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Old 04-27-2019, 08:33 AM   #1
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battery life in storage/solar panel shut off?

We just finished our first outing in our new-to-us 2015 Escape 21 (it is awesome!) We store it in a shed without electricity, and our next trip is a few weeks out. We have the factory solar panel which seems to draw the battery down quickly in storage. Is there a switch or process other than disconnecting the batteries every time to preserve battery life? We shut off the Inverter using the switch under the curbside dinette. Do we need to use the battery disconnect as well? The solar monitor seems to be on all the time, but everything else is off.
Thank you!!
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Old 04-27-2019, 08:47 AM   #2
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Pull the fuse that is at the battery. That's what we do with our inside storage without elec all winter and works great in Wisc.
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Old 04-27-2019, 12:40 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Treblemaker View Post
We just finished our first outing in our new-to-us 2015 Escape 21 (it is awesome!) We store it in a shed without electricity, and our next trip is a few weeks out. We have the factory solar panel which seems to draw the battery down quickly in storage. Is there a switch or process other than disconnecting the batteries every time to preserve battery life? We shut off the Inverter using the switch under the curbside dinette. Do we need to use the battery disconnect as well? The solar monitor seems to be on all the time, but everything else is off.
Thank you!!
The switch under the dinette is a battery disconnect switch, you need to turn off the inverter, it has it's own switch.
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Old 04-27-2019, 02:00 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Treblemaker View Post
We just finished our first outing in our new-to-us 2015 Escape 21 (it is awesome!) We store it in a shed without electricity, and our next trip is a few weeks out. We have the factory solar panel which seems to draw the battery down quickly in storage. Is there a switch or process other than disconnecting the batteries every time to preserve battery life? We shut off the Inverter using the switch under the curbside dinette. Do we need to use the battery disconnect as well? The solar monitor seems to be on all the time, but everything else is off.

Thank you!!


It sounds like maybe you’ve been leaving your inverter on when you’re not using it. That will drain your battery (just being on, while not even being otherwise used). The solar, not so much. While the charge controller does use a few milliamperes, it is paltry compared to what your inverter will pull just standing by. Also, unless you’re storing your trailer in complete darkness, even a little bit of illumination, eg the small amount that goes through a storage cover, is reported to be enough to keep the batteries topped up during storage. Presumably with the battery disconnect switch disconnected to minimize other draws. That is the toggle switch under your dinette.
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Old 04-27-2019, 05:53 PM   #5
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Your batteries are going on four years of age. Mine started to have issues at age five. Depending on how they were cared for, they may not have the ability to fully recover. Assuming you have the dual six flooded models. I have selected AGM’s as the replacement, just waiting till I really need them.
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Old 04-28-2019, 07:53 AM   #6
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The CO detector in the trailer is wired direct to the battery power, I don't believe the dis connect switch shuts it off.
Pulling the direct battery fuse is one way to shut off that draw.

The solar panels and controller draw is so small, and I prefer to keep the panels operable to the batteries, even under cover, inside.
If the panels get full sun without connection to the batteries there will be a voltage spike to the components when it is connected, and may cause damage to your electronics
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Old 04-28-2019, 08:50 AM   #7
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We just picked up our trailer yesterday. It was stored over winter in a quonset hut and got some light on the solar panel.

We flip the switch to the batteries and it shuts everything off, including the carbon monoxide detector.

When we picked up we had 81% battery. We put it away with 88%. Not bad for 7 months inside.
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Old 04-28-2019, 08:59 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TZBrown View Post
The CO detector in the trailer is wired direct to the battery power, I don't believe the dis connect switch shuts it off.
Pulling the direct battery fuse is one way to shut off that draw.

The solar panels and controller draw is so small, and I prefer to keep the panels operable to the batteries, even under cover, inside.
If the panels get full sun without connection to the batteries there will be a voltage spike to the components when it is connected, and may cause damage to your electronics
The battery disconnect is just that, everything is disconnected, including detectors, except the solar input continues.
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Old 04-28-2019, 10:27 PM   #9
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Thank you, everyone!

All of this is great to know. I think we are good to go now. Checked the batteries today and it is fine; the shed is not totally dark during the day so evidently the panels are charging a little.
We plan to keep an eye on the batteries as they are the original, but were kept charged by the previous owner. Thank you to all for your expertise!
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