Battery Care For Winter

bigbearguy · 10-02-2020, 09:16 PM

First of all thank you to all the people that will answer this. I'm new to RVing and you guys always come through when I have a question. I have winterized my water and sewage systems. I have a 2005 mini winnie 29B. Should I remove the batteries or will it be okay if I drive it around every couple days? And should I do anything to the Generator? Again thanks for all the help.

Winterbagoal · 10-02-2020, 09:29 PM

Dirving it every few days keeps the RV happy.

be happy · 10-03-2020, 03:19 AM

If you have it parked at home or where power is keep it plugged in. That will charge the house batteries. Then get a small charger with timer for the motor battery. Yes running the gen is also important. My units have always been plugged in 365 days. In the winter once a month I will start the coach motor, start the gen. plug in an electric heater to give the gen something to do. By all things said I should really drive around but truth being I just do not want to park the rig again.

If no shore power remove the coach and motor batteries. Now your info shows you living in Buffalo NY, I think it get cold and alot of snow there will you really be able to drive your camper every couple of days. Driving the coach is by far the best for all things

DavidM · 10-03-2020, 06:12 AM

I have a new RV on order and expect it to be delivered in Jan/Feb. We live in Connecticut and I will store it at a yard with no power available.

Longer term I will install solar panels that will keep the coach batteries charged and I expect the Bird relay/solenoid to pull in when the coach batteries get to 13.2 volts and then charge the chassis batteries.

Short term I probably will place a 100 watt panel inside behind the windshield and plug the controller's output into the cigarette lighter socket. This will charge the chassis battery and hopefully the Bird will close at 13.2 V and charge the coach batteries the other way.

Will have to keep an eye on it for the latter months of winter and may have to start the chassis engine and possibly the generator (not a bad idea in any case) and charge everything up for an hour or so.

David

Kickenrock · 10-18-2020, 10:54 PM

I don't think I would want to drive my MH around town every couple of days in the winter. You will get ice, snow, slush and salt and sand up around your chassis and suspension and brake parts. Not to mention the unnecessary consumption of gasoline. Your best solution is to put a fuel stabilizer in your fuel tank and fill it as full as possible to reduce condensation. In a humid location it is probably a good idea to occasionally run the generator at half load for long enough to get it fully warmed up. If you have flooded lead acid batteries and you keep the MH plugged in check to make sure it charges both the house and engine batteries. You may need to check the water levels in the batteries if they are the type that have removable caps. Check your owners manual for any other recommendations.

Mongobird · 10-19-2020, 04:02 AM

I live near Buffalo. First, RVs tend to not be the best vehicle when the roads are slippery. Second, my RV which is a 2004 meridian, has rust underneath the floor by the driver's side and the passenger side front, and one of the basement compartments of front is rested enough so that I am going to have to have some repair welding done. I just bought it, like you, so I don't know the history.

3rd, the best place for a battery in the winter is in a location where it is cool but not cold. When stored like that, it is best to leave it connected to a smart charger which will occasionally trickle charger. I cannot emphasize enough for use a smart charger. Your smart charger should allow you to select whether it is charging a flooded cell, an AGM cell battery, or two battery. Use one charger for your chassis batteries and one charger for your house batteries, if they're different chemistry's.

It is good for your generator to be fired up periodically. It is better for your batteries to be left charged and disconnected from the RV.

Will your RV be parked at home? If so, you can keep the batteries charged in the vehicle and periodically run the generator. I would restrict running the generator to warmer days, and not try to run it when it's 10 below Fahrenheit.

I would be less concerned about running the propulsion engine periodically. A good practice, perhaps the best practice would be to change the oil in the propulsion system just before you put the motorhome to bed for winter.

I have not seen written up why it's a generator should be run as frequently, but I will guess. It has magnets which are glued in place, it is in kind of a confined compartment, and in my experience gensets are not quite as robust as other power plants, simply because the conditions they are exposed to are usually more protected.

What brand genset do you have? There is a Cummins dealer in Buffalo who has been helpful when I have called them. I will visit them later this week to pick up filters and spare parts.

If you don't already have one, I suggest you buy a digital multimeter. Sometimes they're less than $5 at harbor freight tools. Very nice ones can be bought for about $40. It will prove to be a valuable tool and monitoring aspects of your battery and also your 120 volt system on the RV.

If you wish, you can PM me, and I would be happy to recommend chargers and answer questions. I am new to RVing, but I have maintained many different engines and systems for quite some time.

Rick 99037 · 10-19-2020, 09:56 AM

Our recently purchased 2005 Sightseer has an Onan 4000 generator. It presently only has 37 hours on it. In his invoices, I see he spent $350 on replacing its carburetor plus labor a couple years ago.
Having said that, it surges while it runs indicating the carb is somewhat gummed up again. I've been told they really hate unleaded gas sitting in them. Winterizing with something like sea Foam to stabilize the MH fuel is important. Running the generator monthly is a reasonable way to to avoid carb issues. My hope is that in running mine frequently will clean it up, but if not, there is an online video of a guy disconnecting the fuel line, plugging up the fuel tank line, then making a double strength Sea Foam gas solution, and hooking it up to his generator. In his case, he got his generator to smooth out through his processes. Watch his video for details.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX6Pbh7HEMU

Mongobird · 10-19-2020, 08:25 PM

I was at the Cummins dealer in Buffalo today, and asked a few questions about my Onan 7500 generator, which is a diesel inverter generator.

His recommendation was to run the generator in the winter, unless the unit is stored in a climate controlled area. As we talked further, he stated that the windings are best if they get dried out from condensate.

I buy that. And will do a run-up with as much load as I can come up with to load things to 50% or more this winter.

I am posting this because I received authoritative information that my suggestion was wrong, and wanted to correct things.

On the other hand, a diesel generator does not have problems with carburetor gumming, which can happen with a gasoline generator carburetor.

MinntoMich · 10-20-2020, 02:31 PM

Like you I live north where winter can be tough. My MH will be parked outside until late April or early May. I plan on removing the batteries and storing them in my basement. I'll put them on smart trickle charger at least twice before I reinstall them. I'll also check the voltage before charging.

I have left fully charged batteries in place before and have been lucky but they are so expensive now I just don't want to chance it anymore.

In 1989 a new DayStarter would run me thirty dollars or so at a local parts store. Now, I can't think of getting anything decent for less than $130 or so.

Run the generator for an hour or so when you park it in the fall and again in the spring. I'm not walking through several feet of snow with -0F temps to drive the MH or exercise the genset. When she's parked, she's parked.

Mongobird · 10-20-2020, 03:03 PM

Battery wise your approach seems fine. With my battery experience I would probably charge every two to four weeks.

However, what the Cummins people told me about warming up the generator has some weight.

My RV will be outside this winter, but in a pole barn next winter. When it is in the pole barn, I am considering cycling a heat lamp on the generator on the coldest days of the winter, to keep the windings in the genset dry. Since the pole barn should be dry, the objective is to sublimate any frost or moisture which forms. You might consider something similar. In my scenario, the light would only run once or twice a month during the winter. Besides, if I made it too warm, the mice would take up home in the generator.

Elkman · 11-01-2020, 03:44 PM

I am not a fan of additives as such but but fuel stabilizers are something I consider important for both gas and diesel engines. Ideally for a generator it would be best to shut off the fuel supply and let it run until it stops. The stabilizers also work as carbaretor jet and fuel injector solenoid cleaner.

The standby natural gas powered generator for my house will automatically cycle on every two weeks and run for 10 minutes. Probably keeps lubricant on the engine parts so if the generator fires up it will not be running without oil on the bearings.