Post by k0vwa on Apr 25, 2018 13:53:12 GMT -5
Hi everyone!
We have a 2014 Spree Escape E196S that we bought barely used in 2015. Knew we would want to dry camp a bit so replaced the stock Interstate 12VDC battery with two VmaxxTanks 6VDC batteries rated at 225Ah. Manufacturer specs are here. Our dry camping season here at 8500 is pretty short. First two years (2015 and 2016) we really "used" the batteries about 10-12 nights during the summer. By used I mean we were dry camping - no shore power. In daytime the batteries were charged by a Renogy 30 amp PWM charge controller connected to four 100W solar panels. Early morning battery voltage varied per night depending on how cold it was and how much we ran the heater but was usually 12.6-12.7 but a few times down to 12.5. The charge controller would start charging at first light - building voltage up to around 14.2 and drop to 13.8 by 11-12 am.
Our TV was in the shop most of last summer so we only used the batteries 6 nights total last summer. Rest of the time it was plugged into shore power.
We haven't had much winter so took the camper out a month or so ago. The low power alarm in the propane/CO detector started going off within an hour of unplugging from shore power as we were packing up. Didn't worry since we were going to a site with power. Checked everything when we got home before reconnecting to house power. Good solid connections. No corrosion visible. Disconnected both batteries. Cleaned the terminals. Charged each battery separately with my trusty Sears Diehard charger. Hooked it all back up and they were dead within the hour.
For grins I plugged in shore power. The trailer charger seemed to be working. Voltage went up to around 15.5, fans were blowing, etc. After a few hours the voltage was down to 13.8. Unplugged from shore, batteries still died in an hour or so.
(Sorry for the long wind up)
I emailed the Vmaxx folks. They did reply but failed to understand and answer my question and didn't reply to a followup question. I checked the battery specs there:
---
Nominal Voltage 20Hr Capacity RC (min)
6V 225AH
Energy
(kWH)
500
Charging Current*
15A-55A
Charging Voltage
7.2v-7.35V
Float Voltage
6.6V-6.9V
---
Based on those numbers I'm not sure I've ever put as much current into charging as they show being required. The most I've ever seen on the charge controller is around 11A at 14.2V -- and even then only for an hour or so. Both current and voltage go down the closer the batteries get to being fully charged. Also - that float voltage works out to 13.2 but we normally see it go down to 12.6-12.7 - is that ok?
So - here's my long winded question: Did I do something incorrectly when I put this together, buy the wrong batteries (or charge controller) or maintain (or use) them improperly? I know I've got to replace these two here in the next few weeks. Trying to decide if I want to go back to a 12V battery (or two) or stick with these and just take better care of them.
Thanks for taking the time to read this long winded mess. Much appreciated!
--Carl
We have a 2014 Spree Escape E196S that we bought barely used in 2015. Knew we would want to dry camp a bit so replaced the stock Interstate 12VDC battery with two VmaxxTanks 6VDC batteries rated at 225Ah. Manufacturer specs are here. Our dry camping season here at 8500 is pretty short. First two years (2015 and 2016) we really "used" the batteries about 10-12 nights during the summer. By used I mean we were dry camping - no shore power. In daytime the batteries were charged by a Renogy 30 amp PWM charge controller connected to four 100W solar panels. Early morning battery voltage varied per night depending on how cold it was and how much we ran the heater but was usually 12.6-12.7 but a few times down to 12.5. The charge controller would start charging at first light - building voltage up to around 14.2 and drop to 13.8 by 11-12 am.
Our TV was in the shop most of last summer so we only used the batteries 6 nights total last summer. Rest of the time it was plugged into shore power.
We haven't had much winter so took the camper out a month or so ago. The low power alarm in the propane/CO detector started going off within an hour of unplugging from shore power as we were packing up. Didn't worry since we were going to a site with power. Checked everything when we got home before reconnecting to house power. Good solid connections. No corrosion visible. Disconnected both batteries. Cleaned the terminals. Charged each battery separately with my trusty Sears Diehard charger. Hooked it all back up and they were dead within the hour.
For grins I plugged in shore power. The trailer charger seemed to be working. Voltage went up to around 15.5, fans were blowing, etc. After a few hours the voltage was down to 13.8. Unplugged from shore, batteries still died in an hour or so.
(Sorry for the long wind up)
I emailed the Vmaxx folks. They did reply but failed to understand and answer my question and didn't reply to a followup question. I checked the battery specs there:
---
Nominal Voltage 20Hr Capacity RC (min)
6V 225AH
Energy
(kWH)
500
Charging Current*
15A-55A
Charging Voltage
7.2v-7.35V
Float Voltage
6.6V-6.9V
---
Based on those numbers I'm not sure I've ever put as much current into charging as they show being required. The most I've ever seen on the charge controller is around 11A at 14.2V -- and even then only for an hour or so. Both current and voltage go down the closer the batteries get to being fully charged. Also - that float voltage works out to 13.2 but we normally see it go down to 12.6-12.7 - is that ok?
So - here's my long winded question: Did I do something incorrectly when I put this together, buy the wrong batteries (or charge controller) or maintain (or use) them improperly? I know I've got to replace these two here in the next few weeks. Trying to decide if I want to go back to a 12V battery (or two) or stick with these and just take better care of them.
Thanks for taking the time to read this long winded mess. Much appreciated!
--Carl
If the trailer charger stops charging I wouldn't be able to know. I usually open it up once a month or so and check for leaks and the like. When I do that I turn on the charge controller and see the voltage always reads 13.7-13.8.