RV House Batteries - Discussion
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Certified Mobile RV Technician, Darren Koepp, discusses the different types of RV batteries, the preventative maintenance RV owners should be doing for each type, and some signs of battery issues.
If you are in need of RV Repairs in the Olympic Peninsula area of Washington state, submit a service request on our website at myrvworks.com today!
Darren, please never lose your enthusiasm for what you do. You are teaching me so many different things on various items. I love how you teach it is extremely valuable to me the way you do that. I retain a ton of stuff. Thanks for teaching me how to be a good and responsible person on maintaining my RV. Thank you again.
61 yrs old and can remember my 6th grade teaching as he was the only teacher I paid attention to. You sir I can listen to. Thanks and subscribed
wow, what a tremendous compliment. I really appreciate that. I will keep more video walk-throughs coming your way. Thanks for subscribing and I appreciate you. Happy camping.
Analogies are very helpful. Thanks for the breakdown on the charger levels.
Very welcome!
I had my own business rigging/fixing/troubleshooting electronics on boats for more than dozen years...YOU make me feel normal! I always came up with analogies. Frankly, without them, people's eyes would just glaze over and they had no idea what I was talking about... PLEASE, keep doing what you love and KEP making video's!
The analogy I use is for a battery with shorted plates is: thinking about sticking a magnet into the sand and as it does, it always picks up those tiny- little hairs (black dust) that are now sticking to the end of the magnet...those hairs will grow from one plate to the other (inside the battery) and short out a plate. The hairs need burnt off, so, that's what equalization does....burns the hairs.
Thanks for the comment. Sometimes use barnacles in my analogy and talk about how the barnacles grow etc so lots of analogies. Whatever works eh,
I like how easy it is to understand what is happening.
Omg so helpful. We have been having constant battery issues and now we know where to look. The batteries the used rv dealer installed when we bought the rv do not match the charger.
Absolutely the best analogy in a video I have ever seen. Thanks and kudos
Perfect information on batteries.
Thanks "Teacher".
I've only recently discovered your channel, came up as TH-cam 'recommended' videos. You have an EXCELLENT channel! I subscribed and will get the video alerts too. I've been spending many of my lunch breaks watching various videos you have done. I enjoy how you thoroughly explain as easily as possible whatever you are working on and I hope your channel will breakout in the RV community, you deserve it!
Hi Joseph, Thanks so much for the vote of confidence! I just talk out loud to myself and hope some of it comes out on the video clearly LOL. The more of these I do and the more comments I read the better I get at explaining things. Many more video's to come too!!!
I appreciate you being a part of the channel!
Cheers,
Darren
I am thrilled that I found you, sir... bravo, great job.
I’m heading your way. Hope to catch-up with you last of august 2022 as I’m coming from Alabama. AC works everything but batteries aren’t charging well. they are lead acid and only few months old. Thanks fir all the great videos.
Look forward to seeing you.
you are very good teacher
Another awesome explanation. Thanks! 😀
Awesome Darren I am learning so much from your videos
I just bought an rv because I came across a deal I couldn't resist. This thing has like 50 switches, 20 storage bays, all kinds of levers and I have NO IDEA WHAT ANYTHING DOES! I can't even figure out how to turn the radio on!!! 😭
There is a rocker switch on the dash that says "radio" with two options, main or aux. Main does nothing. Aux makes the speaker start going "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"
I've only had this thing for like 5 hours, I've skimmed through videos for about an hour and this is the first one I've come across that I feel explains thing at my current level of understanding.
I'm about to binge watch all your videos, in hopes of learning AT LEAST how to turn on the radio.
Baby steps.
Glad you found us! That switched you're referring to Will turn on the radio from either the coach battery or from the house battery. So driving down the road you would have Coach battery position and when your engine is off you would flip that switch to run off your house battery. Now whether it works that way is a different issue LOL but that's the purpose of the switch.
Great information!! What a great was to explain it.
Great video I never thought about batteries like that.
I feel like i just sat through a masters level class on batteries. The analogies were spot on helpful. You have a gift for teaching. Question is what to do with the information about swelling to that point. What is the next step. Thanks.
Depends on the battery, really.
If it's a lead acid battery, just accept that you've lost about half the stated amp hours. You might not lose exactly half the capacity, in fact it's pretty much guaranteed you didn't. But - if the case is swollen, the battery IS damaged, so it's best to cut the potential in half.
If you have a lithium battery that is swollen, then you need to immediately disconnect all power (including the engine battery) and remove the swollen battery. Ideally, you'll want to move the battery using a long handled shovel with a metal spade, place the battery in an isolated container, and then fill the container with water until the level reaches 6" above the top of the battery. If that isn't possible, then you must set it on a non flammable surface with at least 8 feet of clearance around it on all sides and contact the fire department. If a lithium battery shows any signs of swelling, even just a tiny bubble, you need to treat it as an emergency situation.
Lithium ion batteries are basically sealed fires, to put it simply. The chemical reaction by which lithium ion batteries collect and then release their energy is exactly the same as a propane appliance, just with different molecules. When there's a problem with a propane appliance, it gives off an odor. When there's a problem with a lithium battery, it swells. They are equally dangerous.
If the housing of a lithium battery swells fast enough, or if signs of gentle swelling are ignored, then the battery will become an explosive. The chances of a lithium battery reaching the point it explodes are pretty low though, but not zero.
It's much more likely that the battery housing will develop a single itty bitty little crack. That crack won't do anything at first, but after a few cycles, it'll expand enough that it begins to vent off the tiniest bit of the highly flammable gas necessary for a lithium battery to work.
After that, it's just a matter of time.
Either the gasses are lit by an external source, or the battery tries to pull more power when charging, overheating to the point of self ignition. That's when a small crack becomes dangerous.
If a lithium battery explodes, it explodes. The energy is concentrated, causing more immediate damage, while consuming all fuel in the process.
But if a lithium battery has a small fracture, it can burn for several hours. The heat is continually applied over time, and constantly increasing. Rather than creating an explosion, it sets fire to the rv, and provides a continuous source of fuel as the fire grows.
Then you have AGM batteries, which are still sealed lead acid batteries with a similar energy density to a standard battery, but with a charging speed and cycle life closer to a lithium ion battery.
An array of lead acid batteries that take ten hours to charge would probably only take 90 minutes if replaced with AGM batteries and still have the same energy density.
But AGM batteries require specific chargers that support AGM batteries. If an AGM battery is connected to a charger that only supports lead acid, and there is no charge controller between the two, then the AGM battery will pop the vent cap and dry out, destroying all the batteries in the process.
Thanks for taking the time to not only make these videos but having a excellent quality video. But then again I wouldn't expect anything other than excellence from a Marine.
Semper Fi!
@@MyRVWorks 101st AirBorne Army,
@@chetusher444 Thanks for having our back brother! At 52 I am not as lean nor as mean but still a Marine! Ohh Rah!
I need to strongly consider expanding my business up here and know there are a lot short time Marines guarding the sub bases here. I would love to hire a small team of Marines and we will get this business done! Rainy days will be a good training opp!
@@MyRVWorks lol on the rainy days. I think that is the only time the military is allowed to go into the field. Man if you had a team Marines working for you that would be awesome. They would be very fortunate to work for you and learn from you. I'm 53 and just started a mobile tech service so every morning I spend about an hour studying. Then I came across your channel and it's been a huge help. Thank again.
@@chetusher444 Well, thanks for watching. I am developing quite a following with RV techs from all over that are watching and commenting - it has been awesome to connect with so many other RV techs that are learning from me - and me from them. Never expected that when I started this project! It has been suggested that I start a consulting service helping them get started and organized with the mobile shop, warranty, back office, inventory etc. I am mulling what that would look like and how to charge for it. Leave it to a Marine to figure out to get all this stuff into the field, in any type of weather, fix just about anything with whatever tools and inventory you brought with you. I was an industrial automation field engineer for 25 years and loved being in the field. Now with my own business I get to live on the edge on every job and I love it!
Cheers,
Darren
Great video easy to understand love the explanation about batteries
I have a 'regular' trickle charger for my 12V agm batteries wired in parralell. Is this what I want to maintain them? Or some brand of smart charger? You do indeed have so much stuffed in the noggin to get out! Keep it coming!
With a trickle charger your batteries should be very happy.
@@MyRVWorks Your "teachable moment" brought something to light. My rv is 33 yr. old and converter/charger is probably low tech. Took out all 3 four year old group 24 agm batteries and one has noticeable swelling. Plugged in and charging at 13.6 in rv, and multimeter checked at 12.8 when rested 2 hrs. No drop from first removing them.
Going to load test to investigate if I have a bad battery. I don't get nearly the hours out of them with similar load when off gridding. We off grid 99% of time with this class a. Any thoughts?
@@MyRVWorks Replaced all three with new wet cell 100 ah each deep cycle marine batteries wired parallel. I'm ok with having to check fluid occasionally. My question is what amp smart charger should be used to leave on and maintain?? I have a 1.5 amp smart charger on and it's actually lost 0.3 volts in three days from 12.9 v to 12.6 v. Maybe the charger isn't the issue at all? Trying to figure out my mystery. Help me O-be-wan, you're my only hope!
Darren, it looks like the reason for the swelled AGM batteries was that internal battery charger was not set up for AGM battery charging, but was designed for flooded lead/acid batteries. How did you correct this issue? Did you have a means to adjust the charging algorithm on the converter/charger, replace the converter/charger to one that can be adjusted, or bypass the battery charger on the the combined converter/charger and add a smart external battery charger?
These are terrific explanations!
Where can I find out how to make a test box for rv lights and brakes? Great videos!
Good info to know
Very well explained
Glad it was helpful!
Great video. Mine are wired in parallel. I can't figure out what is wrong with them. The wire from the solar panel says 17v. Everything worked fine before I left the camper for 2 months this summer. Came home to blown fuses and dead batteries.
If this is part 2, where can I find part 1? I did search but didn’t find. Help? Love your work. Great stuff.
Great Video's
Great analogy
Equalizing is essentially desulfuting it but you can only do it for flooded wet batteries
I have an old school camper RV (1981) would it be OK to switch to the higher tech type batteries or just stay with the more old school batteries. I am battery illiterate.
Hi. I have an RV, it’s my first time owning one and I don’t know much about them. when I turn on the heater fan it’s starts to smell like gas, everything works fine it’s just that gas smell. I checked if had any gas leaks but I didn’t find any its just the smell and I’m not sure why or how to get rid of it. I’d appreciate if you could share some knowledge as to how I can fix the problem. Thank you.
Darren, great info on batteries. Need a follow up video on testing& when if to replace the coverter. I never thought that if I got AGM battery my converter might be the problem. Would a bad converter cause damage to regular deep cycle batteries if it was overcharging them constantly?
Why is it when I watch your maintenance videos ,I find myself working on the 88Itasca soon after.
Lol sorry about that. Happy camping.
I love your videos
How do you determine if your bat chg is capable of charging AGM batteries. I want to switch to AGMs?
I would expect that info would be in the MFG documentation. If you do not have the documents you can try to search online for them.
Some converters have a switch (often hidden) that switches between two modes.
My aims 3000 LF inverter charger has 7 charge profiles I use profile 3 14.6 float 13.8 for my lithium batteries cause I top balanced them
Actually AGMs do have a blow valve I had those same batteries they off gassed I learned the hard way though they got so hot they got killed
I'm assuming that if you know you have a charger that can do bulk, absorption, float then you don't need a new one when you change out batteries. I had two standard flooded lead acid batteries when I bought my 2015 Grand Design 350M. I swapped them out w/ two Interstate AGMs (couldn't afford lithium at the time). I checked in the manual for my converter charger and it stated that it is a three stage charger, so I didn't change it out. Any way, Thanks for the helpful information. Did you ever do the battery video? I wanted to see the cut aways. Haven't found them in your video library.
I always recommend a inverter charger for a RV setup it's a perfect solution for people
I just got an older fifthwheel with a dometic refrigerator in it. Somebody had stolen the battery's. Does the refrigerator need to have a battery in the system to work right. Can't seem to find a clear answer anywhere the frig does not show any signs of leaking.
Thanks for this.
What circuit breaker are you switching on and off.
🤙🏼🙏🏻
Thanks for this!
❤️ your videos.
No charging happens at 14.5 float at 13.7 13.8 for AGM flooded lithium is 14.4 14.5 can be floated at 13.7 13.8
I have a new to me 2010 Roadtrek 190 in which I have just installed a new Optima blue top battery. I assume the Zamp solar was installed aftermarket and I don't really know anything about it and no one seems to be able to enlighten me. If I have sun, I leave the "battery disconnect" lit when parked outside and it charges. In the carport, I should turn it off? If it's off will the CO monitors drain the battery?
That is a function of how that solar charger is connected to the battery. Oftentimes a solar charger will connect directly to the battery and does not go through the disconnect switch. You'll have to do some digging and follow the trail to figure out how that was wired.
Best
You can add water to AGM but need to be careful with it
My battery charger does not talk to me. You vest see a doctor
Can't use that grocery store analogy now....as far as being faced up...
Good video, but you need to look it up. Batteries do not store electricity. Batteries make electricity. Charging only cleans the lead plates so the battery can return to making juice.
I respectfully would disagree with the statement that a battery "creates" electricity. It's a chemistry set. All it can do is store electrons on his plates until they are called on to be used Downstream.
@@MyRVWorks Darren you are 100 % corect
When you talking about 6 full batteries you're not talking 6 cells, you talking 3 cells. Each cell When is fully charged is roughly 2.2 votes . Now it was the 12 V battery than you would have sex cells that's why when a 12 V batteries fully charged its roughly 12.8
Comment
Thank you so much j! I am thrilled to have you r valuable advice! May I ask, if I already have a 12 volt Interstate,battery and want to add another one to increase the storage, should I buy another Interstate battery identical to the other? It is only 3 years old and has not been used much since purchased.Thanks.