Battery life & shore power storage

[MrJackSprat]

We have heard that leaving your RV hooked up to shore power for extended period of time will reduce the coach's battery life. True, false or maybe?

We have our MH hooked up at home (110v shore power) all the time and only unplug for trips during camping season. No particular reason other than keeping a few items in fridge cold. Any information or experiences would be appreciated.

We have a 2015 Greyhawk.

[Grumpy]

What year MH? The newer units have the "smart charger" built into the converter and they do not overcharge. When we had our 08 Seneca it was plugged in 24/7/365 and still had the original batteries when we traded in 2014.

[mike837go]

In the past with the trickle-only chargers that was true. You could boil away your electrolyte if you ignored the battery for the year.


With the modern 2 and 3 stage chargers, it is a non-issue. I leave my TT plugged in as much as possible. Check and add distilled water as needed.


Since we boondock, I replace the battery every 3 years, instead of waiting for it to give us difficulty during a camping trip.

[hoppers4]

False

[Jagiven]

Newer units, I would call it mostly false. However, the batteries that are installed do need maintenance. A couple times a year you need to check the fluid levels and top them off. ONLY use DISTILLED water, fill to the bottom of the plastic insert. If you use anything other than distilled water, you will shorten the batteries life.

[Seann45]

Originally Posted by MrJackSprat

No particular reason other than keeping a few items in fridge cold.
We have a 2015 Greyhawk.

For a "few items in the fridge" why not just take them inside? Save the electrical consumption and wear & tear on the fridge..

[GlampinLife]

This may be a less than smart question but when the RV is not in use and you have it plugged in to 110 to keep the batteries charged - should you keep the master switch in the battery compartment turned on or off? I'm assuming if I turn it off, the batteries won't be getting the smart charge to keep them fully charged?

[mike837go]

Originally Posted by DirtTrailGarage

This may be a less than smart question but when the RV is not in use and you have it plugged in to 110 to keep the batteries charged - should you keep the master switch in the battery compartment turned on or off? I'm assuming if I turn it off, the batteries won't be getting the smart charge to keep them fully charged?

Correct. Disconnecting the battery will include the battery charger. So the battery will go through the very slow process of self-discharge.

My understanding is the battery disconnect is for when you store the RV without access to grid power to run the parasite loads and keep the battery topped up.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by DirtTrailGarage

This may be a less than smart question but when the RV is not in use and you have it plugged in to 110 to keep the batteries charged - should you keep the master switch in the battery compartment turned on or off? I'm assuming if I turn it off, the batteries won't be getting the smart charge to keep them fully charged?

Correct. If you disconnect a fully charged battery, when you reconnect it it will mostly have the same charge, it might be down just a tad bit if it has been months.