night before leaving. They charge when driving my RV. At home I only plug my rig in to charge them occasionally unless we are planning a trip, then a couple days ahead.
I rarely need to add water to mine using them this way.

Why Turn 'em off less you have a pos converter like the Magnetek 6300 battery boiler?

Why leave 'em on? Well earlier this trip (last week in fact) I was sitting here and suddenly the A/C quit.. The TV kept working (inverter) The Computers (Laptops internal battery hooked to my cell phone's hot spot) My ham radio (one hand held talking via radio to a small computer battery operated and another directly off the battery talking to remote radios) Lights stayed on. Has I not been running A/C I'd not have noticed the park wide power failure.. Or the one that followed it. about 30 minutes later.

That's why you leave 'em on

NOTE: not by any means the first time it's happened.

Was sitting in the CG one day when Digger o'Grady (not his real name) sliced a primary power cable (Thousands of volts) with his backhoe adn .. instant no 120 vac save for the battery operated inverter circuits.

When a hurrican passed near

When a driver was not paying attention and missed the curve but scored a bullseye on the power pole (BANG NO POWER) I only noticed the AC blowers stopped blowing.

And still more power fails.

[AllegroD]

wa8yxm wrote:

K Charles wrote:
To use or charge the batteries it has to be on.

However in Short term STORAGE mode (not plugged in not in use) turn it off. LONG term storage .. I suggest adding a battery tender of some kind. Now a good 3-stage converter (Example Progressive Industries 9200 series) can do battery tender service.

So can my Deltran Jump-start abble battery tender (And my far less expensive deltran 2 amp job).

That would befor winter storage..

If no power at storage do as follows
Get a bottle of RED nail polish and paint the positive wires on the battery (ignore the battery to battery jumper)

OPtional.. Black on the negative

Let dry

Now take a picture or 10

Disconnect NEGATIVE leads and lay aside
Disconnect POSITIVE

NOTE: If more than one lead use some means to tie the wires together. Tape. String. Bread ties whatever

Now remove batteries to a garage or other storage location WITH power.. Lay them on scrap wood (Reason follows) and hook up Deltran Battery Tender or equivalent. Check fluid level and add DISTILLED water as needed. (1/4 inch below the filler tube is usually good)

Come spring. Recheck fluid first then return them Red paint = Positive

Why set 'em on scrap wood?
Well in the old days batteries set on say concrete suffered Newer batteries do not care about that BUT.

Batteries often have a bit of Acid on the outside. and if the acid eats up the scrap wood.. You are out $0.00 (It was already scrap after all) and a couple minutes clean up time

Replacing a floor.. EXPENSIVE.

Good post. Rather than just taking pics, follow the attached video.

[Tal_IL]

We have a 2010 Mirada. I get it out the first of April and put it in storage the first of December. When I get it out in the spring, I turn the battery disconnect on and it stays on all season. When we are not traveling, it is parked at home and plugged in to shore power. It rarely sits more than 3 or 4 weeks between trips. I do check the battery water level every few weeks. Before it goes into storage in Dec., I make sure the water is topped off, the batteries are fully charged, then turn the battery disconnect off after I park it inside. The batteries are a pair of 6V GC batteries from Sam's. They are 4 years old and are still working fine. My storage is not heated and has no electric available. This winter we had exceptionally cold weather and the chassis battery died. The house batteries started me up just fine when I went to get it out in April.

[ppine]

Its a toggle switch. Turn your batteries off when not being used. That saves losing all of that pirate voltage. Every once in a while, turn the batteries on and charge them as in every two months or so of non-use.

[Dale_Traveling]

If the charger is multistage (varies the voltage) I would leave the batteries connected. If not I would disconnect until the night prior to departure. An old charge could boil the batteries dry over time.

Some light reading to help - The 12 Volt Side of Life (Part 1)

[wa8yxm]

K Charles wrote:
To use or charge the batteries it has to be on.

However in Short term STORAGE mode (not plugged in not in use) turn it off. LONG term storage .. I suggest adding a battery tender of some kind. Now a good 3-stage converter (Example Progressive Industries 9200 series) can do battery tender service.

So can my Deltran Jump-start abble battery tender (And my far less expensive deltran 2 amp job).

That would befor winter storage..

If no power at storage do as follows
Get a bottle of RED nail polish and paint the positive wires on the battery (ignore the battery to battery jumper)

OPtional.. Black on the negative

Let dry

Now take a picture or 10

Disconnect NEGATIVE leads and lay aside
Disconnect POSITIVE

NOTE: If more than one lead use some means to tie the wires together. Tape. String. Bread ties whatever

Now remove batteries to a garage or other storage location WITH power.. Lay them on scrap wood (Reason follows) and hook up Deltran Battery Tender or equivalent. Check fluid level and add DISTILLED water as needed. (1/4 inch below the filler tube is usually good)

Come spring. Recheck fluid first then return them Red paint = Positive

Why set 'em on scrap wood?
Well in the old days batteries set on say concrete suffered Newer batteries do not care about that BUT.

Batteries often have a bit of Acid on the outside. and if the acid eats up the scrap wood.. You are out $0.00 (It was already scrap after all) and a couple minutes clean up time

Replacing a floor.. EXPENSIVE.

[time2roll]

bcamp0404 wrote:
O.K. but what if I do not wish to use or charge....?

Then off they go.

In time they will self discharge and sulfate but this really takes 3 to 6 months to get started assuming they are 100% full charge when disconnected.

[Sam_Spade]

bcamp0404 wrote:
O.K. but what if I do not wish to use or charge....?

You are making this too complicated.

Assuming that you have a decent converter/charger, there is no reason not to leave the switch in the ON position when it is plugged in.

The switch NEEDS to be turned off ONLY when the unit will not be in use, and not plugged in, for more than a few days.

Watching the charging voltage while plugged in and charging would be useful for making an ultimate game plan.

[Lwiddis]

Time for you to do some reading on RV battery basics. Try http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

[Ava]

I turn my house batteries off more than on. Once plugged in to shore power I turn them off until the night before leaving. They charge when driving my RV. At home I only plug my rig in to charge them occasionally unless we are planning a trip, then a couple days ahead.
I rarely need to add water to mine using them this way.

[2oldman]

For a month or two in clement weather, simply disconnect them. In below freezing weather, leave them on a smart charger or bring them inside to heat. Conversely, in extremely hot temps, get them to more moderate ones.

[bcamp0404]

O.K. but what if I do not wish to use or charge....?

[K_Charles]

To use or charge the batteries it has to be on.