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Old 03-24-2017, 06:23 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: RS26 Quantum
State: Alabama
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THOR #6144
battery connection for inverter and solar

Hello to all. I have a 2-battery house bank connected in parallel (12V). I have both the inverter (2000W) and the solar array (330W through a charge controller), connected to one battery (it was easier to connect them that way). Everything works but it does not seem to last long. Even getting good solar and limited load like just the frig.
My question is should I connect the positive leads (from inverter and PV) to battery #1 and the negative (ground) lead to battery #2?
Alternatively, does it even matter? Do I just need a bigger battery bank?
Thanks in advance
Phil

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Old 03-24-2017, 07:22 PM   #2
gmc
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THOR #2829
Connecting to the positive on battery one and negative on battery two (batteries attached in parallel) is the best way to balance the load and charge... Electricity follows the path of least resistance - so when connected to a single battery - will draw more heavily from it.

While I would expect more overall life from the batteries keeping the load evenly shared - I don't expect that will add much to the single discharge capability. You may need a bigger battery bank as well...

What is the AH capacity of the batteries, and what is the load you are drawing? (2000W inverter is its capacity - but what it draws depends on the load it is powering.)
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Old 03-24-2017, 10:04 PM   #3
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THOR #3761
Yes, you want to have the charge controller leads attached to both batteries. The absolute ideal situation is to set up a distribution panel that can charge all batteries equally and will discharge them equally. You may already have one but they can sometimes be obscured in the pile of wires.
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Old 03-24-2017, 11:39 PM   #4
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In theory connecting batteries as suggested should help. In practice I doubt it will make a huge difference as long as cables and connections are in good shape and sized properly for low voltage drop.

Personally, if it's easy to change cabling to ideal arrangement I'd do it. If it's a big job, I'd let it go and not sweat it. Eventually when batteries need replacement, I'd consider 2 X 6-Volt instead.
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Old 03-25-2017, 02:49 AM   #5
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THOR #6144
Thanks to all. I will move one of the cables to the other battery as suggested. the only load I had on the inverter was the regular rv frig nothing else. I have heard that the "Harris" battery's that Thor puts in its units are not too good. So when they go bad I will replace them with some better quality battery's. I don't have enough room to put golf cart battery's in. I have an RS26 class C and the battery's are under my entry way.
Thanks again to all
Phil
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Old 03-25-2017, 11:18 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Becauseican View Post
Thanks to all. I will move one of the cables to the other battery as suggested. the only load I had on the inverter was the regular rv frig nothing else. I have heard that the "Harris" battery's that Thor puts in its units are not too good. So when they go bad I will replace them with some better quality battery's. I don't have enough room to put golf cart battery's in. I have an RS26 class C and the battery's are under my entry way.
Thanks again to all
Phil
Phil, when you say "regular RV fridge", do you mean the kind that can run on both propane and 110-Volt electricity? If so, that's likely your biggest problem.

As an example, I just looked up the power requirement of a typical 6 cubic foot Dometic absorption fridge when running on 110-Volt electricity and it's listed in specs at 440 watts. That's a lot, and many times that of a typical residential refrigerator which only runs on a compressor powered by electricity.

Typical RV refrigerators use absorption cooling technology that is very inefficient when running on electricity compared to residential compressor technology.

If you do have a normal RV fridge, just run it on gas/propane and save your batteries and inverter for electric loads that require them.
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