House battery

Today is the first time I took a closer look at the charge controller and noticed I have a Solar Charge Controller and it allows me to pick the type of battery I have, should I celebrate that I am good to go with installing a LiFePO4 battery?

The 13.6v picture is when it is on shore power. About 3 minutes after disconnecting SP, it quickly dropped to 11.3v. More over I have never seen the green light appear next to the top most battery icon even when the batteries were good.

The solar array red light is always blinking for me but I dont have solor panel. Should I assume I can install a solar panel if I wanted to? (I dont intend to as I dont have such need). I have the RV stored in a covered parking space, so no direct sunlight will ever hit the RV roof other than the times I am driving.
 

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Today is the first time I took a closer look at the charge controller and noticed I have a Solar Charge Controller and it allows me to pick the type of battery I have, should I celebrate that I am good to go with installing a LiFePO4 battery?

The 13.6v picture is when it is on shore power. About 3 minutes after disconnecting SP, it quickly dropped to 11.3v. More over I have never seen the green light appear next to the top most battery icon even when the batteries were good.

The solar array red light is always blinking for me but I dont have solor panel. Should I assume I can install a solar panel if I wanted to? (I dont intend to as I dont have such need). I have the RV stored in a covered parking space, so no direct sunlight will ever hit the RV roof other than the times I am driving.

So now you have an always on house battery voltmeter.
You gotta wonder why a solar charge controller iss there but no solar panel?
 
So now you have an always on house battery voltmeter.
You gotta wonder why a solar charge controller iss there but no solar panel?

I remember the Quantum as the 1st TMC we went to see. We drove 2 hours just to see a Quantum because a CW Dealers on had Four Winds.

The Quantum we saw had a Go Power Charge Controller like that. We were told it was prewired by TMC for solar, but they did not install a panel because different owners wanted different things. They said it was simple Solar install and even gave us a Solar panel install company to get estimate to add the solar panel. When we talked with the 3rd party company, they tried to upsell us saying that the controller was too small. They wanted to rewire with heavier gauge and install a new controller :facepalm: It may have been $2k, I don't remember exactly. They would not quote just adding a panel saying it would be waste of time. It was mute point because we didn't buy the coach.

But with what I know now and if I owned, I would add a panel to maximize that existing controller. Should not be more than a few hundred bucks installed.
 
Today is the first time I took a closer look at the charge controller and noticed I have a Solar Charge Controller and it allows me to pick the type of battery I have, should I celebrate that I am good to go with installing a LiFePO4 battery?

The 13.6v picture is when it is on shore power. About 3 minutes after disconnecting SP, it quickly dropped to 11.3v. More over I have never seen the green light appear next to the top most battery icon even when the batteries were good.

The solar array red light is always blinking for me but I dont have solor panel. Should I assume I can install a solar panel if I wanted to? (I dont intend to as I dont have such need). I have the RV stored in a covered parking space, so no direct sunlight will ever hit the RV roof other than the times I am driving.

You can have them load tested but those batteries are dead. Based on you stated history, you really need to find out what is killing them, before investing more into them.

If I put my RV in store mode and SOC is 100% it will still be at 100% a month later. No trickle charge or Solar, but if I had a prewired controller already installed like you do, I would add a panel. You don't have to get a panel to put on the roof, find a portable one that can be mounted on the ground or on back or side wall wall of RV that may get sunlight for when it is stored.
 
So now you have an always on house battery voltmeter.
You gotta wonder why a solar charge controller iss there but no solar panel?

I got it new from General RV. No holes on the roof, so unlikely someone took it after it came to General RV. What dkoldman said makes sense, likely prewired for future upgrade.
 
You can have them load tested but those batteries are dead. Based on you stated history, you really need to find out what is killing them, before investing more into them.

If I put my RV in store mode and SOC is 100% it will still be at 100% a month later. No trickle charge or Solar, but if I had a prewired controller already installed like you do, I would add a panel. You don't have to get a panel to put on the roof, find a portable one that can be mounted on the ground or on back or side wall wall of RV that may get sunlight for when it is stored.

This is an area I have to dig in and do more research. May be this will enlighten me on all the technical terms I have received from you all.

Not installing new batteries until I figure this out. No trips planned until spring.
 
Our MH came new with the same 10 amp controller installed... pre-wired with the solar panel MC4 connection gland on the roof.

I've slowly gone through the evolution of upgrading to "automatic" set and forget battery charging. The 600 watts of solar just silently do their job without having to turn on anything. Nothing to remember to plug in... no switches, it just works.

For those afraid of putting holes in their roof... those vents up their didn't just morph through a membrane... :LOL:
 
For those afraid of putting holes in their roof... those vents up their didn't just morph through a membrane... :LOL:

It is not so much of being afraid to put holes in a perfectly fine roof trying to find a way to make it leak; when everything else is perfectly fine, but what will you do when go to one of the Area 51 Watch Parties and you don't have room on your roof for lawn chairs and the grill because of all of the damn solar panels :nonono:

I would buy anything I wanted, if I had a use or need for. I have lots of stuff on / in my RV to worry about. Solar will do be no good right now, maybe just another potential trip hazard when trying to clean the roof?

Now what I may do over next year or two, is buy a Solar Generator with Portable panels. But that would NOT be for the RV, but maybe a replacement for my gas generator that I recently gave away?
 
Lithium battery won't help - you have a charging problem

A lithium battery will not fix your problem if you have a charging / discharging issue. You should see a voltage of around 13.6 to 14 VDC at the charger controller when charging (closer to 14 V when batteries are close to being fully charged). When the generator is running, it will charge the house batteries. I'm not sure if the RV engine will charge the batteries while underway, but you can test that as well. If you suspect problems with the charge controller, measure the voltage right at one of the batteries. Check your battery connections at the battery for corrosion. Rodents will chew wires as they explore ways to get into your RV and perhaps they have done something - look under your RV in the battery area for damaged wires.
 
My house battery (two Interstate batteries from Costco) is consistently showing 10.4 volt soon after turning off the engine or generator. This started happening about a month ago. I drove 2000 miles last week and that did not help. I was told anything below 10v is considered a dead battery. Last year the batteries lasted one year and this year both batteries seem to have bit the dust, again.

1. Is it worth investing in lithium batteries? We dont boondock for safety reasons and we have also found that staying in private RV parks or Loves RV Stop while on the road is well worth the money. We dont depend too much on battery power. Li batteries also cost a fortune.
2. Should I ditch Costco batteries and look elsewhere? Any recommendations?

Thanks
Raja

Ck if there is a small circuit breaker to the left side of the house batterys?
I have this in A 2016 Axis.
2 Rural King 6 {six} volt golf cart battery's in series works great have had a pair for 5 years still holding up. Need to ck water every 30 days minimum.
Also need to check cover for terminal clearance?
 
Today is the first time I took a closer look at the charge controller and noticed I have a Solar Charge Controller and it allows me to pick the type of battery I have, should I celebrate that I am good to go with installing a LiFePO4 battery?

The 13.6v picture is when it is on shore power. About 3 minutes after disconnecting SP, it quickly dropped to 11.3v. More over I have never seen the green light appear next to the top most battery icon even when the batteries were good.

The solar array red light is always blinking for me but I dont have solor panel. Should I assume I can install a solar panel if I wanted to? (I dont intend to as I dont have such need). I have the RV stored in a covered parking space, so no direct sunlight will ever hit the RV roof other than the times I am driving.
Besides solar you have two other charging sources in your unit - the vehicle alternator and the house power converter/charger. If you put in a LiFeP04 you still ought to replace the RV converter with one that is LFP compatible and put in a DC-DC charger between your alternator and the house batteries. That's another 2-3 hundred bucks DIY.

To me the big advantage of LFP is I can neglect it. My lead batteries don't last letting them sit long periods between charging or use. In the desert heat here, I am lucky to get a year out of them. LFP's apparently don't care. They can take long periods of 50% charge, high storage temps etc.

Back in the Black Friday sales, the price of LFP was basically the same as AGM. Even adding the charging goodies, I would be ahead if they lasted - not to mention not having to be messing around with charging them at the storage place. Unfortunately prices rebounded after the sale. I did convert my 24 volt trolling motor system in my boat though . Talk about neglected batteries!
 
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