Having trouble with alde on propane

2Doxies

 Im out in Idaho, been boondocking several times in the last few weeks. Cold at night, then warm and sunny during the day.(so solar should top off battery, i think)
i turn on alde at night, and twice now, after a few hours it flashes low battery, and I have to turn it off, and try and sleep in the cold.
i charge up at home for 1-3 days before leaving. Dont use much, if any electrics, no tv,radio,lights. An occasional 1 minute blast of water pump. Fridge on propane or off.
any thoughts as to whats happening?
also, am curious about high altitude setting for alde. Im consistently at 6,000 ft. Currently set at normal.
dealer was talking about lithium battery, and told me that maybe best since i mostly boondock. But he charges 995$ for one
2019 320s
appreciate your thoughts!
jackie

N7SHG_Ham

You allude to solar, do you have a panel?

It definitely sounds like you are draining battery, maybe battery bad?

LiFePo4 will hold more usable AH per same physical size of battery, BUT you still need to put amps back or you are still limited boondocking.

The price quoted for a LiFePo4 battery is about right, probably a BattleBorn as that is the price, there may be others for a bit less but in any event they are all substantial cost above a lead acid battery up front purchase cost. Long term is they pay off by lasting longer in theory. Electrical benifits are more usable AH, no maintenance, faster charging (if you have a charger that is up to task), etc.

pthomas745

What trailer?  What Year?  Installed solar from NuCamp or a panel you bought separately?

If it is a NuCamp installed panel, find the Victron App for your phone and see if you can see what your panel is putting out.

Before you spend for any battery...you need to sort out what is happening to your current battery.  If you can't see what the state of your battery is, and it isn't charging, a 1000 dollar lithium will drain just as easily as my inexpensive battery.  The lithium will just take longer to drain!

So, tell us about your trailer, and your solar install, and see if you can find the Victron app.

Denny16

@pthomas745, the OP has already posted they have a 2019 320s.  See end of first post.  Which solar is a good  question, they did indicate using solar they were charging.
cheers

pthomas745

Thanks...my eyes always glaze over at the price of Lithiums......

Sharon_is_SAM

@2doxies - how old is your battery?  What is your battery capacity?  I think the high altitude setting will allow your Alde to run more efficiently, so that may reduce your battery draw, but not sure.  

How are you measuring your battery state of charge?

2Doxies

Battery was new when I bought the trailer 1 year ago. Solar is whatever nucamp installed on the 2019 320.
now, just for fun, in my past life, i was a professional musician, living in a rental apartment, with a super.....ie, I am a TOTAL novice to all this electrical (and other) stuff. Thatsaid,  i push the battery monitor to see where the charge is, because most of the time when Im out, im out of service, so cant use the victron app. Also, (i say with embarassment), im not sure what i am seeing with the victron app.....and does it need to be constantly updated?
thanks
jackie

N7SHG_Ham

The Victron app works with Bluetooth to your phone, no service needed to use it in boonies.

Bayliss

@2Doxies, since it is questionable regarding the condition of your battery, the problem may be your circulation pump setting.

In the settings menu, set the circulation pump to the “Therm” (thermostat) mode.  This allows the circulation pump to be controlled by the thermostat (i.e., the pump only comes on when the cabin temperature drops below the desired cabin temperature you have set.)  This is the normal mode for heating the cabin and water.  If set to “Continuous,” the circulation pump will run continuously and might be running your battery down.

pthomas745

Send a screen shot of your Victron app.  If possible.

Sharon_is_SAM

Good point @Bayliss!

@2Doxies - no worries.  Sounds like you have been using the KIB battery monitor on the wall when boondocking.  

Have you used the Victron app yet?  If not, you need to download the app to your phone.  You do need to enter some battery information into the app, but it is pretty easy.  Once you do that, you just need to turn on the Bluetooth on the phone and connect via the app.  The connection is good for 30 feet or so.  We can help you make some sense of the battery monitor readings.

2Doxies

Heres my victron from this morning. I checked fuses in converter

Sharon_is_SAM

Check the history.  Is there any evidence of charging?  It is possible that your solar is not wired correctly.

Denny16

I You could first check the connections on the Victron Blue MPPT solar controller to make sure it is correctly wired.  It should look like this:

You can also meter the green and white wires (connected to PV terminals) to see if you have a voltage reading.  If yes, than the Solar panel is connected at this point.  

If the PV panel green/white wire shows no voltage reading and the panel is in sunlight, than the PV is not connected to the MPPT box, back trace the gen/wht wires to see if they are actually connected to the roof mounted PV panels, also see if there is a fuse in this line.

Cheers

N7SHG_Ham

That screen shot is showing zero amps and very little voltage, was the sun on the panel? The battery voltage is also a bit low, so it should of been charging. If this was in sunlight, then some troubleshooting of the solar and wiring is needed.

2Doxies

Does this mean its working?

pthomas745

If that is the solar total, and you haven't been plugged in, the solar would seem to be working.  The Alde needs at least 11.6 to work, (I'm sure there is wiggle room in that number) and it looks like the 11.26V and the 12.00V "mins" a couple of days ago might have been a problem. 

Are you running anything else in the trailer?  Said you had the fridge on propane......

One more little thing to check:  the connections at the battery.  Just check they are nice and tight.