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Old 11-18-2013, 06:07 PM   #21
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Been there. Done that.
BTW, a length of foam pipe insulation makes a great storage tube for the hydrometer.
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Old 11-18-2013, 06:25 PM   #22
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"I'm only concerned how much is being used when the CO / propane detector is the only thing...."

Don't know if this helps or not, parasitic drain measure starts at 12.00 mark.
Rollin' On TV Show 2013-18 - YouTube
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Old 11-18-2013, 06:45 PM   #23
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He talks about parasitic drain from radios, tvs and the like. I've got no electronics installed. Have nothing plugged into the 12V outlets, nothing in the 120V outlets, fridge is off, furnace is off, smoke detector is battery operated.
So, I give up. It is what it is, I guess.
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Old 11-18-2013, 08:26 PM   #24
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I've arrived at the same conclusion - "it is what it is". Re the ghost discharge, my controller reading drops to around 11.5 during three or so weeks of winter garage storage - nothing obvious ON that might draw current. When camping on cold fall nights, the charge has dropped from full to the low yellow range with the furnace operating at lower temp settings. My lifeline deep-cycle 12V is maybe two years old.
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Old 11-18-2013, 08:36 PM   #25
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Yup. Sounds like exactly the same issue.
I'm sure I could run the furnace 3 or 4 days ( nights ) before dropping into the orange a few years ago. Now, it's in the orange after light furnace use overnight. Two year old battery. I suspect I replaced my old one prematurely.
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Old 11-18-2013, 10:13 PM   #26
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baglo

I installed a TM2025-RV Trimetric Battery Monitor earlier this year to give me an accurate idea of what is going on with my battery. Things it does:
  • shows net current charge or discharge on the battery
  • allows you to see the impact of adding or subtracting any load such as the furnace, fan, lights etc.
  • accurately estimates and displays the State of Charge of the battery
  • displays the voltage at the battery
I have found the Trimetric really handy for monitoring the performance of our solar panel and managing power use. With this type of monitor you don't need to wonder what is going on -- you know! We still have our original Interstate battery (almost four years old now) and experienced no problems with it. See TriMetric Battery System | Bogart Engineering
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Old 11-18-2013, 10:24 PM   #27
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Where you get it? How much?
Don't see it on etrailer.com
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Old 11-18-2013, 11:02 PM   #28
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Found a price.
That's more than six dozen beer.

baglo
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Old 11-18-2013, 11:18 PM   #29
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Baglo, it is possible that you are not starting with a fully charged battery. You may want to confirm the starting state of charge. I changed out my converter to a higher power 4-stage unit to achieve a proper charge for my batteries like the manufacturer recommends because the stock converter from the factory wasn't doing a proper job. If you are not starting with a really good charge you will see the battery voltage taper off much faster that expected. When you get a chance, bring your battery up to charge with your converter then check the overall voltage at rest (after a few hours) and check the cells with a hydrometer. This also checks the cells individually like Jim suggested.

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You may have a bad cell, can you check the specific gravity of each cell and compare, if so, you maybe entitled to a trade in credit.
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Old 11-18-2013, 11:38 PM   #30
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Here's an earlier post on another thread:

An hour after taking it off the second charge, I have 12.75 in all cells but one ( it looked more like 12.85 ).
The voltmeter reads 13.68.
I now have the trailer plugged in again.
I guess I'll unplug it again and see how it does over a period of days.

( voltmeter dropped to 12.69 after several hours )

I have used a 10A charger direct to the battery terminals and plan to carry it with me. Trojan says in a video that if you unplug the charger and plug it in again it will act like a charger with "equalization".
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Old 11-18-2013, 11:47 PM   #31
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Quote:
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Where you get it? How much?
Don't see it on etrailer.com
I bought my Trimetric from a local dealer, WeGoSolar (Solar Panels Canada | Magnum Pure Sine Wave Inverters | Surrette Solar Deep Cycle Batteries | Solar Panel MPPT Controllers | Complete Off-Grid | Grid-Tie| Solar Electric Systems | Vancouver Island BC Canada), located on Vancouver Island. Their price was as good as I found anywhere and their service was excellent. You will need a shunt and wiring kit also which they sell.

You can spend money on a new battery or you can spend the money on managing your 12 volt system.

I had a few questions about setup and got an excellent response from the manufacturer, Bogart Engineering. They really seem to know what they are doing.
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Old 11-19-2013, 06:48 AM   #32
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Hotfishtacos

What did you replace your stock converter with? Did you do the conversion?

Thanks

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Old 11-19-2013, 11:34 AM   #33
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So my controller is a Specialty Concepts Mark PV, which might be stock. It has an "array current" read out that is showing zero as the trailer is stored. I'm assuming that the drop in battery voltage to 11.5 in three+ weeks might be a normal thing for stored batteries. When it gets into the red, I plug in and charge up. No need to do that when the trailer is outside; the solar panel does its job well. As I recall, this was the case last winter also when the battery was one year old. Long, cold nights of furnace use will drop the voltage into the yellow - "it is what it is". Any flaws in this logic?
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Old 11-19-2013, 12:42 PM   #34
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Dave, I upgraded with a “PM4B-45 MBA 45 Amp 4-Stage Main Board Replacement “ 45 amp Powermax model from BestConverter - Converters, Inverters, Electrical Supplies, Electronics. It puts out the required 14.6 - 14.8 charging voltage for my batteries and gives me 4 stages of charge. I upgraded myself for around $170. It took about an hour to do ... very easy.

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Hotfishtacos

What did you replace your stock converter with? Did you do the conversion?

Thanks

Dave
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Old 11-19-2013, 02:00 PM   #35
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Hogfish tacos,

Thanks for the quick reply. That looks like a complete replacement other than the fuse panels. I was thinking of getting a better battery charger and not using the converter but that looks like a great option also.
Thanks

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Old 11-19-2013, 03:00 PM   #36
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Dave, I upgraded with a “PM4B-45 MBA 45 Amp 4-Stage Main Board Replacement “ 45 amp Powermax model from BestConverter - Converters, Inverters, Electrical Supplies, Electronics. It puts out the required 14.6 - 14.8 charging voltage for my batteries and gives me 4 stages of charge. I upgraded myself for around $170. It took about an hour to do ... very easy.
X2
This is a direct fit pre-wired replacement. 3 wires to the 120 V (left) side of the power distribution and 2 wires to the 12 V (right)side.
http://www.bestconverter.com/WFCO-Po...ent_c_196.html
This is a WFCO converter replacement using an Iota converter but it gives a good idea of the procedure.
http://forums.goodsamclub.com/index....d/27221896.cfm
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Old 11-19-2013, 03:50 PM   #37
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Sorry, is this what's going on here: The Escape trailer comes with a WFCO panel with the circuit breakers and fuses, and a WFCO converter is installed in the panel too. You're removing the WFCO converter from the panel and installing the Powermax because the Powermax is a better converter and charger?

Is the difference between the PM4B-45 main board replacement, and the plain ole PM4B-45, just the connectivity stuff for an extra $15.00 ? j
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Old 11-19-2013, 03:56 PM   #38
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Hotfishtacos,
Thanks for the charger upgrade info. Have you verified that your new unit does go into the higher voltage mode? I know that our stock chargers are supposed to but apparently do not. Also, did you upgrade the wire from the charger to the battery?
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Old 11-19-2013, 04:39 PM   #39
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Hotfishtacos,
Thanks for the charger upgrade info. Have you verified that your new unit does go into the higher voltage mode? I know that our stock chargers are supposed to but apparently do not. Also, did you upgrade the wire from the charger to the battery?
Yes I did and the stock WFCO converter is not designed to take the voltage to the level required for wet cell Interstate batteries, according to the specs. The wire from the charger does not have to be up-sized from the 10 gauge as factory-wired. The new controller is taking the voltage up higher and the increased current is negligible.

BTW, the GoPower solar controller from Escape is also marginal, even more so than the converter. It is also not adjustable, not programmable nor does it have temp compensation...basically a bare-bones unit. I upgraded with a TriStar TS-45 Solar Controller which takes the charging voltage up to where it should be and is just a much higher quality, adjustable unit. I set the initial charging voltage to 14.9VDC (temp compensated) so it may charge at a higher voltage if the batteries are cold. I am now using more of the solar panel output for charging reliably and getting a full battery charge each time when needed.
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Old 11-19-2013, 04:43 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jamie beers View Post
Sorry, is this what's going on here: The Escape trailer comes with a WFCO panel with the circuit breakers and fuses, and a WFCO converter is installed in the panel too. You're removing the WFCO converter from the panel and installing the Powermax because the Powermax is a better converter and charger?

Is the difference between the PM4B-45 main board replacement, and the plain ole PM4B-45, just the connectivity stuff for an extra $15.00 ? j
Yes, it is basically a board swap. The Powermax unit is much better. I don't understand your second question regarding the $15 price difference. If the PM4B-45 is sold in two configurations then one may have a cover included and the other may just be the board replacement..??
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