BAC Forum
General Boards => Technical Support => Topic started by: Tom Fisher on November 15, 2014, 04:37:01 PM
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We are new members to the BAC, so we are excited to see how this works. We purchased a 2005 Beaver Monterey, 36 1/2 foot, C9 Cat 400 w/3 slides. If I plug into 110 20amp only, leave both the Chassis and Coach power switches ON, will Coach and Chassis batteries trickle charge throughout this cold CO weather?
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Welcome to the club!
Yes, as long as you don't plug in anything else.
A couple things can go wrong. If the batteries are low, the charger can try to draw more than the 15 amp circuit will supply. On mine, I can set the charger at the control panel to not draw more than 10 amps. You can't plug in any heaters or appliances.
One Christmas I spent a week in my son's driveway with only a small cord leading to an outlet in his garage. There was enough to keep the batteries charged, the HydroHot set for diesel only and all the lights.
I don't normally type in caps, but BE SURE YOU HAVE WINTERIZED THE HYDROHOT WITH THE STANDARD PINK RV ANTIFREEZE. NO OTHER METHOD IS SAFE.
Post, call or email me if you have questions.
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Thank you for the info. This is really a nice way to ask other Beaver owners questions!
I do want to make sure I understood you that the chassis batteries will also trickle charge this way, not just the house batteries?
I am just starting to study the electrical portion of the manual, so it is a bit confusing right now.
Thanks
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Tom,
Assuming you have an Echo charger in the coach, once the house batteries reach 13V the Echo charger will apply a charge to the chassis batteries. If you have a BIRD system, both sets will charge at the same time.
Steve
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Tom,
Your 2005 coach should have a "Bird" system. So if it is functioning properly, if either battery bank is charging, all batteries are tied together by the "Big Boy" solenoid causing them to all charge equally.
Gerald
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We always put the zantrex power share to15 amp for a 20 amp plug. That way we don't trip the stick house breaker.
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Welcome to the club!
I don't normally type in caps, but BE SURE YOU HAVE WINTERIZED THE HYDROHOT WITH THE STANDARD PINK RV ANTIFREEZE. NO OTHER METHOD IS SAFE.
Post, call or email me if you have questions.
Can't emphasize this enough. Just blowing out the lines will not suffice with Hydro Hot or Aqua Hot. You must pump the pink stuff through all lines...hot and cold, until it comes out of the faucet pink. Bill Sprague taught me an easy way to do it. Go to Lowes or Home Depot or Ace and get a 24 or 30 inch braided type under the sink in your house water line. One end is smaller...that is the one you stick in to the jug of pink stuff. Unhook your water pump, and attach the other end (the larger end...perfect fit) of the handy dandy water line that you bought to the water pump inlet. Have someone else in the coach turn on the water pump, and run each faucet, hot and cold, until pink. Walkie talkies work great for this and other communication. When the water pump comes on, the pink stuff in the jug will be sucked out, and in to your water lines. Tell your partner to stop when the jug gets empty. Change jugs, repeat until you have done the kitchen sink, both bathroom sinks, the shower, and the toilet. If you have a washer/dryer combo, you have to do it too. Read the instructions in the manual. If you need a copy, I can send it to you. Total pink stuff for our coach...3-1/2 jugs. I would post pictures, but the coach is 3 miles away, and we just got 2 inches of snow. If you need them, let me know and I can go there and take some.
Edit: Welcome to BAC. This forum has many great experts on everything Beaver. We've literally saved thousands of dollars using the knowledge base here.
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Go to Lowes or Home Depot or Ace and get a 24 or 30 inch braided type under the sink in your house water line. One end is smaller...that is the one you stick in to the jug of pink stuff.
The only thing Stan left out, was the specification for the end of the hose. Look for 1/2" Female NPT. Or, sometimes, FIP which is a commonly used shorthand designation for Female Iron Pipe (Female NPT).
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If you shop on Amazon, different lengths here should do it:
http://www.amazon.com/Fluidmaster-B1F30-Connector-Braided-Stainless/dp/B000BQQV5G/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1_m?ie=UTF8&qid=1416154573&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Fluidmaster+B1F30+Faucet+Connector%2C+Braided+Stainless+Steel+-+3%2F8%22+Female+Compression+Thread+x+1%2F2%22+I.P.+Female+Straight+Thread%2C+36
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These rigs are pretty efficient. We've spent many a week parked at a relative's house with a long extension cord to a 15 or 20 amp garage outlet. You just need to be careful what you turn on. A few lights and the fridge and maybe the TV, but no high-amp devices and make sure your HydroHot is on diesel only. We get away with using the microwave if I minimize lights and the TV is off, etc. But you can usually find estimates of each device's wattage and convert to amps by dividing by 110volts. Then you can know how many amps you run at any one moment, allowing that the fridge may cycle on and off, and don't allow the total to exceed the building outlet's circuit capacity (15 or 20 amps). You need to allow some room for voltage drop when using a long extension cord and/or one that's smaller than 12 guage. So if you have a long cord from a 20 amp garage outlet, I'd be careful loading it with more than 15-17 amps worth of devices.
As Bill mentioned he does, I try to remember - but often forget - to choose 15 amps on my Magnum remote panel over the entry door, so the inverter can help prevent the garage breaker from tripping if I overload things inadvertantly. The trick is to remember to reset it before plugging into the next RV park power post that's 30 or 50 amp. I've been at it long enough that both Lee and I are good about power management. A couple times hooked up a few days to an old 15 amp circuit and you learn the ropes, and how to keep an eye on the Aladdin's screen and electric leg numbers. Watch them change as you turn devices on and off, and you'll get the gist of it.
As Gerald explained, you have a Bidirectional Isolator Relay Delay (BIRD) system. It is a small black box probably like mine, found on the inside of the access door between your main battery switches. It controls the battery charging by way of the large solenoid also in that cabinet, dead center, called the Big Boy and which is the actual "isolator". When your house bank reaches about 13.3 volts it starts moving charge current from your inverter's charger over to the chassis bank. And it works both ways; when you are on the road and the alternator has bumped the chassis set to 13.3 volts, the BIRD closes the isolator then as well, and lets the house batteries share the alternator's production.
To echo others' warnings, if the coach is in storage make sure the HydroHot is protected with RV antifreeze - not doing diligence there can be a very expensive mistake.
Joel
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This is one of the things that can happen if you overload your coach system.
When a local shop winterized my coach, they left the electric Hydrohot switch on and I plugged into 110v at home.
Thankfully my breaker tripped in my house!
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I greatly appreciate all the input. Now I am trying to absorb it. Since I am new to a diesel pusher, I am trying to figure things out. I have an "Xanterx" remote panel above the door, and I am trying to read up on it. Very confusing. As soon as I get the coach back from servicing, I will attack the Xantrex system. One more question, am I right in assuming that if I turn both(coach and chassis) power switches off, that will also stop the charger from charging the batteries for both systems?
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I would be careful with turning the battery switches off with the coach plugged into AC supply. I believe I have seen a warning label on the panel next to the battery disconnect switches that says do not turn off if plugged into 120V supply.
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I greatly appreciate all the input. Now I am trying to absorb it. Since I am new to a diesel pusher, I am trying to figure things out. I have an "Xanterx" remote panel above the door, and I am trying to read up on it. Very confusing. As soon as I get the coach back from servicing, I will attack the Xantrex system. One more question, am I right in assuming that if I turn both(coach and chassis) power switches off, that will also stop the charger from charging the batteries for both systems?
Tom,
If I recall, there were two Xantrex control panels used and I have one of them. I've used it now for 10 years and think I understand it. If we have the same one and want help, call me, email me or post questions.
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Thank you both! I will keep all this in mind and followup if I need to.
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Hi all. I have gone back and looked at my comments and I didn't mention that when I am using only a 15 or 20 amp service, I am storing the RV in a Quonset shed and not staying in the RV. Won't be in it and won't be using any appliances. Just want to keep the batteries charged up and not have something kick on that I am not familiar with (at this time) and blow the breaker in the shed, which I don't visit very often when the RV is stored there. Also, I'm not sure what the leveling system will be doing when stored, and the battery switches on. I don't want the compressor to try to keep RV level and blow the small 15 or 20 amp breaker. I think I need classes on this coach!
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Thank you all. I am going to store the coach in a Quonset shed with 110 20 amp only. I won't be in it and I won't visit the shed very often. I want to make sure I have not left anything on, besides charging the batteries, that will blow the 20 amp breaker. I will be leaving both battery switches on (I think this is the only way the batteries will charge?) I also haven't found anything in the books yet that address the air leveling compressor. I don't want it trying to level the unit in storage. I think I need classes on this coach!
Tom
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Tom,
The leveling system is not activated nless you have the leveling system turned on. The only thing that you need to have on is the charger (assuming it won't see sub freezing temps).
Steve
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Yes, I think the Main switches need to be on in order for the inverter's charger to keep the batteries up. Only the solar panel can charge them with the switches off, and your Quonset shelter takes solar out of the picture. My banks stay charged year-round with the switches off, but it's because the solar panel is exposed all the time, and easily compensates for parasitic losses to the engine and tranny control modules that drag on the chassis set even with the switch off.
As a new owner, some insecurity is expected until systems familiarity is down. As long as you've made sure the really big electron hogs are off, you shouldn't fret too much. You could always unplug everything to be sure, or flip all the breakers off except the inverter. But if you rely on the electric side of the hydronic unit, that's risky, as can be a portable electric heater although I've used them during cold snaps in the past. Neither should be necessary if the coach has been winterized with RV antifreeze.
Don't use too long of an extension cord, if any is necessary. Use the shortest length of the big 12 gauge size as possible. The last thing you want is a 100 foot 16 gauge cord, where it loses a ton of power to voltage drop. And don't skimp on the adapter between 30/50 to your 20 amp source; inexpensive ones can overheat when taxed, melt, and catch fire before the building's breakers kick off - been there, done that. Get a nice heavy duty pigtail-style adapter or adapters.
As to the auxilliary compressor, it shouldn't come on unless you set the air leveling to automatic leveling. Regardless, these coaches leak air over time, and if one corner gets very far out of whack, you risk a body twist that can crack your windshield - also been there, done that. I don't park on my pad and leave it stored in Travel Mode anymore, nor do I try to level it. I've made my "pad" relatively flat side-to-side, although it's sloped front-to-back. All I do now is dump air so the whole coach goes down evenly. At or near bottom, I stop.
Because it is a simple front-to-back tilt and not side-to-side, and no air leak can throw things very far askew, no harm can come. Plus the wife can easily negotiate the first step. The tilt is not enough to be detrimental to the fridge when we next power it up prior to a trip, but I usually level the coach then anyway - 12 hours or so doesn't provide any leak time enough to do harm, and auto-leveling activates the auxilliary compressor to fight that anyway.
Joel