Powering down between trips

[PMG]

Hi all 

learning the hard way I guess.  We were readying for a trip after having the Ollie sit for 4 weeks and discovered the batteries were not powering anything including the jacks !  
we have the Lithium batteries in the E2.  We don’t have solar.  What is the standard power down sequence you all use ? 
 

The batteries went from 35% to “<10-%”  in under 4 weeks and we believe everything was “ off “ 

Máiréad and Paul 

[Mike and Carol]

When replacing my AGM batteries with Lithium’s I also put in a battery cut off switch.  THen, in storage I shut off the batteries entirely.  Even with everything off you will have some small power draws that add up over time.  Also, I wouldn’t store at only 35%.  The Battle Born tech told me to be at least at 50% before storing.  I’m usually at 90% or higher when I park the trailer in our storage area.  Then I shut off the batteries.  If you don’t have a shut off switch, disconnect one of the ground cables on you batteries.  Mike

[PMG]

Thanks Mike.  Appreciate the very quick response and sage advice 

 

Máiréad 

[ScubaRx]

All trailers have a "phantom" power drain. There are things that are "on" even if they are turned off. All the little idiot lights on the USB chargers and the radio for instance. Our trailer (Hull #050) has a phantom draw of about 0.5 amps. That means that every day about 12 amps of power disappear from the batteries. In our case, starting with batteries at 100%, 28 days with no power input x 12 amps a day would drain 336 amps from our battery bank. We have 3 x 100aH Lithium's. As you can see we would be dead dead long before 28 days were up. You state that yours started at 35%. What you don't say is the size of your battery bank (number of total aH). But even if you had Oliver's largest system (630aH) at 35% they would have only lasted (using our trailer as an example) 18 days.

Luckily, your lithium batteries were not damaged by their lack of charging, AGM's would be a different story. How do you normally keep your batteries charged?

 

[PMG]

22 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

All trailers have a "phantom" power drain. There are things that are "on" even if they are turned off. All the little idiot lights on the USB chargers and the radio for instance. Our trailer (Hull #050) has a phantom draw of about 0.5 amps. That means that every day about 12 amps of power disappear from the batteries. In our case, starting with batteries at 100%, 28 days with no power input x 12 amps a day would drain 336 amps from our battery bank. We have 3 x 100aH Lithium's. As you can see we would be dead dead long before 28 days were up. You state that yours started at 35%. What you don't say is the size of your battery bank (number of total aH). But even if you had Oliver's largest system (630aH) at 35% they would have only lasted (using our trailer as an example) 18 days.

Luckily, your lithium batteries were not damaged by their lack of charging, AGM's would be a different story. How do you normally keep your batteries charged?

 

Thx ScubaRx

we are New to the whole RV lifestyle- just picked up at the beginning of June so learning as we go in part  tbh ! Yes we have the 630aH … charging will be through ahore power going forward.  Didn’t have a connection to power where we had the Ollie over the 4 weeks.  
So as I understand it the best practice  is to charge fully and then do a full “ disconnect “ of the batteries to avoid phantom drains ? 
 

Máiréad 

[John E Davies]

PMG, you need to add your Hull number to a signature, and also tell us about your batteries, what brand - there have been a number of changes over time.They should never be left for a month with the batteries connected, at 35% charge IMHO, you should charge them before leaving the trailer, the % amount varies by manufacturer. If they are LifeBlue you should charge (or discharge) them to about 50% before disconnecting a negative (black) cable to isolate them. Or turn off the battery master switch, if you have one.

You should have a phone app to monitor the health of the batteries, I don’t know if it tells you the overall picture, rather than what is going on in each one. A stand alone Battery Monitor like the excellent Victron Smart Shunt shows lots of great info, you might want to consider adding one. If you are leaving the trailer with the batteries connected, you need a tool that will show you those phantom loads, so you can catch them and hopefully turn them off, before the batteries get drained. For example, I am sitting in my easy chair in my living room, and I can read the battery status (all connected batteries) out in the garage, the -0.37 amp load reflects the Natures Head toilet fan and a couple of other little phantoms that I cannot figure out. If it gets below about 40% I run the charger to bring it up to 70% or so. They are Battle Borns, and they have different requirements than other brands.

Alternately, you could get a small 30 to 50 watt solar panel, hook it up and let it keep the batteries “maintained”. It will keep up with those phantoms, but not overcharge the battery bank.

If you have the composting toilet, then you need to be aware that disconnecting power kills its little vent fan, so you will need to add another power source for that, such as a small wall charger, or alternately empty it of its, uhmmmm, solid contents so they don’t get gross.The reason I leave my batteries connected is so I can power the toilet.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[PMG]

John - haven’t figured out how to add hull # etc to signature. But it is

Hull # 818. June 2021 
lifeblue lithionics battery 

[Mike and Carol]

18 minutes ago, PMG said:

John - haven’t figured out how to add hull # etc to signature. But it is

Hull # 818. June 2021 
lifeblue lithionics battery 

At the upper right of the screen click on your name.  The menu will drop down and click on account settings.  Then click on Signature and let your creative self take over.  Mike

[IL_Travelers]

This is a very helpful thread.  Last week we moved R-Villa to a brand-new indoor, private storage facility only 6 miles from our home.   A 110v electrical outlet is included at no additional charge.  I am eager to see if plugging in the shore power cord to the 110 via a dogbone adapter will charge our lithiums.  

As a side note, it is sure going to be great for indoor Oliver work during the Illinois winters!

[Mike and Carol]

On 7/29/2021 at 10:47 PM, IL_Travelers said:

This is a very helpful thread.  Last week we moved R-Villa to a brand-new indoor, private storage facility only 6 miles from our home.   A 110v electrical outlet is included at no additional charge.  I am eager to see if plugging in the shore power cord to the 110 via a dogbone adapter will charge our lithiums.  

We also have a 20a 110v plug at our storage.  With AGMs I kept the trailer plugged in all the time when being stored and they stayed charged.  Now that we have lithium batteries I just disconnect (put in a battery disconnect switch) and don’t plug in.  The Battle Born rep told me that lithium’s don’t like a constant charge.  A few weeks maybe, but storing longer than that he recommended disconnecting them.  Not sure what other manufacturers recommend. Mike

[Galway Girl]

FYI - Found this attachment for Lithionics specific storage procedure for the batteries now being sold with Oliver's.
It's attached as a PDF bud also at the bottom of this Service Article page:

Path:  https://support.olivertraveltrailers.com/portal/en/kb/articles/lithionics-battery

Lithionics Storage_Procedure_Rev_03.pdf

CS

[IL_Travelers]

Thanks, Galway Girl, for a most helpful attachment!

[Dave Mazone]

Hello fellow Ollies,

When disconnecting one of the ground cables on the battery to avoid the rapid depletion of volts, will any of the electronics require resetting when reconnecting the battery? (Electricity is my greatest weakness and am always fearful of doing something harmful or painfully struggling to correct my consequence.)

[Mike and Carol]

10 hours ago, Dave Mazone said:

Hello fellow Ollies,

When disconnecting one of the ground cables on the battery to avoid the rapid depletion of volts, will any of the electronics require resetting when reconnecting the battery? (Electricity is my greatest weakness and am always fearful of doing something harmful or painfully struggling to correct my consequence.)

I have #135 which is a long way from #1019 and without some of the electronic goodies you probably have.  I put in a battery shut off switch that essentially disconnects the ground cable like you are asking.  I do it whenever I go into storage.  Nothing needs resetting when I turn it back on.  I just turn it on and go.  Mike

[Steph and Dud B]

Looking at the Lithionics manuals, don't the batteries themselves have built-in on/off switches that can be used for storage? 

[Dave Mazone]

3 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:

I have #135 which is a long way from #1019 and without some of the electronic goodies you probably have.  I put in a battery shut off switch that essentially disconnects the ground cable like you are asking.  I do it whenever I go into storage.  Nothing needs resetting when I turn it back on.  I just turn it on and go.  Mike

Thank you, Mike.

[SteveCr]

Hull 806 Lithionic batteries....."push button" on/off switches on each battery.

[dewdev]

SteveCR:

What are you powering up with the small red covered aligator clip?

[mossemi]

36 minutes ago, dewdev said:

SteveCR:

What are you powering up with the small red covered aligator clip?

Very good eye!  I am looking forward to the answer.

Mossey

[Guest]

Maybe the little red clips are powering the battery heater?

 

[Steph and Dud B]

41 minutes ago, Kirk Peterson said:

Maybe the little red clips are powering the battery heater?

Wire gauge looks too small. Some sort of monitor? 

[SteveCr]

Good guesses.....but actually that is the signal booster for my TPMS. I did not want to mount it inside the cabin so this temporary connection (9 months now) in the battery compartment has worked out great so far. It's out of the way and protected from the elements. I just need to replace the alligator clips at some point.

[Ronbrink]

I did the same, the battery box is a great alternative location for my TST repeater. Simple installation with direct connection to batteries via clips and excellent reception of cap sensors (TV and OTT) by the monitor.

[Dave Mazone]

I'm dumbfounded (perhaps a little dumb, too). In an attempt to eliminate the power drain, I tried to install a cutoff switch...didn't work. Since I was sending my new Ollie to covered storage, I shut off the solar and disconnected the negative battery terminal (the one with cables going into the hull). To my surprise, all my lights still turned on. What the heck? I really hate electrical. Any help?

[Steph and Dud B]

12 minutes ago, Dave Mazone said:

To my surprise, all my lights still turned on. What the heck?

Are you plugged into shore power or your truck's 7-pin connector? With the solar panels disconnected and the main negative battery terminal off you must be getting power from an external source.