Seneca unplugged

Mark S · 03-25-2018, 06:53 AM

Other than an occasional overnight at a Walmart, I have never RV camped "off the grid". This weekend I went to a Jeep club event in Sebring Florida and stayed on a member's property with nothing but a place to park. It went very well and has me thinking about some camping without hookups when I go out west this summer.

My inverter worked great this time, allowing me to use the microwave and make coffee. It is amazing when you have the correct settings the difference it makes. Lol

I do have a few questions about living off the batteries:

When I set up camp my inverter panel showed 12.4 volts and slowly worked it's way down. At what voltage do I need to recharge the batteries?

How long can I reasonably expect to live off the batteries?

What voltage do I need remaining to start the generator? I was concerned that if I let the batteries get too low I could not start the gen.

How long do I have to run the generator to get a full charge on the batteries?

I haven't ever thought about the generator auto start but I am now thinking it might be great to have the generator automatically turn on when the batteries need recharging. Any guidance on this.

And most importantly, how do you run the AC off the batteries? I know, I know, but wouldn't that be great if you could?

This opens a whole new part of camping I haven't thought about before.

Thanks, Mark

Mark S · 03-26-2018, 05:22 AM

From what I am reading, 12.7 volts is 100% charged and if my battery panel reads 12.4 volts I am only at 70% battery capacity when I start out. And that each 0.1 voltage drop is 10% reduction.

At what voltage or battery percentage should I recharge by running the generator?

MD3 · 03-26-2018, 05:58 AM

I do not know the answers to your questions but we do dry camp more than we camp with hookups.

After a cold night of the heater running off and on (12v blower) the batteries will be down in the mid 11.4-ish range.

We usually just run the generator for a couple hours every morning after we wake up and every night a couple hours before going to bed. This gets us through the days and nights without issue.

I just recently installed two 160watt GoPower solar panels. (Install was super easy since the Seneca is pre-wired for solar) I haven't had them long enough to gauge the impact of having the solar except for one trip. We were able to run the outside TV and radio most of the day time without running the generator. It was nice not worrying about the battery levels during the day.

Not sure if the battery jumper button on the Seneca works both ways (hopefully someone else can chime in on this) but on our last class A if either bank of batteries was run down the jumper button could be pushed and start either the generator or the coach by joining both battery banks for a momentary boost ..... not sure if the Seneca also will do this or if the power is somehow limited to only flow one way....

_

RVermont · 03-26-2018, 05:59 AM

I recharge 11.9. Mine only sit at about 12.6. Then overnight drop to 12.0. Recharge for about two hours.

Check battery water level to be sure they are full. The batteries supplied with the unit are not the best Deep cycle batteries that we should be using. Ideally 4@6 volts batteries would give the best performance.

I will stick my neck out here , I think the chassis batteries start the generator but have not looked to confirm.

I am sure that someone will be on here soon to give you very specific information on battery selection and performance.

I personally don’t use the microwave on battery power very often. This is a huge power hog and you can watch the voltage drop.

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Grumpy · 03-26-2018, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVermont

I will stick my neck out here , I think the chassis batteries start the generator but have not looked to confirm.

Nope, usually on house batteries.

RVermont · 03-26-2018, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Nope, usually on house batteries.

Thanks grumpy, I had a fifty fifty chance. Good I am not a gambler.

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JOEA · 03-26-2018, 07:22 AM

When I set up camp my inverter panel showed 12.4 volts and slowly worked it's way down. At what voltage do I need to recharge the batteries?
My batteries were down to 11.5 and the generator would not start. Fired up the truck eng to start gen. ALso at 11.5 was about when the frig shut off.

How long can I reasonably expect to live off the batteries?
Fully charged they will last through the night

What voltage do I need remaining to start the generator? I was concerned that if I let the batteries get too low I could not start the gen.

How long do I have to run the generator to get a full charge on the batteries?

I haven't ever thought about the generator auto start but I am now thinking it might be great to have the generator automatically turn on when the batteries need recharging. Any guidance on this.

And most importantly, how do you run the AC off the batteries? I know, I know, but wouldn't that be great if you could?

WinnieView · 03-26-2018, 07:34 AM

The generator is connected and does reply upon the house batteries but the Aux Start circuit which ties both the house and chassis battery banks together can be used to jump start either bank.

The batteries should be recharged at and not allowed to fall below 12.1 volts which is 50% of a healthy life, or you may be buying new batteries sooner than expected and necessary.

We find that it takes about a full 2 hours to recharge the batteries. We do have a four-stage Progressive Dynamics converter/charger and we have added the remote pendant to override the charging stage if needed.

SloPoke · 03-27-2018, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark S

Other than an occasional overnight at a Walmart, I have never RV camped "off the grid". This weekend I went to a Jeep club event in Sebring Florida and stayed on a member's property with nothing but a place to park. It went very well and has me thinking about some camping without hookups when I go out west this summer.

My inverter worked great this time, allowing me to use the microwave and make coffee. It is amazing when you have the correct settings the difference it makes. Lol

Stacy and I had tried running the Coffee Maker off the Inverter a couple of times and it came down to this:

for us... Coffee is a first thing in the morning ritual - and usually the Propane furnace is running full and had been running most of the night (we like cooler places). That said - your batteries are not near fully charged.

Instead of draining the remaining charge on the batteries by starting the heavy load of running the coffee maker off the Inverter. We just start the Genny and charge our batteries while making coffee and cooking oatmeal in the Microwave. This also reduces the time the genny has to run to charge the house batteries.

Of course.... because we are out boondocking - there isn't anyone else around to be disturbed by the Genny. We run it for about 45 minutes until the coffee is almost gone - and the batteries are topped off for the rest of the day.

Rustynuts · 03-27-2018, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SloPoke

for us... Coffee is a first thing in the morning ritual - and usually the Propane furnace is running full and had been running most of the night (we like cooler places). That said - your batteries are not near fully charged.

Instead of draining the remaining charge on the batteries by starting the heavy load of running the coffee maker off the Inverter. We just start the Genny and charge our batteries while making coffee and cooking oatmeal in the Microwave. This also reduces the time the genny has to run to charge the house batteries.

We have the same habit but we had to as our last motorhome did not have an inverter. We usually boondock with 3-4 others and they have the same habit as many have residential fridges so we are all running the generators at the same time.

Mark S · 03-28-2018, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SloPoke

Stacy and I had tried running the Coffee Maker off the Inverter a couple of times and it came down to this:

for us... Coffee is a first thing in the morning ritual - and usually the Propane furnace is running full and had been running most of the night (we like cooler places). That said - your batteries are not near fully charged.

Instead of draining the remaining charge on the batteries by starting the heavy load of running the coffee maker off the Inverter. We just start the Genny and charge our batteries while making coffee and cooking oatmeal in the Microwave. This also reduces the time the genny has to run to charge the house batteries.

Of course.... because we are out boondocking - there isn't anyone else around to be disturbed by the Genny. We run it for about 45 minutes until the coffee is almost gone - and the batteries are topped off for the rest of the day.

The problem with running the generator for coffee is I wake up hours before Joannne and the generator will wake her and there goes my quiet time. LOL

Are you guys home from your trip?

SloPoke · 03-29-2018, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark S

The problem with running the generator for coffee is I wake up hours before Joannne and the generator will wake her and there goes my quiet time. LOL

Are you guys home from your trip?

That actually works well for us... Stacy is usually the first one up... fires up the Onan and starts cooking the coffee. On our Seneca - our genny is on the far side of the bedroom, and once it has started up - I can fall back to sleep for a couple of hours sometimes since the genny is drowning out the noise of Oliver , Ned and Ellie. Your quiet time, but with the Genny AND hot coffee!

And yes... we got home Saturday 3/24! After 4.5 months on this trip, we finally found our way home

Isaacs · 03-29-2018, 06:41 PM

There are many non-electric coffee makers out there. Perhaps one of these would help you out: Brew On The Range: The 7 Best Camping Coffee Makers | HiConsumption

kndspd · 04-08-2018, 06:53 PM

Having inverter issues. Magnum CSW2012-X. Went to pick up our new Seneca 37K in January. Moved my passenger seat a bit and it totally stopped; driver’s seat would not work either. Pinched wire? Had not left dealer yet so they were trying to troubleshoot. They kept hearing clicking sounds under the RV too, near the inverter. 2 hours later, not fixed. We went home and dealer delivered RV a few days later with seats working.

However...after 3 months sitting through winter with shore power connected, we finally start our road trip. The inverter keeps chirping. It chirps while driving and showing 13.9 - 14V. It chirps while stopped and engine shut off and showing 12.5 - 13V. If I stare at the control panel, I can sometimes see a flash to 0.0V and/or an E1h error code (which is not listed in the Magnum manual). I stuck my head in the basement while stopped with engine running and heard what sounds like a relay clicking.

Thoughts? Will call Magnum and/or dealer tomorrow.

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