2023 T@B 400 battery did not last the night with alde running.

gkreitzburg

We took our new camper on it's maiden trip over the weekend. The first night was a harvest host stay at a brewery (Brewdog in Columbus - quite good if you are in the area). The battery was fully charged, and the alde system was set to 72 degrees on propane. The system shut down at around 5:30 AM because the battery got too low. Shouldn't the battery be able to handle that system over one night? It did get down to around 37 at night.

rh5555

Can you tell us what battery configuration you have?  AGMs or Lithium?  If Lithium then how many batteries? 

pthomas745

"New" to you?   What size and type battery?  What did you use to determine the battery was "full"?  A multimeter?  The "monitor" in the trailer? The Victron app?

But, yes, it should last more than "one night", but a lot of the diagnosis here will hinge on: What exactly was the status of the battery? 

PS:  the battery learning curve is steep!  This sort of thing has happened to many new owners, so you are not alone.

RTWCTS

@gkreitzburg I don't think the Alde is what drained your 100AH Lithium battery down overnight.
We keep our frige set to about 5 on the dial and it uses about 35Amps of electricity. If you ran the 1200W inverter much, it probably drained a good deal of the rest of your battery capacity. Combined with lights, fans, etc. is how I imagine you got drained down.
As @pthomas745 mentioned, almost everyone has that 'bad night' and learns from it. Welcome to the club!

gkreitzburg

Thank you all for the feedback. This is a new T@B and has a 100Ah lithium battery. we were not running the inverter at all, and not many lights. The battery was full according to the monitor in the trailer - unless I am missing something, the victron app I have only shows solar input and output draw?

gkreitzburg

also, the fridge was on - not sure what setting?

pthomas745

The "monitor in the trailer" is set up for a "lead acid" battery.  A lead acid battery is "fully charged" at 12.6 volts, so on almost every voltage of a lithium battery it will read "fully charged".   So..use the Victron.

The Victron app reads information coming from the solar controller, which is connected directly to the battery.  If the solar controller has been properly set up to charge a lithium (and there is no guarantee that the controller is properly set up until you check) the app will give you a much better idea of your state of charge. 

On your App, there is the status page that gives you the solar input, and in the battery section, shows you the battery voltage, etc.  In the "Current" section of the app, a positive number means the battery is charging, a negative number means the battery is being discharged.

There is also a "History" page on the App.  We can review the history and see if the battery is charging properly, etc.

If you can: show us the Status, History, and Settings pages and we may be able to "reconstruct the incident!" In the settings, we will be looking closely at whether the solar is set up for lithium charging. This is the Victron Explainer graphic that will help you decode what you are seeing.

gkreitzburg

@pthomas745 Thank you. I do recall looking at the battery voltage that morning and it was something like 10.6-ish. I am not near the camper right now, so unable to connect and look at the history - and I was unaware that you could click on the graphs, I believe.

pthomas745

All part of that learning curve.  Get a good look at your solar panel output and battery status, etc.  There are many many threads about solar setups that somehow are not working: cables dropped out, Victrons not set up properly, etc.  The Victron status and history will tell us a lot.

Marceline

pthomas745 said:

The Victron app reads information coming from the solar controller, which is connected directly to the battery.  If the solar controller has been properly set up to charge a lithium (and there is no guarantee that the controller is properly set up until you check) the app will give you a much better idea of your state of charge. 

On your App, there is the status page that gives you the solar input, and in the battery section, shows you the battery voltage, etc.  In the "Current" section of the app, a positive number means the battery is charging, a negative number means the battery is being discharged.

Shouldn't this model of trailer also have either a SmartShunt or BMV712? 

RTWCTS

Marceline said:

Shouldn't this model of trailer also have either a SmartShunt or BMV712? 

From the factory the 100AH version doesn't come with either.

pthomas745

I think it depends on the "Lithium Package" being installed along with the Multiplus.

elbolillo

My opinion is that whether it is the standard 100ah to 400ah install, they both should come with the smart shunt.

bergger

All 2024 T@b 400 come with a battery monitor smartshunt, whether they have the standard single lithium or the upgraded 4 battery setup.  It is listed as a standard item on the website and even mentioned as a standard item in NuCamps 2024 T@b 400 walk through video.   

gkreitzburg

Smart sunny would show up in the victron app, right?

dsfdogs

@gkreitzburg yes, the Shunt would show up in the Victron app, but you don't have one installed. However, you can use the Solar controller voltage reading of the battery to give you an idea of the status of the battery. Just know when the battery switch is turned on and anything is being used in the trailer, like the fridge, the voltage will be lower, than if the battery switch is off and rested. Here is the cheat sheet for lithium voltage:

13.6V = 100%

13.4V = 99%

13.3V = 90%

13.2V = 70%

13.1V = 40%

13.0V = 30%

12.9V = 20%

12.8V = 17%

12.5V = 14%

12.0V = 9%

I had a shunt installed but still use this cheat sheet! 

Marceline

gkreitzburg said:

Smart sunny would show up in the victron app, right?

Yes it would show up under “Devices List”

bergger

We added a smartshunt immediately on our 2021 400 and it was well worth it.  I think it is such a valuable piece of equipment.  It really lets you see how much power everything uses.  I think NuCamp realized how valuable they are and therefore made them standard in 2024.

markhanks

My 320 CSS' blew a fuse on the Victron charge controller and thus showed no charge.  I was a newly then and learning.  The tow vehicle could not keep up and I drained my AGM battery.  Lesson learned check frequently.  But also the charge controller has it's own blade fuse located on the bottom and difficult to see.  I never found to until I removed the system to replace it.  

KK1L

This DC wiring diagram from @MuttonChops is invaluable for reference.



For what it is worth I have added items to my 2023 which many also consider adding...DC-DC converter, 2nd solar controller for portable panels, smart shunt each outlined in bold red. For the DC-DC note the change to the electric brake power.