By Russ and Tiña De Maris Not long ago we got a message from a reader who was traveling across the United States. Before he left home, he’d hit the local shopping centers looking for distilled water for use in his RV batteries and, much to his dismay, couldn’t find any. Could he use RO...
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Dear Gary, On a recent camping trip, we were connected to 30-amp shore power. During the night, our CO alarm went off. Since there was no stove or furnace operating, I felt the alarm was defective. I did notice the coach battery compartment felt warm. Later when entering the coach from outside, I noticed a foul...
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Here’s a question from a reader of RVtravel.com about boondocking. Hi Bob, Thanks for the great information. Mike and I prefer to boondock and stay away from campsites whenever possible. I think this spring I’ll need to replace our batteries. They are going on their 4th season and last week when I gave them a...
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Dear Mike, I recently read where a 9-volt battery thrown away in a trash can started a fire in a garage. Can this really happen? What do we have to do to keep safe in our RVs? —Donny F. Dear Donny, In a word, YES, a 9-volt battery can start a fire. So let’s explore...
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By Russ and Tiña De Maris If a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, a battery in the box is worth at least two in the junk pile. Eh? If your rig doesn’t provide “inside storage” for your house batteries, leaving them out in the weather, unprotected, can be most unprofitable....
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By Chris Dougherty Chris Dougherty is a certified RV technician. Here is a letter he received from a reader while he was serving as RVtravel.com’s technical editor. Dear Chris, I have a 50-amp transfer switch. My question is if the power from the converter/charger goes through the transfer switch? I’m boiling batteries and trying to...
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Dear Gary, I have a 2002, 31-foot Jayco. Why is my battery bank leaking acid? I have two batteries and two solar panels with a PWM charge controller. When we bought it, it was hooked up to power; now we keep it stored. One battery was leaking in the first two months so we replaced...
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Mike, I have a question but, as I said at the RVillage Rally, it’s a little long. What would cause a pair of 2kW generators to overload when charging my batteries? Looking for your guidance in what actions I need to do to either the generators or the trailer to allow me to charge my...
The post RV Electricity – Troubleshooting 101: Over-current testing appeared first on RV Travel.
Dear Gary, How do I know if I have maintenance-free batteries in my motorhome or if I have to periodically check the water levels? —Kirk P. Dear Kirk, I’m guessing you’re referring to the automotive start battery in your motorhome. Those so-called maintenance-free batteries will have non-removable cell caps or no caps at all. Personally,...
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Dear Gary, I have a new motorhome and this will be its first winter. What is the best way to handle RV batteries during the winter? Should I leave the batteries in and keep the coach plugged in or should I take them out and store them for the winter? How about the engine battery? Some people take them out,…
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Dear Gary, I just bought a used coach equipped with dual auxiliary batteries. I used my voltmeter to test them and only got a reading of 8.5 volts. When I checked the cells I found they all were almost dry. I refilled them all with distilled water and plugged in my outside power cord to allow a trickle charge. I…
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