Questions on battey switch

[RVRAC]

I recently installed the battery disconnect listed below that I bought through Amazon.  I wanted to prevent the batteries no lose power when parked most of the summer in storage.  No problem installing it.  I installed in the negative post of the batteryHowever, when I go back to the storage and plug it for power, as the blade in the switch comes in a small spark is produced.  Questions: 1) is this expected to happen every time I connect it back?; 2) Can this ruin any electrical component in the MH? 3) is it wrong what I am doing by disconnecting the batteries while in storage?  I don't know much about electric systems, so help from those who know will be appreciated.  Thanks



Ampper Side Post Knife Blade Master Switch, Battery Disconnect Switch Isolator for Marine Car Boat RV ATV Vehicles (with Long Bolt)

 

[darsben]

It is Not bad to disconnect battery when in storage.

What you see when the spark is produced is the 12 volts being reestablished to things that will draw a battery down while in storage. Memory on the radio things like that.

 

[Kevin Means]

Yeah, the bigger the load, the bigger the spark when you reconnect. Disconnecting a battery at the terminal is about as good as you can do, but a lead/acid battery will slowly drain on its own, even when it's not connected to load. L/A batteries live longer when they're stored fully charged. The longer they're stored with a lesser SOC, the more likely sulfation will cause permanent damage, so remember to throw it on a charger every so often.

Kev

 

[RVRAC]

Kev, mine has two sealed gel batteries.  Any difference?

 

[Jack-Bikes]

I installed a cut-off switch to isolate the batteries for storage. My coach has a 12v switch to turn most things off, but I found there are several things it doesn?t turn off. (The steps for instance). Using the switch on the battery cable seems to turn everything off on the coach side. I have not noticed a spark when using the switch. Look for things that might remain on., unless you have a 12v off switch, other wise, it might always spark.

 

[House Husband]

The spark is capacitors recharging in various devices. Open and close the switch a second time and you'll probably see little to no spark.

 

[Kevin Means]

Kev, mine has two sealed gel batteries.  Any difference?

Sorry I took so long to respond... been traveling. I don't know about gel batteries. Are you sure they're gel and not AGM? Gel batteries are pretty uncommon in RVs because they're pretty sensitive to overcharging. If yours are AGM batteries, those are still lead/acid batteries, so yes, they will slowly discharge on their own.

Kev