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Old 09-06-2009, 03:10 PM   #21
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Just a point to note.

If you decide to move your trailer without coach batteries installed, I think that the feed from your tow vehicle battery will make the battery cables in the trailer live so you need to isolate them so they don't short out inside the battery boxes and blow fuses.

I learned that on my last trailer!

After learning my lesson, I used to stick the battery cables/clamps into rubber gloves inside the battery boxes if ever I had to move the trailer with only the tow vehicle battery.

Only time I did that was when I forgot to take the coach batteries when going to collect the trailer which was stored away from our home!

Brian.
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Old 09-06-2009, 04:32 PM   #22
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Battery temperature sensors

The incidents mentioned with batteries cooking, etc. is another reason that "converters" are bad news for batteries.
We have used both 120V and solar multi-stage charging systems that incorporate a battery temperature sensor in their circuitry. The temperature sensor is attached to the battery terminal. If the battery temp goes above the pre-set limit (don't remember exactly what that is), the charging system is disabled.
Yes, this is an added expense & well worth it as exploding/overheated batteries are definitely a health hazard.
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Old 09-06-2009, 06:06 PM   #23
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whitelight, do you happen to remember the name of the temp sensor brand? That is definitely something on my "to get" list. I'm tired of paying $200+ for Optimas that last 2 yrs.
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Old 09-06-2009, 06:33 PM   #24
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For Optima the blue top there are 2 popular models - D31M and D34M. The D31M is the larger of the 2 and has more stored capacity. I have run a D31M in my land rover for 3 years now without issue.

I like the fact that these are zero maintenance - having not to mess with water is a plus. I am going to have the dealership test my charging system - I don't have voltmeter for that... We'll see... Need to determine root cause before I stick in new batteries of any sort...
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Old 09-06-2009, 06:38 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wingeezer View Post
Just a point to note.

If you decide to move your trailer without coach batteries installed, I think that the feed from your tow vehicle battery will make the battery cables in the trailer live so you need to isolate them so they don't short out inside the battery boxes and blow fuses.
Yup thanks and makes sense. I did a dump/fill run today and isolated the cables so as not to ground out the hot lead.
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Old 09-06-2009, 07:12 PM   #26
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agm versus flooded

many people are misled by the claim of "...maintenance free..." AGM batteries are in reality, maintenance proof...If an AGM battery is overcharged or overheated (as in a metal bldg in Arizona) they will "burp" gasses from inside the container. These gases actually, in normal circumstances, recombine into...water! (Hydrogen and Oxygen). These batteries (AGM) are also known as a battery with recombinant technology (innards). If these gasses escape, then they cannot recombine into the small amount of water that a AGM does have. Once they lose some of their gasses, they lose their ability to withstand charging, and heat. If charging at a high rate continues, the battery will experience the same result as the battery you have already melted. Please, no offense meant. The AGM batteries can overheat, bulge, internally short circuit, and if continually overheated/overcharged, they can explode. Now that I have scared you, relax-they are still a very good technology, and the explosion is an extreme situation-but it can happen. So, like most everyone else responding to your query, find the problem-a different battery is not going to fix the problem-your existing battery was most likely overcharged. Check your charger, check the incoming voltage to the charger. then, which ever battery you choose will be happy.
As an aside, Drag racers do not usually operate with alternators to recharge their batteries. they use a separate charger (kinda like most RV's). They discovered that a non-deep discharge battery was better for their applications because they did not "deeply discharge" the battery before recharging. Actually this caused the deep cycle batts to have a short life because their rechaging cycle was so short they lost the abilty to deeply discharge-so drag racers found that a regular battery was best for their frequent small discharge-and then a 10 amp recharge right afterward. I mention this because if you go boondocking and deeply discharge your battery(ies), then a deep discharge batt is best for you. if you only slightly use the batts when driving, etc, and then end up in an RV park and a shoreline and subsequent recharging, then a regular truck battery would be more suitable.
well, that's my 2 cents.
ol' bill the newbie AS'r (who worked with batteries for 36 years)
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Old 09-06-2009, 10:11 PM   #27
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RE: battery temp sensors

PHP Code:
do you happen to remember the name of the temp sensor brand
Stingray, the temp sensor is an option only for those battery chargers that have the circuitry built into the electronics to read the temperature of the battery and respond to this input. The battery charger uses the temperature sensor's data to compensate for charge voltage, if required. If the batteries reach a certain temperature, the charging voltage is shut down.
For a 120V charger, we have had much success with the Ample Power charger. We have used this charger on 2 different boats & one trailer. Note the temp sensor option on this web page:
Ample Power Smart Chargers

For our solar charger, we use AM Solar's HPV-22 solar controller. Heliotrope HPV-22 Series of Solar Charge Controllers. Note that this controller employs temperature compensation, achieved with a temp sensor as well.

We have a temp sensor for each charging source.
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Old 09-07-2009, 01:54 PM   #28
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My Iota has the IQ-4 Smart Charger...I can only assume that it has that feature, then. When I put the VM on the battery, it read 13.94v. As soon as I take the Iota out of the equation, the voltage drops down to 8.62v.
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Old 09-07-2009, 02:11 PM   #29
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I ran into an almost exact problem as the original poster this morning. It looks like the battery charge lead and one of the load leads on the converter got reversed. This meant the converter was putting out 14+ volts at however many amps for the entire weekend, cooking the battery, and causing a horrible rotten egg smell throughout the shop. I've spent the morning venting the shop and rewiring the converter correctly.
It would have been a simple thing to cross two wires when assembling.
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Old 09-07-2009, 02:58 PM   #30
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My Iota has the IQ-4 Smart Charger...I can only assume that it has that featurethen
After checking the link, this Smart Charge feature doesn't have an temperature specific sensor attached to the battery. It seems that only the voltage is monitored, not the temp. You might want to contact Iota tech support and check out whether they do use a temperature compensation factor in their smart charging equation.

Many cruising sailboats, especially ones that sail in tropical waters (80+ degrees) use a charger that employs this temp compensation feature. We have also heard of a few exploding batteries on sailboats, brought about by overcharging & excessive heat.

PHP Code:
When I put the VM on the batteryit read 13.94v. As soon as I take the Iota out of the equationthe voltage drops down to 8.62v
Not good! When the charging source is removed from the battery bank, healthy batteries, without a load on, should float down to around 12.7-12.8 volts. I'm looking for a chart that we had that displays battery voltage at rest (i.e. no load, no charge) vs. battery condition/life.

If you poke around Ample Power's website Ample Power Primer they have a lot of information regarding battery charging in this primer, including testing batteries, charging basics, etc. We know the people behind this company & they have experience, besides in electrical engineering, in living on 12 V, both on sailboats & RV's.
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Old 10-13-2018, 11:25 PM   #31
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Overfilled batteries

I had my 2015 Flying Cloud plugged into 30A shore power for most of the summer without thinking much about it. This past week we had a bunch of rain and a big rust stain showed up emanating from under the battery box.

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I took the (2x Interstate) batteries out and discovered (a) it was really wet in there

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and, (b), there was battery acid starting to corrode around the (drain?) holes in the bottom.

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My first thought was that I'd boiled my batteries, but, all the cells still had lots of water in them. The batteries themselves and the plastic pan thing they sit in weren't obviously covered in battery acid. So, after reading this thread I instead believe that I just overfilled them, so they didn't boil but did slowly leak over time. Does that make sense? Being a total RV newbie the last time I refilled them was also the first time and I had no idea there was a max fill line!

I hosed off most of the built up mineral salts. Will try some baking soda to clean up any residual acid, thanks for the tip.

What are the chances my batteries are still okay?
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Old 10-14-2018, 12:12 AM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whitelight View Post
PHP Code:
My Iota has the IQ-4 Smart Charger...I can only assume that it has that featurethen
After checking the link, this Smart Charge feature doesn't have an temperature specific sensor attached to the battery. It seems that only the voltage is monitored, not the temp. You might want to contact Iota tech support and check out whether they do use a temperature compensation factor in their smart charging equation.

Many cruising sailboats, especially ones that sail in tropical waters (80+ degrees) use a charger that employs this temp compensation feature. We have also heard of a few exploding batteries on sailboats, brought about by overcharging & excessive heat.

PHP Code:
When I put the VM on the batteryit read 13.94v. As soon as I take the Iota out of the equationthe voltage drops down to 8.62v
Not good! When the charging source is removed from the battery bank, healthy batteries, without a load on, should float down to around 12.7-12.8 volts. I'm looking for a chart that we had that displays battery voltage at rest (i.e. no load, no charge) vs. battery condition/life.

If you poke around Ample Power's website Ample Power Primer they have a lot of information regarding battery charging in this primer, including testing batteries, charging basics, etc. We know the people behind this company & they have experience, besides in electrical engineering, in living on 12 V, both on sailboats & RV's.
you won't get love from them. They been have through this and you haven't.
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Old 10-14-2018, 12:17 AM   #33
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Originally Posted by overlander63 View Post
I ran into an almost exact problem as the original poster this morning. It looks like the battery charge lead and one of the load leads on the converter got reversed. This meant the converter was putting out 14+ volts at however many amps for the entire weekend, cooking the battery, and causing a horrible rotten egg smell throughout the shop. I've spent the morning venting the shop and rewiring the converter correctly.
It would have been a simple thing to cross two wires when assembling.
J think we can correct that easily
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