I was unhappy with the battery life I was getting after each recharge so I went in search of the culprit. One of the RV deep cycle batteries was new and possibly defective. I started by checking the voltage level on my RV deep cycle batteries each night before bed. In the morning I found a significant drop in voltage. That narroed it down to the 5th wheel’s accessories or a bad battery. Switching the voltmeter to the ammeter setting I determined a .72 amp draw on the RV batteries. This was too high a power draw so I discounted the bad battery option and focused on the appliances.
The refrigerator should be the only appliance or accessory running at all times so that was the logical place to start. Pulling a fuse labeled “power Vents” the power drain when down to .02 amps (obviously the clock on the stereo) and the refrigerator went off (obviously the “power vent” circuit).
A propane powered refrigerator should not use that much electric power; I went the Dometic RV refrigerator owner’s manual. After searching I found a minor reference to switch “C”.
Switch “C” (a rocker switch cleverly hidden above the freezer door and under the control panel) is the climate control switch. This little switch heats up the refrigerator door frame to prevent moisture accumulation. Who needs it?
Turning off switch “C” (climate control) lowered my power consumption by .5 amps. Now that may not sound like much but I did the math and found:
a) In a 24 hour period that would run my laptop for 2 hours.
b) In a 24 hour period I would need 4 hours of direct sunlight on my solar battery charger to replace that power.
c) A 100 amp/hr deep cycle RV battery would be depleted in 200 hours or 8 days just to heat a door frame.
So friends if you are living on battery power and want to extend your time between recharges, turn off switch “C”.
Until the next post; Hey! Make power while the sun shines!
OR_M
Deer Mountain Sno-Park, Ca: N 41° 34.255’ W 122° 07.857’ 5,825 ft
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