Battery over the winter months

[RVinOK]

I’ve read several posts on disconnecting the negative from the battery or simply removing the battery (fully charged) for the months not being used. We like to leave our Solitude plugged in (120v) all winter so we can plug in those rodent repel devices as we have a significant mouse issue. My question is... if I leave the RV plugged in and leave the battery in the RV, will the battery “overcharge”? Our Solitude is 2020 model.

[jkwilson]

No, it won’t over charge, but you probably want to check the water a couple of times.

[cforman61]

I have left mine in the trailer and a just turned on/off? the battery disconnect. I checked on it last week and it still had almost a full charge. Left it there and will check it again in a month.

[Bungy]

No, it won’t over charge, but you probably want to check the water a couple of times.

Sorry to hyjack this thread but I have seen this “check the water” comment on this forum several times. How do you check the water when all batteries these days are sealed? At least they are where I live, I haven’t seen a non sealed battery since the 70’s. Also the battery that came with my Solitude (which is made in the US) is sealed.

[sande005]

Go to the WFCO site, where you can read a bit more about how the converter works. After 44 hours, if there has been no other demand on it (like turning on a light, etc.) it shifts to its lowest possible output to barely keep the battery topped up. If there is any demand on it, it shifts back to the next slightly higher level. Nominally neither should hurt your battery. BUT....it may be worth your time to stop by once (if it is the entire winter) to make sure the levels are ok, and maybe top off with distilled water. These units are built as cheaply as possible, so there is a slightly higher risk of failure, one mode of which may be to keep charging your battery at a much higher level, which could result in premature failure. But the odds of that happening are very, very low....
If it were me? I'd still disconnect the fully charged battery and turn off the breaker to the converter. Why run things for long periods if you don't have too? The 120v will still work, so you can chase away the beasts....

BTW - the batteries installed are supplied by the dealer. It all depends on what they decide to give you. For many, it is the best deal on flooded batteries they can find. Sealed cost more....

[CoChris]

Sorry to hyjack this thread but I have seen this “check the water” comment on this forum several times. How do you check the water when all batteries these days are sealed? At least they are where I live, I haven’t seen a non sealed battery since the 70’s. Also the battery that came with my Solitude (which is made in the US) is sealed.

Ummm no. Flooded Lead Acid batteries (FLA) are the cheapest, and therefor the most common dealer supplied batteries, at least in the USA. They have removable vent caps and often (but not always) have white translucent sides. At least the Interstate (dealer) batteries that I received with our trailer do and so does the Duracell (Walmart) battery I replaced it with. Now AGM and other (Lithium) batteries are a sealed battery.

Chris

[jkwilson]

Sorry to hyjack this thread but I have seen this “check the water” comment on this forum several times. How do you check the water when all batteries these days are sealed? At least they are where I live, I haven’t seen a non sealed battery since the 70’s. Also the battery that came with my Solitude (which is made in the US) is sealed.

Virtually all conventional flooded cell batteries on the market have removable caps. Around 20-25 years ago there was a surge in maintenance free batteries, but after about 2006 when Delphi sold their battery business it quickly faded away. Exide still makes some, but they aren’t common. It’s highly unlikely your battery is sealed unless it’s an AGM. JCI has their batteries labeled “Maintenance Free*”, but the bottom of the label shows you “*In normal use”.

[Bungy]

Ummm no. Flooded Lead Acid batteries (FLA) are the cheapest, and therefor the most common dealer supplied batteries, at least in the USA. They have removable vent caps and often (but not always) have white translucent sides. At least the Interstate (dealer) batteries that I received with our trailer do and so does the Duracell (Walmart) battery I replaced it with. Now AGM and other (Lithium) batteries are a sealed battery.

Chris

Ummm, yes. As I stated non sealed batteries haven’t been sold in Canada for decades due to safety concerns. Obviously that’s not the case in the good old US of A. The battery that came with my Solitude was probably installed by my Canadian dealer.

[jkwilson]

Ummm, yes. As I stated non sealed batteries haven’t been sold in Canada for decades due to safety concerns. Obviously that’s not the case in the good old US of A. The battery that came with my Solitude was probably installed by my Canadian dealer.

NAPA Canada clearly shows non-sealed batteries for sale in many varieties. For example https://www.napacanada.com/en/p/CNQ2...dInput=battery

You’ll get better results with a conventional battery. Those maintenance free batteries lose water when on a charger long-term even with the calcium alloy.

[Bungy]

NAPA Canada clearly shows non-sealed batteries for sale in many varieties. For example https://www.napacanada.com/en/p/CNQ2...dInput=battery

You’ll get better results with a conventional battery. Those maintenance free batteries lose water when on a charger long-term even with the calcium alloy.

According to my local dealer that battery is classed as a sealed unit...