winter parked

[tedontario]

Howdy folks and a very Merry Christmas to every one. WE have had our TT 2499 for just over a year and what can I say. We just love it. Last year, when we brought it home on Dec 11 we were able to use it a number of times due to the warm weather. Not so this year. It is sitting in the yard and for now is covered with snow. I keep checking the weather on the net hoping to find a warm front say 50f so we can sleep in it but so far no luck. What I want to know is does anyone leave their unit plugged into their electric power when they are not using the TT. I thing the only good part is it keeps the battery warned up. I welcome any feed back on this. For those who can find time or just live in a warm area have fun and enjoy the camping.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Ted and Judy

[2beagles]

I've got the coach uplugged, and the battery is in my work shop. I hit it with the charger once a month to keep the charge fresh, but otherwise, the TT is cold for the winter.

[purplesuebug]

Yep, Mine sits cold and empty, dark and lonely, covered with ice from the recent storm. Batteries are in the basement and antifreeze flow through it's veins. Man, I need spring bad...........................Marshall

[Al in PA]

Ted:

Unlike most of our friends, I have always kept my TT plugged into the power grid year round. I also keep a small night light turned on inside the TT. The battery is always charged and there is always a small current flow. I don't know the pros and cons of this approach, but I've experienced very good battery life over the years.

[JohnB]

Ted

I’ll pass along what I have found/learned on RV batteries and leaving the TT plugged in all the time. Leaving the actual power converter plugged in I have not found any issues, however leaving the battery disconnect on, that I have.

The 12 volt converter most coaches have, unless you upgraded or ordered it special, work well at creating a good supply of 12 volt power to run the camper when plugged into shore power. They do offer battery charging as part of this. However they are not great long term for your battery if left connected regularly. Basically they are not great battery chargers.

Your 2004 camper may have a CS6000XL or the older Centurion CS6000. See here floor there web link. http://americandirect.ibuilder.com/a...ns&NID=1466143

Right around that 2003/2004 time frame some Sunlines had the older CS6000 or the newer CS6000XL. Since I upgraded my TT this year with another 2004 model, well I just happen to have one of both….. The newer to me camper has the older model, and it has a bad set of fans in it that sound like a mack truck grinding away. errr. So I have a fix it project to do.

The newer CS6000XL has some more features, however it does not have a float feature that I can find. The float feature keeps a constant voltage on the battery so it will not discharge away when not in use. There is not much current with this float type charger once it reaches full charge and as such it does not boil out the battery if left on full time.

The standard converter can cook out your battery if left connected on shore power for long periods of time. What is a long period? Pending on your battery health, it can be days or weeks. I actually turn the battery disconnect off at the campsite if I’m staying many days. I leave it on long enough to get it fully charged off the TT charger then turn off the disconnect. As these American Centurions models we have will not shut off completely.

Ideally for winter storage, take the battery out, bring it into a warmer then outside place and put a float charger or better a battery minder on it. Before putting the float charger on, charge the battery all the way up with a normal charger then put the float charger on. The newer battery minder Plus systems also has a desulphation feature on it. This feature boosts the voltage up to 14 volts to burn off sulfate that builds up on the plates. This desulfation process helps extend the life of your battery.

You may also hear about a trickle charger. The float charger is still different then the trickle charger. It is better then the normal charger or converter battery charger but it still does not shut off and if left on long enough it too can cook the battery. It just takes longer then the converter to do damage.

If you do not have the Battery Minder or float charger, then actually just charging it fully up, take the charger off and come back and do it again in a month is the about the next best thing, again storing somewhere warmer then outside.

Here is a pretty good web site written in easy to understand terms. It is called the 12 volt side of life. http://www.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm

Most campers do not think about the converters and battery charging as the dealers never spend a lot of time on it and the standard converter does work, just it does not do your battery true justice and slowly over time does it in.

I’m not a battery expert by any means, but I have bumped into this a while ago and found there is a lot I never knew and I’m still coming up the education curve. However with everything I have researched, leaving the battery connected to a standard type TT converter for long periods of time is not a good thing.

See this one brand of higher end power converters for wet cell batteries. This Progressive Dynamics Inteli Power PD9260C unit has the high end charger plus the converter. It has 3 stage charging, has the desulfation and float mode system all built into it. This type you can leave powered on all the time. Folks who boondock a lot use these as they drain their battery down more then most who use shore power most of the time and a better charger is easier justified. http://www.progressivedyn.com/power_...ters_9200.html

However it costs about $200 just for the converter/charger which is what our entire $197 CS6000XL converter, DC fuse strip and 120 volt breaker system costs. In this case you get what you paid for.

Hope this helps

John

[emam]

Before we left on our Adventure, we kept the 2499 plugged in for 3 months full time so it would always be charged up and any free time we had could be spent in it getting things sorted out.

I know that you dont even need a 30amp plug during the winter. We just plugged ours into a normal outlet in the barn, and I think only once did it pop the fuse. That was because I wasnt thinking and had both tank heaters on, along with a small ceramic heater, but because of me going in and out non-stop building the cabinet in the living room/dining room/kitchen , the forced air furnace kicked on which draws substantial power and popped the fuse.

I dont really think you'll do any damage leaving it plugged in all winter long, and it'll act as a battery maintainer. This way you'll also have a little cabin to go retreat to and pretend you're winter camping

Merry Christmas

Pat

[luckydc]

I have always left mine plugged into a regular outlet. No problems. Avoids having to remember to charge them monthly or check the trickle charger. I do check the water level in the batteries ever 6 weeks or so, which I do all year anyway.