Batteries

[AbdRahim]

How far are your batteries down after sitting for 12 hours or so with nothing on?

It seems that 600 AH of useable power should last for days, yet overnight my batteries are down to 12.0 v. I did not even turn on a light for more than about five minutes.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

How far are your batteries down after sitting for 12 hours or so with nothing on?

It seems that 600 AH of useable power should last for days, yet overnight my batteries are down to 12.0 v. I did not even turn on a light for more than about five minutes.

Sound like a bad cell. Disconnect the ground on your fully charged bank and let sit again, that will tell you if it is the bank.

 

[AbdRahim]

Sound like a bad cell. Disconnect the ground on your fully charged bank and let sit again, that will tell you if it is the bank.

Newmar says it isnormal. I load tested each battery Voltage on all are goid. They say parasitic draw. I say 1200AH - 600 useable. Should notbe that much drawing on battery, inverter res. refrig and chassis? Six 200AH 6v batteries. 30 A draw shouldlast At leat ten to twenty hours, or am .i missing something. Those items should not be drawing that much.

Did replace a bad battery. It went to zero on load test.

 

[B52Bombardier1]

Setup your multimeter between the battery post and a disconnected battery cable - set it to measure low amps. See what you have for an amp drain value here.

Automotive vehicles encounter this parasitic drain problem far too often and lots of You Tube videos exist on how to setup a multimeter to run this test. Prepare to start pulling fuses one at a time and turning circuit breakers off one at a time to isolate the drain.

Rick

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Newmar says it isnormal. I load tested each battery Voltage on all are goid. They say parasitic draw. I say 1200AH - 600 useable. Should notbe that much drawing on battery, inverter res. refrig and chassis? Six 200AH 6v batteries. 30 A draw shouldlast At leat ten to twenty hours, or am .i missing something. Those items should not be drawing that much.

Did replace a bad battery. It went to zero on load test.

How long has it been that you replaced the bad battery?

That is not parasitic load you describe.

You don't replace one battery in a bank. You are better off removing the one and its mate, than adding a new battery to the bank.

 

[AbdRahim]

Just replaced it in Dec. the bank of six purchased from Newmar May 2021.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

The word is replace no later than 6 months older than the bank. What I would do is retire another battery, and live with a 400ah bank until I was ready to retire all.

I know I sound like a broken record here, but this is the typical life I would expect from most,not all fla batteries when the user is full time. Personally I expect less if charged by generator.

Most of the RVer population will accept and move on. But we have already had the assault on this topic so I expect it!

For curiosity, what brand are they?
Are you having to spend more time cleaning posts and compartment? That is a sign of an old bank!

I moved to Northstar Blue + batteries for this very reason. I didn't go lithium because of the fire Hazzard. Yes I know I will get flack from the supporters, and I ask why are there so many electric car fires?

 

[AbdRahim]

Harris AGMs. Posts are clean. Bank is exactly two yrs old. over $450 / battery.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

The write up is good! Do you know if the plates are pure lead? I see they offer a great warranty.

 

[AbdRahim]

The write up is good! Do you know if the plates are pure lead? I see they offer a great warranty.

Don’t know that much detail.

 

[rvkev]

Here is what works, for lead acid. I do not think it works for Advanced Glass Mat (AGM).
Battery renew

I keep a jug of the solution in my shop to renew batteries on a regular basis. I actually call it my magic battery juice.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Short term fix!
No it won't work on sealed batteries.
The sulphate is the key, the magnesium the failure.

Ultimately you can extend the life a little, but that is it.
Adding colloidal carbon will do better, you will likely have to make it for yourself. Some battery manufacturers are adding it to their higher end lead batteries.