power during storage?

[Douwe]

Hello all,

I'm a newbie. my wife and I just purchased a 2020, 21C. I have question regarding storage, whether winter, or just between trips.

what is best for the batteries/electrical system when not in use? should we plug into shore power? hook up a battery minder? what is best?

our camper is under shelter, so the solar panels don't get sun.

Thanks ahead of time!

Douwe

 

[Iowa Dave]

I have 20 and 30 amp power in our enclosed building. The trailer is always plugged in. If we need to work on something we can run the air or an electric heater is needed. I have excess generation on my solar array so there is no cost to us. I have a battery tender in my utility room for my marine battery. It does a good job.
Iowa Dave

 

[rubicon327]

what is best for the batteries/electrical system when not in use? should we plug into shore power? hook up a battery minder? what is best?

Knowing your battery type is pertinent to the discussion. Lead-acid or lithium?

 

[Douwe]

battery

we have Li-Ion batts

 

[rubicon327]

we have Li-Ion batts

You might want to read this:
https://amsolar.com/blog/properly-storing-your-rv

Entirely different philosophy with long term storage of lithium versus lead-acid. Lithium do not like to sit at full charge for long periods of time. For longer term storage (i.e. winter) it would be best to have your batteries around 50-80% state of charge (SOC), battery disconnect switch engaged and solar panels covered or system turned off. Lithium have almost no self-discharge. I don't think this applies to you in Kentucky but if the batteries are outside (i.e. front storage box, or back bumper of a 17) and it stays cold for long periods and you aren't using the trailer it might be best to remove the batteries and bring them inside a heated space.

Everyone's plan may be a bit different depending on their circumstances. Our 400AH battery is inside the trailer and I have customized wiring but this winter I plan to discharge our lithium battery a bit, open the disconnect on my inverter/charger so that the lithium battery cannot be charged and run a built-in electric heater set at 40F. No solar currently to worry about but if I had it I would disconnect it.

If you don't have one I highly recommend a Victron BMV-712 battery monitor or something similar to monitor your state of charge. It is like a gas gauge for your battery. If you are simply trying to use the basic monitoring system provided stock by Escape or even the SeeLevel system that only shows voltage you are really just guessing where your battery SOC is.