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CLOC-AdminI’m assuming that when I plug my 38RS into shore power that it charges my batteries. Is this correct or do I need to get a battery charger? We are going full-time and this is an issue that I’ve not checked out.Posted: 10:24 PM – Feb 24, 2014You are correct if your charger is working. Connect a volt meter to the battery they should read 12.5-8 volts or better. Also you should hear a humming in the right side of the front compartment.Posted: 11:31 PM – Feb 24, 2014Your inverter/charger will charge your batteries when plugged into shore power. When plugged in, however, a voltage meter will read between 13.2 and ~14.4 volts. The 13.2 is the maintenance float charge and higher voltages are used when the batteries have been discharged. When the shore power is disconnected, the batteries will initially read 13 + and then will stabilize at about 12.7 volts which is a fully charged 12v system. If you want to monitor all this in real time you can install a meter that monitors all functions: charge rate, current voltage of battery bank, current amperage use, percentage of capacity remaining, etc. I installed a TriMetric meter and gave found it very useful when dry camping. It can be helpful to know where you are in the discharge cycle so that your can efficiently recharge the batteries with a generator. With a multi stage charger, getting from about 60-80% is pretty fast; 80-100% can take a day. Makes the case for solar panels.Posted: 7:12 AM – Feb 25, 2014If you left the battery disconnect switch on during winter storage you probably need to charge it up to get your bigfoots going. Depending upon how long and how cold during storage, it may also need a charge even if you switched it off. Using jumper cables with a running truck should get you going in 10 minutes, the 7-pin trailer hookup has very small wires and will likely take 4-6 hours of driving. Once charged, your factory converter/charger should do fine. Yes, if batteries have run down during travel or lots of 12 volt lights on the converter may hum, but often it is quiet. If you are plugged in and your lights start to dim or are not very bright, your converter/charger needs looking at, or the water levels in the battery, or the battery itself – just like every other charging system.Be sure to turn on the battery disconnect or 12 volt house lights etc. won’t work. Bigfoot pumps have heavy direct battery connections that do not go through the cutoff switch.
And put a new 9 volt battery into your smoke alarm.
Just another thing to remember
Once you start plugging in every night and/or all day long every day your battery (batteries) will consume more water. Running with water levels not covering the plates in one or more cells will dramatically reduce battery usefulness even when refilled.
Depending upon outdoor temps and battery-only usage you may need to refill every 3 to 9 months. Start out with full batteries, check at 2 months, then every month until you get a sense of how the temps and your use affects water consumption. Make this your maintenance schedule until you go into hotter weather or your use changes and you run your batteries off charge (dry camp or rest stop use) more frequently, then adjust that schedule.
You are going to enjoy it all. Yes, maybe an unpleasant bump along the way, but that is life. Have fun.
Posted: 8:13 AM – Feb 25, 2014So you are all saying that a new Lifestyle comes with a “inverter/charger” or “converter/charger” (same thing I assume). Is this right?
So where is it in the bigger 37′-38′ size 5Ws.My 38RS arrives this Friday. Can’t wait!
Posted: 8:22 AM – Feb 25, 2014Milling.around wrote:So you are all saying that a new Lifestyle comes with a “inverter/charger” or “converter/charger” (same thing I assume). Is this right?
So where is it in the bigger 37′-38′ size 5Ws.My 38RS arrives this Friday. Can’t wait!
It comes with a converter/charger. it will be on the upper right inside the front generator compartment.
A converter is what changes 12 volts to 120 volt as in a solar system.
Lillyputz
Posted: 5:41 PM – Feb 25, 2014What lillyputz says is true, except she meant to say in her last sentence that an INverter changes 12 volts dc into 120 volts VAC.If you ordered a residential refrigerator, or it is standard on your model, it may have an INverter in addition to a converter/charger, or a 3-way unit. If you have the residential frig, propane can not run it. Some folks with res frig got pure sine wave inverters as advertised; others got a cheap substitute. The printed ads may have been changed, or you may have been informed of the substitution. There is a thread topic on that.
Are you going to have fun!
B.W.Gentry
Owner/Admin
2007 Carri-Lite XTRM5
Breckenridge, TX
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