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Old 04-10-2017, 08:49 PM   #1
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Best-way to manage house battery when not in use?

Does anybody have any good advice for keeping the house battery healthy when your sportsmobile is not in use? I've recently installed a 30amp circuit in my garage to plug the van into to help with this concern. Some of you have offered some suggestions from a previous thread (Shoreline usage?).

I was hoping someone could answer my question regarding keeping the shoreline plugged in during those times when it’s parked. Can you cause harm to the battery during these longer durations by keeping it plugged in?

If anyone has an answer or any suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks
Jeff

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Old 04-10-2017, 08:56 PM   #2
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You won't cause any harm. If you have a lead acid (flooded) style battery with removable caps on top just check it and add distilled water every few months. RVs are designed to stay plugged in and charged when not in use.

I prefer a digital battery meter I can see through a window on my rigs so I can just glance in when I walk by every now and then and check the voltage. It will probably be sitting somewhere between 13 and 14.2 when plugged in.
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Old 04-10-2017, 10:31 PM   #3
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Thanks 86Scotty.....

I just installed a NEW Lifeline GPL-4DL. I've heard you have to be careful to not float charge on a constant basis. The battery spec. are: Float charge 13.2 to 13.4 volts and the Bulk absorb charge is 14.2 to 14.4. It's showing at my digital control panel 14.2 volts.

I'm just trying to do the right thing.
Jeff
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Old 04-11-2017, 08:44 AM   #4
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I would suspect that you're charger is in absorption, not in float. unless your battery temp is around 25 F and the charger is compensated.


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Old 04-11-2017, 11:09 AM   #5
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Greg....

Not quite following what you're saying. When the shoreline is used the RV Inverter/Charger is managing the battery. So I guess I'm not really sure.

(Tripp-Lite) Alternative Power Source MDL-RV2012UL.

Jeff
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Old 04-11-2017, 12:23 PM   #6
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Jeff,

What I am trying to say is that the voltage level that you say you are reading is more in line with a charger being in absorption not float mode

But, these voltages levels are really dependent on weather your charger is temperature compensating. The quoted voltage levels are at 25°C or (77°F), as the temperature of the battery goes down the voltage levels will go up. I don't think I have every seen any posted documentation on what exactly Tripp-lite values are, but they should be relatively close to the lifeline manual.

I would also make sure you are only dealing with one charger, so pull the fuse from the panels or cover them up, so that you can take the solar charger out of the equation.

Unfortunately the tripp-lite does not report out a lot of info, but you should be able to tell when it thinks it's fully charged by the LED's , when in float the battery will be close to the air temperature, and you can kind of calculate the voltage level.

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Old 04-11-2017, 04:19 PM   #7
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Greg......

Thank you for clarifying. I spoke with a GoPower tech this morning about my concern with having the solar and shoreline possibly conflicting with each other and he mentioned that the controller won't display the amperage, because it's seeing current coming in from somewhere else. Also, didn't see where there would be any concerns that he could think of, given the design of this controller.

Thank you for all your advise!

Jeff
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