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Old 09-10-2013, 12:50 PM   #1
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Furnace / Battery

I know the furnace draws quite a bit, but I'm having to charge battery ( generator, through converter ) every day.
Battery is single 12V, two-year old Trojan 27 TMX. Checked cells and they are OK for level.
Volt meter read 12.31 at start. I charged it for an hour and a half and it read 12.76.
Next morning it was reading 12.28. Furnace had run from time to time through the evening and half the night.
I turned the furnace on and checked voltage and got 11.59 ( not sure if that's useful information.
When charging I get 13.67 at the outlet.

My buddy Keath has been camping next to me in his 19 with dual 6V and running the furnace in the evening and then again in the morning. His battery reads 12.46 after several days camping and no charging.
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Old 09-10-2013, 01:47 PM   #2
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Glenn - do you have one of those specific gravity testers along with you or does Keath have one? That way you could check to see if one cell is weak. When we had the Scamp it had one 12v battery and running the furnace overnight with it never dropped the voltage that much. Our Escape has twin 6v so not a good comparison - but the furnace doesn't drop them nearly like the readings you are getting.
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Old 09-10-2013, 02:00 PM   #3
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An hour and a half will not cut it with the charger built into the Escape. Even though you are reading 12.76, much of that is surface charge. A charge of 12+ hours, perhaps 24 is necessary to get back to full.

A separate charger would help. Also do you ever go below 50% charge? I always abused my battery on my old pop up, drained it down too much. Getting three years out of those marine batteries never happened.
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Old 09-10-2013, 02:19 PM   #4
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While using voltage readings to determine the state of charge of a battery is possible, there are a couple of things to consider.

First, after charging, wait at least 15 minutes, (1/2 hour is better) before checking the battery. A surface voltage reading immediately after charging is misleading. A fully charged battery should be around 12.6V so i suspect you are not fully charging the battery with your hour and one half charge.

Another point - reading battery voltage while under a load (for example, while the furnace is running) will also be inaccurate, so I would not be concerned about 11.59V while running. A more accurate state of charge is the morning reading of 12.28. That indicates about 65% full battery, another indication that you are not fully charging the battery.

What are you using for a charger? At 13.67V, it will take a long time to fully charge your battery (that is many hours). It would be better if your charger can produce a "bulk Charging" voltage in the neighborhood of 14.5 - 15V if you expect to get a full charge in a couple of hours.

A good, 3 stage converter will charge at bulk rates until the battery is close to 80%, then switch to absorption levels of 14V or so. When fully charged, the converter switches to float levels at around 13V. While the WFCO converter used in my Escape 17B is described as a 3 stage converter, it has a reputation of not ever going into the bulk stage unless the wiring between it & the battery is short & large. Again, your charging voltage measurements indicates is is not going into bulk charging which is why you are not fully charging the battery.

One last point (added on edit) - You are comparing your 105 amp/hr battery to a pair of 6V batteries with over twice the storage (232 amp/hrs). Still, if you cannot fully charge your battery after 24 hours on the converter, it is time to look for problems with the battery itself. Some possibilities include a bad cell, battery sulfation, etc. Unless mistreated, a 2 year old Trojan battery should still function.

Here is a link to a printable "Voltage / State of Charge" table that is from the site linked below.

Lots of good information at Mark's "The 12V Side of Life".
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Old 09-10-2013, 02:25 PM   #5
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I believe the 8012 furnace draws less than 2 a/h while operating.
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Old 09-10-2013, 03:06 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
I believe the 8012 furnace draws less than 2 a/h while operating.
Actually, 1.8 amp draw, the lowest in the industry (of course, for furnaces with a fan).
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Old 09-10-2013, 03:29 PM   #7
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I measured ours with a fluke meter just to see and ours in our 19 ft draws 1.7 amps while running. My old stick trailer was 6.5 amps, no wonder our 6volts last a lot longer. I know the converter/ charger that escape uses is supposed to be one of the better ones but a proper multi stage charger does work better.
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Old 09-10-2013, 05:20 PM   #8
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Does anyone know what the 3-speed maxx fan draws? Original literature doesn't say.
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Old 09-10-2013, 05:34 PM   #9
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Thanks guys 'n gals.
I'll put it on charge again during the 6pm to 8pm window.
I did try charging direct from the Honda Eu1000. Not sure if that delivers more power to the battery or not. 12V output to the battery terminals.
So, I should get a separate battery charger and hook up to the battery terminals from the Honda, or I just shouldn't expect so much?
It's now 3pm and the volt meter reads 12.50 ( we've been gone fishing so nothing in use ).
I said fishing, not catching.

baglo
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Old 09-10-2013, 05:41 PM   #10
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get a separate battery charger and plug into the Honda and then hook up your battery to the charger, best method
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Old 09-10-2013, 06:28 PM   #11
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THANKS.
Will do.
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Old 09-10-2013, 07:12 PM   #12
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Glen just put a solar panel on the roof with a good quality charge controller and then you won't have to worry about it anymore
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Old 09-11-2013, 09:21 PM   #13
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Quote:
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Does anyone know what the 3-speed maxx fan draws? Original literature doesn't say.
If we are drawing 4 amps and we turn on the Maxx fan, we are still drawing 4 amps.
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Old 09-12-2013, 12:19 AM   #14
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A search of FiberglassRV.com for "MaxxFan current" should yield lots of discussion with a variety of specs. I know I have seen current specs, but I don't think I ever measured it.
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Old 09-12-2013, 07:04 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Viajante View Post
Does anyone know what the 3-speed maxx fan draws? Original literature doesn't say.
I'm having trouble finding that model, all the ones I find are for the 10 speed, do you have a model# or a picture?
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Old 09-12-2013, 07:19 AM   #16
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I'm having trouble finding that model, all the ones I find are for the 10 speed, do you have a model# or a picture?
Hi: cpaharley2008... Amazing how fast things get "Old" Our 5.0 has the 3spd. but I don't know how much 12V juice it draws... just how great it is!!! Alf
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Old 09-12-2013, 07:20 AM   #17
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I know fantastic fans are 3 speeds, is that what you have Alf?
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Old 09-12-2013, 11:55 AM   #18
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The original MaxxFan was only available with three speeds; that's what I installed several years ago, and I'll try to find my documentation. Since then, there have been many variants created, and the original three-speed control is no longer offered.

MaxxFan and Fantastic fan specs for their three-speed units were very similar, although not identical.
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Old 09-12-2013, 11:59 AM   #19
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From the online brochure for the original MaxxFan, which was apparently three-speed only:
Quote:
Provides over 900 CFM of airflow on High using 4.4 amps, 730 CFM at 2.5 amps and 500 CFM on Low at 1.4 amps
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Old 09-12-2013, 12:04 PM   #20
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If MaxxFan (or Fantastic fan) current draw is too much even on the low setting - probably an issue only with older single-speed and three-speed units - it can be reduced. Many people have done a modification to the simple resistor-based control to provide a slower low speed.

The old MaxxFan low speed uses almost as much power as the Atwood 8012 furnace... but I wouldn't be surprised if the fan is moving more air.
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