Battery Prices

[merle&louise]

Richard,

I think that you are correct. Nick did say that when a battery gets to 12.0 volts it is dead. From the results Peter and Dale have posted it looks like Nick is a little off.

Can you turn that auto start generator feature off? I have read more negative posts about that feature than anything else. I think that I would prefer monitoring the Link 2000 inverter monitor and just starting the generator when necessary. I visually check mine before bed and first thing in the morning everyday.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

12.2 is that magic 50% discharged threshold that many say is so important not to go below, but that is at RESTING VOLTAGE. So in theory if they are under load can be run below that point because they will get back to that if the draw is eliminated and allowed to rest. I think Truk said that is what Marathon told him

Dale and Peter I'm wondering if you shut down the ALL draw when you deep cycle as you do and let the batts. rest for a while before immediately recharging I wonder where they would get back to.

I suppose it would depend on how large the draw on them. If the draw is significant 10.9 might just get back to 12+ if allowed to rest W/O recharging? It would make a good experiment.

[Petervs]

Lifeline battery says 10.5 volts is fully discharged, and at that point you charge them back up.

I see no reason to worry about going down to that range.

The battery is just a chemical reaction moving electrons around.

[truk4u]

It's all about cycles! Here's Lifelines take...

For maximum battery life in deep cycle applications, do not discharge the battery bank below 50%. Continually discharging the bank 100% will shorten the battery life. The open circuit voltages listed below approximates the various States of Charge (SOC).

100% SOC 12.80 volts or greater
75% SOC 12.55 volts
50% SOC 12.20 volts
25% SOC 11.75 volts
0% SOC 10.50 volts

I had various discussions with Marathon and Lifeline at the time. Lifeline advises the above. Marathon had the Genmate set at about 11.3 and said that's what they have been doing for years with good success.

I did both, 11.3 and 12.2, but found that my sat dish dropped off line at about 12volts, so I just kept it set for 12.2. Over the course of 4 - 5 years, who knows what effect the lower discharge rate will bring.

No big deal... The lower the discharge rate I do, the longer the gen has to run to charge back up to float.

Peter, I think some solar may be in my future.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Well I spoke with a salesman @ Lifeline about their batteries. The actual mfg. date code is stamped into the Black Plastic Top of the battery

Here is how the date code works, at least on LifeLine Batteries. I am guessing it does not matter if they are 4d or 8d?

My batteries are stamped with (4) BJJ EH , BJJ CH, BJJ CD for a total of 6 GPL8DL house batteries.

On the Battery Code BJJ Means Nothing
First Letter Stands for the Year A=01, B=02, etc.
Second Letter Stands for the Month A=Jan, B=Feb. etc.

So 4 of my batteries ending in EH, are mfg. Aug.2005. 1 is Aug 2003, and 1 is April 2003.

Looks like 6 batteries are in my future, one of these days.

Gary S.

[rbeecher]

Richard,

I think that you are correct. Nick did say that when a battery gets to 12.0 volts it is dead. From the results Peter and Dale have posted it looks like Nick is a little off.

Can you turn that auto start generator feature off? I have read more negative posts about that feature than anything else. I think that I would prefer monitoring the Link 2000 inverter monitor and just starting the generator when necessary. I visually check mine before bed and first thing in the morning everyday.

Tuga,

I might stretch this reply out a bit but this subject has me perplexed so here goes.

On the Marathon the inverters have a menu option select feature where you can go in to change the gen settings. I learned this one day while doing some work in the yard and lo and behold the power had gone off. I could hear the generator TRYING to start. The key word is trying. I called Marathon Florida and I was sent back to the inverter panel to check the settings which is when I finally succeeded in convincing them the gen would either not start or would start, run for maybe 20 seconds, and shut off. The problem was finally traced to a couple of very small coolant hose leaks up near the radiator behind the bumper. Replace hoses, six month long issue resolved. The Marathon uses a Kohler which has a built in fail safe to guard against low coolant and possible overheating and shuts the gen down.

Your comment about the potential negative side of the auto start feature intrigues me and I hope many who have the feature jump in here. Let's say you are plugged into shore power somewhere and the power goes out, and stays off, for days maybe even, before you are near the coach and realize what has happened. You have the auto gen option turned off for whatever reason and now what happens to the coach while it is sitting there for days?

Now of course many of us have our coaches stored indoors or at least some of the time which begs the question, if you can't set the auto gen start to on because your bus is stored indoors, do you have someone checking on the bus constantly or at least everyday?

I am very curious as to everyone's thoughts on this subject. Maybe I just need a better education.

Richard Beecher
2002 Marathon XLII 45
1996 VOGUE XL 40 FOR SALE

[MangoMike]

Beechcraft,

I leave the auto start on all the time. In fact if I'm sleeping and hear it start, I just smile and role over realizing that I won't be faced with super low batteries in the morning. Of course I'm a white noise freak so the sound soothes me. I don't think it made my brother happy this summer at Oshkosh who was in tent next to the bus.

The bus barn is co-habitated during the day, so if it starts (which it never has) they're instructed to call the Jerk Chicken hotline to let me know there's a problem.

MIke

[rbeecher]

Ok, Mangroves,

Since you are a Marathon owner, let me ask if an alarm sounds up at the dash when your volts drop down, have you experienced that yet? It's alot of fun at 3 a.m. especially when you can't get the gen to start!

And what was your brother doing sleeping in a tent while you were all comfy in the bus? In fact, if he is your brother and that is the way you treat him, what was he doing there with you at all? He just likes sleeping in tents? Or you snore too loud?

Richard Beecher
2002 Marathon XLII 45
1996 VOGUE XL 40 FOR SALE

[Jerry Winchester]

I must be missing this alarm thing. I just notice that the generator starts. No fanfare or warning.

But I also warn people who are working on the coach that if they inadvertantly unplug it or turn the power off, it will start by itself and if it is stored inside and happens at night, it won't be a good thing.

I have hear all the auto start horror stories, but I like the fact that I don't have to watch the voltage like a hawk. And unless Jack14r is pulling my chain, disabling the auto start is pretty straight forward from the inverter panel.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

I was told to NEVER leave the AutoStart Generator Feature On, IF it is going to be stored inside. Better to have the Ice melt in the bin, than have Gen. Soot and smoke all over the inside and outside of the bus. Impossible to remove the smoke from leather and walls.

It is a simple push of the Gen buttons (Green on my bus) on the Trace Panel in my overhead. Place the Underscore mark in the panel, under the feature you want, by simply pushing the Gen Button. Mine goes thru EQ, On, Auto, Off.

Now if we were parked outside, I would turn the Auto Gen Start Feature On.

I am learning, it is just taking a little longer than most of you guys.

Gary S.