Interstate Battery Life

[lamato]

Hi, I have a 2013 extended Interstate. Does anyone know how long I can leave it parked without the battery draining? The refrigerator is running, but we have no shore power. We are also not using the generator. Thanks for your help.


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[migriffin]

I would say 1-2 days with good sun if you're not running the engine or generator and assuming you don't want to allow your batteries to drop below 50%. That has been my experience.

[wkerfoot]

Install a battery monitor and then you won't have to guess.

Bill

[73shark]

He's got one. It's part of the solar controller display.

To prolong battery life, turn off the TV antenna, inverter, propane valve, & circuit breakers (kills the parasitic TV load on standby). Solar panel will help so you just need to keep an eye on the monitor.

[PSchw]

2 day max. If you want to run the fridge.


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[73shark]

Originally Posted by PSchw

2 day max. If you want to run the fridge.


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

Even w/ solar?

[PSchw]

If you have like I the 50w it may add a day but you looking to run close the 50%. It also depends on the batterie condition.
Again that is my experience which may different from others.
Peter


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by PSchw

2 day max. If you want to run the fridge.

Depends on the outside temperature, too. On hot days, the fridge has to work harder, so it uses more electricity. If the overnight temps are only in the 50s or so, the batteries will last longer because you won't run them down as far before sunrise. But even then, you'll only get about three days of fridge time.

Basically, without the generator, an Interstate is a pretty bad choice for a boondocking vehicle. No endurance off the grid. That's why it comes with a generator as standard equipment.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

....

.....Basically, without the generator, an Interstate is a pretty bad choice for a boondocking vehicle. No endurance off the grid. That's why it comes with a generator as standard equipment.

I agree - that's why I added 400 watts of solar to my Interstate. I boondocked for 5 days straight at Denali NP in Alaska this summer. Even with some tree canopy and rain every day the batteries stayed charged. Ran the refer, watched videos at night and made 2 cups of coffee with HB K-cup machine (600 watts) every morning and never ran out of power. We used the propane furnace to warm up on cold morning.

Now my boondock limit is water tank capacity. Seems that the gray water tank was biggest limiter. Need to be more conservative with water if I want to boondock longer.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Now my boondock limit is water tank capacity. Seems that the gray water tank was biggest limiter. Need to be more conservative with water if I want to boondock longer.

Alcohol-based waterless hand sanitizer is your friend, and good for the whole body. I had to use it that way when I had MRSA and three incisions on my foot that had to be left open untl the infection healed so that I couldn't bathe or shower.

Reserve one of your three soap dispensers for hand sanitizer. You may not feel as clean if you sanitize all over as when you shower, but you will be clean nonetheless. Reserve another dispenser for Go-Jo, for when you get really grimy and need a waterless soap. Leave the third one for a liquid body wash that will also work as shampoo for those occasions when you feel like running water for a shower.

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Basically, without the generator, an Interstate is a pretty bad choice for a boondocking vehicle. No endurance off the grid. That's why it comes with a generator as standard equipment.

One of the advantages of we older models is that our frig runs on electricity or propane.

I spent 8 nights dry camping last August, running the generator every other day or so to keep batteries topped off, and had not yet used up my small propane tank when I left.

It would seem to me that the propane option would be a good one to mantain on the new Interstates.


Maggie

[PSchw]

Running the generator every other day will work with the new only electric fridge too.
Sounds like the 400w is a good boondocking option as if I boondock with TV and coffee I need to run the generator about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening to keep the batteries between 80% and 100%.
Yes temperature, sunshine if you have solar as well the batterie condition have a big impact an the time you can let the AI sit without recharging.


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[FlaBucki]

How do I turn those items off separately?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by FlaBucki

How do I turn those items off separately?

You can turn off individual 120vAC circuits by means of the circuit breakers.

To turn off individual appliances without turning off the whole circuit, you can add switches to your outlets. I've done this with my televisions, and have a couple of spares that I use for portable appliances that I don't want to unplug each time.

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F7C016q.../dp/B005MYN3OO

[lamato]

Sorry for the late reply, but I would like to thank everyone for your responses. You are all very helpful.


Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums

[galvestongrl]

I am so happy I found this thread! We have a 2013 Interstate and are just getting the hang of it. Been on 2 long trips last year – batteries would not keep charged very long, even with lots of driving every day. We thought well we’re not driving fast enough. Found out a few months ago from our dealer that we had one “bad” battery and a bad solenoid so the batteries were not being charged properly. Replaced the 2 batteries 5 weeks ago, and got the solenoid replaced last week. Thought everything would be fine, but we parked the Interstate in our driveway at 10am yesterday, with only the fridge running – inverter off – and the batteries were down to 9% at 4pm. The fridge was not running at that point.

I’ve called our dealer back this morning – I think this is not how it should be working. They are very nice, and said they would call Airstream to find out how long the fridge should run without shore power. I mentioned that we were told it should run several days, that it’s about like running a 40watt bulb. Of course that could be wrong.

Is it possible our new batteries were injured by being in the vehicle with the old bad solenoid for several weeks?? ( I don’t even know what a solenoid is?) Does this seem odd to you all? Thanks for any help you may have.

[73shark]

It might be the battery isolation module (BIM) or the solar power controller. the dealer replaced both on mine but it turned out to be the solar power controller.

When I run the refrigerator and nothing else, the solar panel keeps the batteries charged to at least 75%.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by galvestongrl

Thought everything would be fine, but we parked the Interstate in our driveway at 10am yesterday, with only the fridge running – inverter off – and the batteries were down to 9% at 4pm. The fridge was not running at that point.

How long the fridge will run depends a lot on the temperature inside your Interstate. The hotter it is, the more the fridge has to run to keep cool. As a rule, I turn on my fridge the night before a trip so that it will be cold when I pack the groceries and drinks the next morning. Because it runs overnight, the temperature inside the van is low, and the fridge doesn't have to work very hard to cool down.

Is it possible our new batteries were injured by being in the vehicle with the old bad solenoid for several weeks?? ( I don’t even know what a solenoid is?) Does this seem odd to you all? Thanks for any help you may have.

A solenoid is an electromagnetic switch. When the low-powered solenoid is powered up, the switch makes contact on a high-powered circuit. Your Battery Isolation Module is a solenoid switch. The way it is supposed to work, if the vehicle is sitting idle, and there is no charging current to speak of, the batteries are isolated. That way, running down the house batteries doesn't cause the starting battery to also run down, and vice versa. BUT, if there is a charging current from somewhere, either shore power, generator power, or the engine alternator, the BIM is supposed to directly connect the house and starting batteries so that they can all be charged.

Now, here's the trick. I believe that the BIM itself is only powered by one battery system, supposedly the house system (If I'm wrong, somebody chime in and correct me, please). So if the house system voltage drops too far, there won't be enough power to engage the solenoid. When that happens, you can't charge the house system from the alternator until AFTER the house system has been recharged enough to power the BIM again. But if you are connected to shore power, you have enough power on the house side for the BIM to work again. I had that happen to me once, early in my ownership. Far from any source of shore power, not enough house battery power left to start the generator, and running the engine wouldn't charge the house batteries. That's when I figured out this particular quirk of the system.

If anyone from Jackson Center is reading this, it sure would be nice if there was an indicator light on the control panel— and on the dashboard while we're at it— to tell when the BIM solenoid is working and has the two systems connected. That way, you don't have to be an electrician and take the van apart to tell if the BIM is working. It wouldn't be all that difficult. Just wire a green LED in series with the solenoid circuit and stick a label under it saying "BIM Engaged."

[galvestongrl]

We are so new to this – got our 2013 Interstate almost 2 years ago, but really haven’t figured it out yet. Have had 2 wonderful trips, but the batteries have not seemed to work correctly and I am not very technical. What’s the best way to learn about the battery system on the Interstate? Do you leave the rig plugged in while stored in the garage or is that bad for the batteries? Is the charging system able to handle being plugged in continually?

How can you tell if the solar charging system is working at all?

Is it normal for the panel to show 100% charged very quickly after plugging in to shore power after the house batteries got down to 9.2 volts? Or does that tell you there’s not much “room” in the batteries?

Can you tell I really don’t know much about all of this? But really want to learn.

[73shark]

Welcome to the Air Forums.

By pressing the button on the solar controller you can step through the four functions that it reads. The first one is percentage of charge, then voltage at the batteries, solar panel current into the batteries, and total amp hours from the solar panel since it was last reset. You can reset the total amp-hours by pressing and holding the button while the amp-hours is displayed and it will blink 4 times and then zero out. Whether you have the generator on or plugged into shore power, the solar controller will show hundred percent because the battery voltage is being charged at that point. If you had the batteries down to 9.2 volts, they may be ruined now.

Did your dealer give you a walkthrough when you picked up the interstate? There also should be a portfolio containing a Sprinter owner's manuals, the Airstream owner's instructions for all of the Airstream installed equipment.

Yes you can leave RV plugged into shore power without any problem. If the RV is left outside and everything is turned off, the solar panel alone will maintain the house batteries and the chassis battery.