Woogiebear said:
Hey all! First post here. I need a bit of help. Got this new battery last year that the shop said would last twice as long as my original. We don?t do much off grid camping but do go on at least one trip a year for a week at a time that has no hookups. We just run the refrigerator and use led lights minimally. Now and then the water pump for the sink. No heater or hot water heater. My battery only lasts about 2-3 days max. My cousin has a battery that lasts a week easy using the usage we do. He has a different battery. My camper stays plugged in most of the time at home because we are in and out of it quite a bit throughout the year. Am I killing the battery by leaving it plugged in? The guy at the shop said that it wouldn?t be an issue. Opinions? I wasn?t able to attach a picture of the battery I have. It?s an interstate high cycling 31-mhd, cca-950, rc-195. Any help would be greatly appreciated! We are going away in August and I?ll probably be bringing a small quiet generator with us to recharge it every couple days. Was hoping I wouldn?t have to but better be safe than sorry.
Come on folks, be helpful. Don't just tell the poor guy the sky is falling, because it isn't.
First-- The guy most likely has a gas/electric fridge running on gas so that takes next to no 12V power. About 0.1 to 0.2amp or 2.4AH to 4.8AH in 24 hours.
Second-- All he is running is the water pump and the lights for a little while.
So, YES, Woogiebear, your battery should last more than 2-3 days
IF those things you mention are the
only things pulling power from the battery and you have a good fully charged battery.
Yes, you don't have the best battery for dry camping or boondocking. However that doesn't mean it shouldn't work given the small amount of battery you are using.
Unfortunately I don't have a simple answer for you.
I am assuming you have a gas/elect fridge, incandescent light bulbs (no LED bulbs) and no inverter. I also assume you only have 1 or 2 lights turned on at night for an hour or two.
Troubleshooting:
-- Are you sure you have all the lights turned off in ALL the storage/water/dump compartments? A light running 24/7 pulls quite a bit of power.
-- Next I would start with getting a volt meter from Walmart or any big box store. They cost less than $20
-- Start with leaving your RV plugged in for a couple of days, then disconnect from shore power.
-- Your battery voltage while on shore power should be around 13.5V. That is the converter supplying the 12V to the RV
-- Disconnect from shore power and monitor the voltage at the battery. Be sure all the lights are off and no other 12V devices are on.
-- After a few (3-5) hours it should drop to about 12.6 to 12.7V, which is the voltage of a fully charged battery. If, after being off of shore power for a couple of hours, the voltage drops to 12.2V or lower, you probably have a phantom something pulling quite a bit of power or you have a bad battery.
-- If after a few hours the voltage is around 12.6V then turn on 4 or 5 light bulbs. Be sure it is light bulbs you are counting. Some light fixtures have 2 bulbs. Also florescent lights pull as much as 2 light bulbs.
-- Monitor the battery voltage and make notes of the voltage every hour, for 6-8 hours.
Come back to the forum with details of what your testing shows and the folks here should be able to give you some assistance.