Battery drain

[Ron39914721]

I have a 2021 Reflection 268BH. I’ve had it since new but ran into a problem. We have been dry camping for a few days and during the day battery is fine normal usage nothing we haven’t done before with running the generator occasionally for charging for the night. At night the only thing that is running or plugged in is the heater. Seems to make it til about 2 am and the battery is drained and have to start generator to get through the night for heat. No the heater is not running continuously and had battery checked and it is good. Same conditions last time we used it but had no battery issues. It seems to be only at night when the heater is used. Any ideas what to check? With gas as much as it is it’s getting expensive running it that much lol. Thanks

[Country Campers]

The battery is probably getting older and has less "power" to give for long periods. The furnace running will consume quite a bit of battery power, it may be just running a little more than the previous time, assuming that you are referring to the gas furnace.
Are you charging more things than you use to, laptops, phone, games, off of the 12 v dc system?

Brian

[howson]

I have a 2021 Reflection 268BH. I’ve had it since new but ran into a problem. We have been dry camping for a few days and during the day battery is fine normal usage nothing we haven’t done before with running the generator occasionally for charging for the night. At night the only thing that is running or plugged in is the heater. Seems to make it til about 2 am and the battery is drained and have to start generator to get through the night for heat. No the heater is not running continuously and had battery checked and it is good. Same conditions last time we used it but had no battery issues. It seems to be only at night when the heater is used. Any ideas what to check? With gas as much as it is it’s getting expensive running it that much lol. Thanks

First--welcome to the forum.

The way to monitor what Brian is referencing is to install a quality battery monitor. Many of the regulars here use a Victron BMV-712 (or the SmartShunt). The device is essentially a "fuel gauge" for your battery bank. GD is installing a Furrion battery monitor in new RVs. (The Victron is more expensive, but the battery can be monitored via the excellent VictronConnect app on your phone via bluetooth.) Lots of info here on Victron equipment--search the forum and you'll have a lot to read!

To learn how to best search here (and fill in your signature block, etc) please check out the Welcome Letter to New Members here: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/main-fo...to-new-members

Howard

[howson]

Ron39914721 -- moved your question here to the Electrical channel. (You'll learn all about "channels" in the Welcome Letter, too!)

Howard

[acoleman43]

I have a 2021 Reflection 268BH. I’ve had it since new but ran into a problem. We have been dry camping for a few days and during the day battery is fine normal usage nothing we haven’t done before with running the generator occasionally for charging for the night. At night the only thing that is running or plugged in is the heater. Seems to make it til about 2 am and the battery is drained and have to start generator to get through the night for heat. No the heater is not running continuously and had battery checked and it is good. Same conditions last time we used it but had no battery issues. It seems to be only at night when the heater is used. Any ideas what to check? With gas as much as it is it’s getting expensive running it that much lol. Thanks

I'm assuming you have a 2 way fridge that is running off your propane. Well, that also uses DC to power the electronics. There are typically other small DC loads that use very little juice. When you add all the small loads together it tends to start eating away at the battery more than you would think.

As suggested above the best thing to do is get a battery monitor. This will tell you exactly the DC load in real time. That way you can determine energy requirements during the night.

Of course the easiest fix for your problem is to add another battery

[Ron39914721]

Ok I’ll check out the battery monitor for sure. Correction on time I thought it was doing it with the heater only. It done it today after we had minimum lights on and shower was used for twice of course turning on and off water to save water. It just blows me away a battery being only 1 year old. And had it checked and was told it’s still good.

[Yoda]

Ok I’ll check out the battery monitor for sure. Correction on time I thought it was doing it with the heater only. It done it today after we had minimum lights on and shower was used for twice of course turning on and off water to save water. It just blows me away a battery being only 1 year old. And had it checked and was told it’s still good.

acoleman43 is correct. Search parasitic draws. On my 5th wheel they can add up to about 4 amps continuous. No only the fridge, but the stereo and all of the safety equipment such as propane and CO detectors and a lot of other equipment that needs continuous power to keep memory. It adds up quick. If you boondock a lot consider two batterys in parallel, or consider going lithium - that is a whole other world to learn about. Other options are solar and a DC-DC charger for travel days, But you seem to do OK with your generator, so a second battery might solve your issue. I also highly recommend the 712 monitor. Its fairly easy to install too.

Keith

[Scott'n'Wendy]

We make it through the night on a two year old 57ah dealer supplied battery...but with the furnace turned down low.
The design of RV DC systems is really only intended to get you from an electric campsite to another electric campsite......

[Jlawles2]

One other thing people forget to mention is batteries need to be checked for proper electrolyte levels. Even though it test good, unless they do a full discharge / charge, they cannot tell you if the battery is still supplying the full amount of Amp Hours it's supposed to by design.

I suggest you check or have the battery fluid levels checked.

Also is the battery exposed to colder temp? If so, it will not have as much capacity.

[Ron39914721]

I’m up hunting so I don’t have a volt meter and will get get more detailed when I get home. I charged the battery from running the generator. Then put the fridge in gas mode and shut off all lights and unplugged anything that was plugged in. After 4 hours it was still at 12.3v . I ran the heater which only ran 4-5 minutes and it dropped to 12.2v , so I figured maybe the fridge was draining the battery overnight being in auto mode. But we took a 1/2 hour atv ride and came back to the battery showing empty and reading 10.1v! Weird. Can’t wait to get home to more means of trouble shooting and pulling my hair out lol

[Country Campers]

If you have repeatedly discharged the battery to 10.1 v it is surely not in good shape. Deep cycle wet cell batteries are not recommended to go below 50% charge which is 12.1 v where damage can occur. Low battery voltage will also damage items in the RV or at least not allow them to operate properly resulting in issues later. Setting the fridge in Auto or Gas mode should not make a difference. The furnace is the culprit here I think, it will drain a battery in no time. On my first trip with 2 Lithium batteries we had to run the furnace and only got 3 days from 210 ah of battery power, they were power the rest of the RV as well, 12 v dc fridge, lights and so on.

Brian

[Guest]

We used to run a single lead acid battery (75ah) under the same conditions as the OP, where generator use to charge the battery was at least 5 hrs each day. We broke this up into two 2.5 hr intervals. The next morning, after heating at 68F, the measured voltage at the battery was 12.0V which is essentially discharged to 50% SOC. To discharge further would have deteriorated the batteries performance over time.

It didn't take long to realize we needed to move to Lithium and a 60amp lithium capable converter. Now we charge approximately 1 hr in a 24hr period under the same conditions.

Jim

[humunuku]

Ron39914721

There is still a mystery
This summer I did an upgrade from one Lead-Acid to two Lithium batteries. In the past I was always draining my one Lead-Acid well below 50% in one night. Along with the battery upgrade I add a Victron Battery Monitor. The monitor shows exactly the draw I have from my propane/DC Fridge and other power draws. I can now better understand how I was draining one Lead-Acid every day. But there is still a mystery, with all electrical devices off, I still have a 1 amp drain shown by Victron. I suspect it is the converter despite there is nothing being converted. I am wonder if this may also be the case for Ron? BTW, if I through the battery disconnect switch all drainage goes to zero. Next step is to unplug converter and see if my theory is right, simple task but too laxzy to try.

[howson]

humunuku -- a converter will add to the battery, not subtract. (Converter uses 120vAC to make 12vDC. Did you mean inverter?)

[humunuku]

howson One would think. I intentionally mentioned converter. As far as I know, my rig does not have an inverter. So I am at a complete loss regarding 1 amp drain whether I am connected to shore power or not. I will continue the investigation. Thank for reading my comment and providing feedback. You observations are always welcome.