Battery Question

[Jimer]

Will the solar keep my 20T house batteries charged (topped off)with nothing else running for a prolonged period of time? or should I turn "disconnect switch" when sitting in my driveway weeks at a time?
Thanks

 

[Camper_bob]

I would say most likely "yes". Also, I wonder if the 12V disconnect affects the solar charging at all? Historically several items don't go through that switch (especially CO monitors), assuming you're talking about the "main" 12V switch.

Take out a volt meter and check it out. Park in the sun so the panels are putting out charge voltage, take a measurement at the batteries to verify. Then hit the disconnect and take another reading. Assuming you are still getting a charge from the panels with the switch off, then I would store it that way.

Hopefully someone more familiar with your specific model will chime in...

 

[JoePickleball]

Interesting. I was wondering the same. I, too, have a Jayco Swift 20T with a 200 watt solar panel. Anyway, another question about house batteries. I read in the posts that one can "abuse" the batteries. Please mention typical and atypical ways this abuse can occur. I thought I was and am taking really good care of my House batteries but now I'm second-guessing. After talking to a Battle Born tech yesterday, he said that the factory-installed brand likely is my major culprit, and suggested that a better/best AGM replacement would do. He of course suggested consideration for lithium too. Thoughts please. Thanks. Joe

 

[JoePickleball]

I have been doing what ORMike-Jay posted on October 4, 2024, that they do. So, I'm thinking that the central villain are these two Harris Brand 12v batteries that may had been pre-compromised at time of purchase, September 2023.

 

[JFlightRisk]

snip.... Anyway, another question about house batteries. I read in the posts that one can "abuse" the batteries. Please mention typical and atypical ways this abuse can occur.

The most common abuses are letting them discharge to 10 volts or less, a discharged battery allowed to freeze, not keeping the acid level up on a FLA battery and overcharging with a regular non-maintaining charger. There are other reasons specific to AGMs. such as overheating them and extreme vibration, just to hit the highlights.

 

[Camper_bob]

The most common abuses are letting them discharge to 10 volts or less, a discharged battery allowed to freeze, not keeping the acid level up on a FLA battery and overcharging with a regular non-maintaining charger. There are other reasons specific to AGMs. such as overheating them and extreme vibration, just to hit the highlights.

Plus not all batteries are created equal. If you're starting with junk, it's only down hill from there. Some batteries can handle the common abuses better than others. Even good ones can come out of the factory partially damaged. I put a high quality AGM in my wife's Tahoe a few years back, and it kicked the bucket (shorted cell) in just a little over a year. That's short, even for South Texas where we tend to cook them, and if you can get 3 years out of an automotive battery, you're doing okay. But that's what warranties are for.

If you're going with lead replacements, then AGM deep cycle batteries (not "dual purpose, but true deep-cycle) are your best bet IMO. In my experience, they'll tolerate more abuse than gel and A LOT more than standard flooded-cell batteries. Odyssey batteries have been "best in class" for a while, but that could've changed...

Wanted to add that no matter what kind of batteries you install, you need to be aware of the proper "care & feeding" of that particular battery class/chemistry. Personally, I like all of that to be as passive as possible. I had a flooded cell in my trailer IIRC, and I was kind of manic about taking care of it, and it got real old real quick. I just replaced the OEM flooded cell in my motorhome with a 100AH Li, and I only installed the one on purpose, because I didn't want to change out/install a bunch of things at the time. But I did it so my system is relatively passive for now, but "scalable" so I can add bits here and there to help me manage the system a little better, especially when I go to expand it some.

 

[Schiel1]

The most common abuses are letting them discharge to 10 volts or less, a discharged battery allowed to freeze, not keeping the acid level up on a FLA battery and overcharging with a regular non-maintaining charger. There are other reasons specific to AGMs. such as overheating them and extreme vibration, just to hit the highlights.

I killed my AGM batteries going to 11.7 3 times.went lithium and never looked back.