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Old 08-18-2018, 06:33 PM   #21
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Test the batteries if possible as well. I keep a NOCO Battery load tester in the tool box. Very handy.Click image for larger version

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Old 08-18-2018, 06:51 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by h2owmn View Post
The solar panel is a lensun 100 watt and the controller is a renogy. The wire is 10 gauge and the controller is at the batteries. It has been dreary here but others in my group are maintaining with this amt of sun and they are using water heater pump etc. All I’m using is lights, occasional range hood fan or overhead fan for brief periods.

I just finished running car w 7 pin and it was 12.8. We shall see if it holds. I did disconnect the solar and controller this time while charging.
It does not quiet work that way. You need to let the batteries rest for 4 hours with no load (use) or charge. This will give you a more accurate state of charge reading. Using the 7 pin for charging is negligible at best.

"Limitations of using terminal voltage for SoC
While it is easy to measure and monitor the battery terminal voltage, unfortunately, this is not a true indicator of the battery’s SoC and SoH, due to the effects of charge/discharge current and temperature. The biggest impact comes from the chemical kinetics during charge and discharge of the battery. To get a reasonable estimate of the SoC from voltage measurement, the battery needs to rest for at least few hours (for example, four hours) to attain equilibrium before the open circuit voltage (OCV), in other words, no-load voltage, can be measured. See Table 1 for the Battery Council International (BCI) recommended values for a 12-V lead-acid starter battery [2]. While an approximate SoC can be assessed at rest state, it is not possible to continuously assess it during charge and discharge by voltage measurement. Also, it is not possible to assess SoH with just terminal voltage measurement since it does not fully reflect the impact from battery aging. Measuring specific gravity (SG) of the battery electrolyte is another approximation method that is applicable to the flooded lead-acid battery type. But this method also suffers from lack of SoH information, from limitations due to temperature effects, stratified electrolyte concentration, and from the need for the electrolyte to stabilize before taking the SG reading."

https://www.electronicproducts.com/P...nd_health.aspx
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Old 08-19-2018, 06:36 PM   #23
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Got the multimeter reading and both batteries are fine. I think I just got lower than expected before I connected the solar so it is taking a while to get all the way charged. I stayed in camp today and moved the panel to keep it in the sun. End of the day 12.8.

If there was a bad cell, would that show up on the multimeter?

Thanks for the video link and the other link. Both were helpful.
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Old 08-19-2018, 07:26 PM   #24
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100 watt solar is kind of marginal for a ~ 220AH system like dual golf cart batts... if the batteries are run down to 50% (~12.1V at room temp after sitting idle with no load or charge for an hour), you'll need about 1500 watt hours to bring them back up to full charge. you're lucky to get 8 hours * peak solar watts on an average day, 800 watt*hours.

when you read battery voltages, its important that they've not just been taken off a charger (including solar) and that they don't have significant load. the charger runs about 1-1.5 volts higher than the batteries rest voltage, and this 'surface charge' can take a few hours to dissipate, and if the batteries have a significant load on them, the voltage will be quite a bit lower than the rests voltage.
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Old 08-19-2018, 07:56 PM   #25
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Unless you're at the beach, Maine can be a tough place to charge via solar, way too many pine.

When I've had to, I've spent a night at a commercial CG just to hook up and charge.
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Old 08-20-2018, 02:01 PM   #26
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. Bob, that was a possibility (another campground) but everything up here is pretty full. Some friends of friends here have a generator...i may be able to borrow that for a charge. I am still using just solar lights, nothing else. Seems to be holding.

Could this be related? Yesterday, a couple times while i was sitting in camp, i heard the click of the (i assume) refrig when it tries to light—the lower panel to the left of the door in my 17A. . Is that electronic? Why would it be doing that? I checked the propane tank, it’s still showing green. Stove is working fine.

Again, thanks to all who are checking in here and offering assistance.
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Old 08-20-2018, 02:23 PM   #27
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Yesterday, a couple times while i was sitting in camp, i heard the click of the (i assume) refrig when it tries to light—the lower panel to the left of the door in my 17A. . Is that electronic? Why would it be doing that?
Escape has used various models of refrigerator from Dometic, but generally they use 12 volt DC power for the electronic controls, including to ignite the propane flame when cooling is required (this is called Direct Spark Ignition in RV appliances). The clicking sound is presumably the spark of the ignitor.
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Old 08-20-2018, 03:26 PM   #28
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Brian, are you saying every time the fridge needs to cool it lights the burner, shutting it off when it gets to temp? That would be something I haven't noticed mine doing. Of course being an RML8555, it may never really get to the set temp.
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Old 08-20-2018, 03:39 PM   #29
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Brian, are you saying every time the fridge needs to cool it lights the burner, shutting it off when it gets to temp?
Exactly. Older RV refrigerators typically had the flame going all of the time, and would open and close a valve to supply more or less propane to switch it between higher (cooling) and lower (pilot) levels as required.

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That would be something I haven't noticed mine doing. Of course being an RML8555, it may never really get to the set temp.
Even if it does get down to the set temperature and cycles, the burner noise is typically not noticeable (it's a small flame), so the only audible evidence is the clicking of the spark. It is possible to ignite the flame with a hot surface (so no clicking of the spark), and some home furnaces do that, but I don't think any Dometic refrigerator works this way (although I could be mistaken).

A propane-fired DSI water heater does the same thing as a DSI refrigerator, but the vastly larger burner is much more noticeable as it fires and shuts off.
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Old 08-20-2018, 04:26 PM   #30
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Brian, are you saying every time the fridge needs to cool it lights the burner, shutting it off when it gets to temp? That would be something I haven't noticed mine doing. Of course being an RML8555, it may never really get to the set temp.
I've definitely noticed it on my RMD8555 Bob. But of course, only when we camp in weather that doesn't require the fridge to run the boiler 24/7 just trying to keep up.
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