Shore power charging house battery

[Titan Guy]

I am assuming when hooked up to shore power, the house batteries
(2 - GP27) are being charged. Is this correct?
I am considering changing to 6 - 6V 200w deep cycle so I would assume these would charge off shore power as well.

[Dave&Ginny]

The Redwoods have a "Smart" charger that keeps the batteries charged while hooked to shore power.

[Titan Guy]

So if I simply replace the 2 - Group 27 with 6 - 6V Deep cycle, there should be no reason for modifications to charge these?

[Oriana]

You will probably need modifications in the storage area, but no changes to the charging system. Have to ensured they are wired correctly to provide 12 V. Require pairs wired in series.

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by Oriana

You will probably need modifications in the storage area, but no changes to the charging system. Have to ensured they are wired correctly to provide 12 V. Require pairs wired in series.

This may seem like a dumb question but for the life of me I can't remember...........will the house batteries charge if you are connected to shore power if the battery is turned off? I think I'm having one of those "Senior moments"!

[lwg]

FYI, on my converter the bottom left hand breaker is labelled "Converter", if you turn that off then you can disable the battery charging while on shore power (if you choose to do so).

Regarding the last question I think if you have the battery master "off" you have physically removed the batteries from the system. I assume all 12v items will still work so long as you are connected to shore power and have the aforementioned breaker on, which is the default setting.

[johnboytoo]

Given that our batteries have run down just about every time in storage,
I would say OUR 38gk's batteries are never removed from the system...

It may be by design, it may be a wiring fault, but some have said it's to keep certain systems still functional, I don't know ?????

[mhs4771]

Don't know about all RV's but both Montana and Redwood the Battery cut off switch DOES NOT totally remove the batteries from the unit. There are still some drains always present. The only way to completely disconnect them is to pull a cable from the battery or install a Knife switch on the battery (which some on the MOC have done).
We don't run into that problem because ours never goes to storage or inactive status.

[atom ant]

So just last night I put the Redwood away - shut off the battery switch and as I walked away my brain said - hmmmm, why are the front hitch lights on?

Yet another device the doesn't care if the battery switch is off

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by atom ant

So just last night I put the Redwood away - shut off the battery switch and as I walked away my brain said - hmmmm, why are the front hitch lights on?

Yet another device the doesn't care if the battery switch is off

OK I don't get it. Everything I read concerning cutoff switches for batteries state that the reason you need a switch is to prevent hidden battery drain. So, what good is the use of a cutoff switch if it does not cut off the battery completely? According to everything I find, you would have to hook something up ahead of the switch to make it work when the battery is switched off. Are we dealing with a bad batch of switches with Redwood? Prior to my Redwood I had a Hitchhiker and never had any battery drain when the switch was turned off

[mhs4771]

Those of us who came over from the MOC (Montana Owners Club Forum) can tell you that Montana acts the same as Redwood. Leaving it parked without shore power will eventually result in dead battery/ies.
We don't have a problem because ours in either plugged into shore power or on the road getting a trickle charge from the TV.

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by mhs4771

Those of us who came over from the MOC (Montana Owners Club Forum) can tell you that Montana acts the same as Redwood. Leaving it parked without shore power will eventually result in dead battery/ies.
We don't have a problem because ours in either plugged into shore power or on the road getting a trickle charge from the TV.

Until we actually go fulltime, ours is in storage sometimes weeks at a time. I guess I may have to hook a battery tender to it and just keep it plugged in. That way I can keep the battery turned off but still keep it charged.