House Batteries

[truk4u]

Bus,
Good info, can't wait to try it out and see how long it will go, yours sounds really good with 2 A/C's running. What a difference in compartment temps now with the new ones. Hardly any heat at all as compared to really hot with the bad batteries, almost too hot to touch.

[ken&ellen]

Tom, You guys with all your fancy equipment in your newer coaches. Ellen & I have to put blocks of ice into our cooling units and let the fan blow over them to cool our old coach. Ken

[Coloradobus]

Tom.

We know all too well about battery heat. Last September after Katrina hit, we made a quick trip to Jackson, Mississippi. While in Jackson (martial law) the coach decided to puke 2 of the chassis batteries. From Memphis down, we had a weird smell in the coach when stopped. ( Icon lite for batteries lit) When we got to the lot to collect our vehicle, I popped opened the bay door where the chassis batteries were.......Whew!!! and were they hot.
Luckily, we found a Interstate Battery dealer open, with phone, power and batteries. Presto, installed new ones, headed out of town before dark, and got to Little Rock by 1 am. with the van on a flatbed behind the coach. Tried to attach a photo, but no luck.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Just some general comments after living with the issue since 1990.

For bus starting batteries I will not purchase anything but Delco 1150. They are sealed and give at least 5 years of life unless you ruin them by letting them get down on voltage. No corrosion, no adding water, no problems. When the first one starts to go, it affect the other three, so it is best to bite the bullet and replace as a set.

Tom is right about how your coach is set up in more ways that one. The inverters are programmed for a specific battery type and gel, agm and wet cell all have different charging protocols or votages. My Heart inverters can be set with dipswitches if I switch battery types. It sounds like Tom's is programmed in.

Older coaches often had the batteries near the engine. My old coach was that way and the best service by far was from Delco group 27 maintenance free wet cell. Gel cells could not take the heat. If your batteries are away from the heat then AGM or gel is a good alternative.

Plan on five years, and if you recharge them before they get depleted they will go through a much greater number of charging cycles before they die. Any life you get after five years is a bonus.

[BUSTER]

I went to my Country Coach 98 XL today to start to put some things on board for Santa Fe. I store my coach in a warehouse with no electricity. When I leave it I turn off both chassis switches, the domestic battery disconnect and both inverters inside the coach. This is what Country Coach told me what to do when I asked them this summer. I bought the coach used in May from Marathon in Florida. I am the second owner. When I went to fire up the coach ( I had not been there in about 30 days) the Prevost fired right up but my inverters would not turn on. I fired up the generator externally and the inside powered up....after 45 minutes my domestic batteries read 12 volt(initially it read 10 volt). I shut everything down and went to the battery bay. I have 6 large white batteries that are deep cell and do not need maintenance....but I saw that the first ground connection was corroded and needed cleaning so I cleaned that.

Here are my questions?

Did I shut all power off? I do not know why the house batteries were low.

If you run these expensive white batteries down, does it ruin them?

Could the corroded ground terminal been part of the problem?

Country Coach told me to charge the batteries...but it appears the only way I can do that is to take "THE BUSTER" on an eight hour trip...which means I will get a great charge heading to Santa Fe with the Calfornia group. What do I do when I store it in this warehouse?

BTW.....I am not really competent mechanically but usually get it if I see someone else do it or if I get walked through it.

All ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Mike Simmons

[Ray Davis]

Mike,

I'm guessing you might have either a leak when your systems are off, or you didn't get things all the way off. On my CC, I have two sets of disconnects. Back in the engine compartment are two disconnects, which I believe both have to do with the 24 volt system. However, there is a 12v disconnect system as well. ON my CC, there is a switch on the main panel, above the passenger seat, which is a electronic switch. And there is a mechnical switch down in my electrical bay, which is labled 12v disconnect. I aways turn off the 12v system from the inside, and I have stored my unit for pretty close to 30 days without the issue you're describing.

You've indicated there is no electricity at your warehouse. Is there light? If so, you can connect to an external solar panel to try to keep the charge up on the batteries. But, if there actually is a real drain going on, you'll want to make sure that you clear that up first.

An external battery charger, when you have access to electricty might be a valuable accessory.

I'm always worried about this, so I try to make the 45 mile trip to my coach at least once every couple of weeks, and start the coach and run it for 30 minutes or more.

Ray

[merle&louise]

If anyone is interested, I have found a device that will extend your batteries life by as much as 2 or 3 times. It is called PowerPluse.

PulseTech PowerPulse is a relatively new electronic device that pulses charging current in a manner that slows down and even reverses sulfation on battery plates. This technology was orginally developed for the military. It extends the life of wet or Gel batteries by as much as 2 or 3 times the normal life. I am going to install them on my coach this week.

[garyde]

If anyone is interested, I have found a device that will extend your batteries life by as much as 2 or 3 times. It is called PowerPluse.

PulseTech PowerPulse is a relatively new electronic device that pulses charging current in a manner that slows down and even reverses sulfation on battery plates. This technology was orginally developed for the military. It extends the life of wet or Gel batteries by as much as 2 or 3 times the normal life. I am going to install them on my coach this week.

Can you give me a link, or phone #?

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Desulfication-We just bought a charger with the same feature. Gotta disconnect and do them 1 at a time to get them done correctly with the portable we have. Early results look very encouraging! Takes 24hrs According to directions. Up to 5, 24hr sessions may be nessesary.

I took a totally wore out deep-cycle sittin in the garage and after 1 cycle and a rest it was 12.4. After the second cycle and a rest it tested 12.6. Its out in the garage right now going through cycle 3. Ill keep you posted.

[garyde]

I went to my Country Coach 98 XL today to start to put some things on board for Santa Fe. I store my coach in a warehouse with no electricity. When I leave it I turn off both chassis switches, the domestic battery disconnect and both inverters inside the coach. This is what Country Coach told me what to do when I asked them this summer. I bought the coach used in May from Marathon in Florida. I am the second owner. When I went to fire up the coach ( I had not been there in about 30 days) the Prevost fired right up but my inverters would not turn on. I fired up the generator externally and the inside powered up....after 45 minutes my domestic batteries read 12 volt(initially it read 10 volt). I shut everything down and went to the battery bay. I have 6 large white batteries that are deep cell and do not need maintenance....but I saw that the first ground connection was corroded and needed cleaning so I cleaned that.

Here are my questions?

Did I shut all power off? I do not know why the house batteries were low.

If you run these expensive white batteries down, does it ruin them?

Could the corroded ground terminal been part of the problem?

Country Coach told me to charge the batteries...but it appears the only way I can do that is to take "THE BUSTER" on an eight hour trip...which means I will get a great charge heading to Santa Fe with the Calfornia group. What do I do when I store it in this warehouse?

BTW.....I am not really competent mechanically but usually get it if I see someone else do it or if I get walked through it.

All ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Mike Simmons

From past experience with different Rv,s ,I have learned even when you turn off everything, there is still things running. These are parasitic loads which are necessary to keep different sytems updated and ready when you turn the Coach and systems on. Depending on the amp draw of these Loads, you can calculate how long your batteries will last in hours or days before they fall below 12 volts. All 12 volt batteries should stay above 12 to 12.25 volts minimum. Corrosion on the Ground terminal may cause a loose connection which will result in battery discharge. When you get a chance, after you have run your coach for a while, check to see if the batteries are charging at 12.75 or higher and holding. Also, you can have a Mechanic load test your batteries to see if any are weak. I have read that the sealed batteries will recover better than Standard Batteries. Also, Country Coach had an article this year or last year regarding Battery Maintenance in their Magazine.