Storing lithium battery in camper over the winter.

crobo · October 16

First year with a 2024 Tab 320 with 100ah battery. Nucamp and battle born say to charge it to 100% for the winter. I'm thinking of leaving it in the camper over the winter, rarely gets to zero here in Ohio. It will be stored outside under a cover.

First should I leave it in the camper? Turning off the battery switch doesn't kill all the draw on the battery. I think the co alarm is on all the time, maybe something else. How do I disable these parasitic draws and still be able to monitor the battery during the winter through the Victron app?

pthomas745 · October 16

Turning the battery switch off completely disconnects all items in the trailer, including the gas monitor. The only thing that draws from the battery with the battery switch off would be an inverter that was left in the "on" position. Unless someone installed an inverter in your 320, or you had the Mulitiplus option in your trailer, you probably do not have to be concerned with the inverter. The 400 trailers all have an inverter of some type.

With the battery switch off, your fully charged battery will hold a good charge for months. All batteries have a "self discharge rate", and lithium batteries might self discharge at about 1-3 percent. You probably have flashlights with batteries that are still functional even after months just sitting idle.

The Victron devices are connected directly to the battery, and will always be available for monitoring. If your trailer is in the sun, and not using a cover, the solar will operate throughout the winter to put back the very small amount of charging that might be needed with the switch off.

Monitoring the battery is the key.

crobo · October 16

Ok good to know. Like I said the camper will be covered so no solar charging, doubt I would need any.

pthomas745 · October 16

If the trailer is close by, monitoring it is the best thing to do.

Marceline · October 17

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/20791/storing-lithium-battery-in-camper-over-the-winter

The Victron solar controller itself is a very small draw on the battery. And you don't want your solar panel trying to charge the battery if the temperature is below freezing. Personally, I'd disconnect everything from the battery (either by turning battery cut off switch and pulling fuses on solar, or by physically disconnecting wires).

dlb · October 17

I pull the fuses from the solar panels and disconnect the battery for the winter. Where we are long cold spells are rare. Most winters we have only a few days that don’t get above freezing but no sense in having any issues to worry about.

crobo · October 18

Thanks everyone. Things would be a little easier if NuCamp would put a disconnect switch between the solar panels and the controller.

As I said I’ll have the camper covered so panels won’t be working. I’d like to leave the battery connected so I can monitor the battery through the app. https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/profile/pthomas745 says the battery switch kills everything so that helps with any parasitic draw. I’ll also pull the 30 amp fuse on the solar panel line near the battery.

Marceline · October 18

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/223494#Comment_223494

My camper didn't originally have any solar, so I installed my system myself. It's pretty easy to install a Gloso breaker. While you're at it I would install a Victron SmartShunt for properly monitoring the battery (the solar controller section of the Victron app really only provides battery voltage, which isn't that useful for lithium batteries).

Storing lithium battery in camper over the winter.

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