Conservation of energy

[Keith Moffett]

Here's the update!

The problem here has several parts.  The cables should all be replaced.  The corrosion has crawled up into the  sheathing. 
The meter I am using had a loose connection which threw the readings off.  This was tested on a 18V battery which showed 19.5V.  After repairing the connection the meter read 18.5V so how bad were the batteries in the coach?
I called Magnum energy who told me that replacing the temp sensor was indeed reasonable and yes it should stabilize the inverter / charger.  That seems to be the case.
The tech also walked me through checking the "Smart Battery Combiner" aka. The equalizer charger and everything checked out.

In summary, the main problem seems to have been the temp sensor which was making the CMP 20 fluctuate and the charger cut out prematurely.  This combined with batteries that are long in the tooth and not very good to start with and also poor connections and cables seems to highlight some maintenance I need to see to.

Hope this helps someone
Keith

[William Jordan]

In researching adding more solar I discovered that unless charging , batteries should read no more than 12.7 Max (full) and should not be allowed to go below 12.1 ( 1/2 discharged  ) so your numbers looked ok?  Or way low with the bad gauge? 
 Off topic somewhat, As far as the refrigerator running on inverter comment I'm confused , Mine (2003) is not set up to run on the inverter,nor is the electric  heater (aqua hot) there are two plug in wall plates  behind the fridg,  one inverter powered, one not . The ice maker is plugged into the inverter controlled socket  and the refrigerator the non inverter .. generator/shore power only wall socket. unless its been changed I think thats the way it was meant to be used.  I was told A gas electric refrigerator uses more energy than a home residential when on electric due to the high wattage heating element. vs a 4-500 watt compressor.
This does remind me however I need to clean up those terminals !     

[Mike Groves]

William,

I've plugged my fridge into the inverter circuit.  While I would not let it run on the inverter (through coach batteries only) from a "cold startup", I do allow it to maintain the refrigerator after it reaches equilibrium by running on the inverter as I drive down the road.  This occasional feature is no more than the power required of the instant hot which is also on my inverter circuit and in fact it is only about 1/2 that of the instant hot.  Obviously others may have different feelings about it, but I've not experienced an issue doing it this way.

Mike