templeandgary Report post Posted March 27, 2020 Hello, I have a question about maintaining my House Batteries. I have 4 AGM batteries in my 2018 Entegra motorhome. I still work and only am able to get the coach out about once a month and then its in storage for about 3 - 4 weeks before we go out again. Unfortunately I have no room at home so I have to store it in a rv storage facility with no power to plug into to keep the batteries maintained. I know only a little about batteries but I have heard that storing for a month at a time can cause sulfation which will significantly reduce the life. I saw a product called, Batter Minder, that claims that it can maintain up to 4 batteries and they have one kit with a solar panel. Does anybody have any experience with this or any better solutions to keep my batteries in good condition under these circumstances? The kit only costs a little over $200, if it works it seems like a slam dunk to me. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance and stay safe!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
richard5933 Report post Posted March 27, 2020 The batteries should be okay for 3-4 weeks if you were able to totally disconnect them from the loads. Some of those little kits don't put out enough power to keep up with the phantom loads which will be on the batteries if they are connected. If this were my coach I'd just disconnect the battery bank. Rather than having to pull cables each time, maybe you can get a manual battery disconnect mounted in the battery bay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted March 27, 2020 Check to see how many amps the battery minder is rated, if less than 8 amps forget it but 8 or more and you have access to enough sunlight, this could be a very good thing. $200.00 and up usually is large enough to keep up with most parasitic loads. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted March 27, 2020 What part of the country are you located? Enough daily sunlight is the key! I would get 2, one for house batteries and one for engine batteries. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huffypuff Report post Posted March 27, 2020 12 hours ago, templeandgary said: Hello, I have a question about maintaining my House Batteries. I have 4 AGM batteries in my 2018 Entegra motorhome. I still work and only am able to get the coach out about once a month and then its in storage for about 3 - 4 weeks before we go out again. Unfortunately I have no room at home so I have to store it in a rv storage facility with no power to plug into to keep the batteries maintained. I know only a little about batteries but I have heard that storing for a month at a time can cause sulfation which will significantly reduce the life. I saw a product called, Batter Minder, that claims that it can maintain up to 4 batteries and they have one kit with a solar panel. Does anybody have any experience with this or any better solutions to keep my batteries in good condition under these circumstances? The kit only costs a little over $200, if it works it seems like a slam dunk to me. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance and stay safe!!! Depending on the model of your coach, it may already be wired for solar panels. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted March 27, 2020 Ray...The OP wrote 2018 Entegra. Question is, Model? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayin Report post Posted March 27, 2020 17 hours ago, richard5933 said: The batteries should be okay for 3-4 weeks if you were able to totally disconnect them from the loads. Some of those little kits don't put out enough power to keep up with the phantom loads which will be on the batteries if they are connected. If this were my coach I'd just disconnect the battery bank. Rather than having to pull cables each time, maybe you can get a manual battery disconnect mounted in the battery bay. I agree; with the negative cable(s) to the MH removed, fully-charged batteries should maintain charged for many months. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
templeandgary Report post Posted March 29, 2020 Hey Everyone, My coach is a 2018 Entegra Insignia 45ft. I live in Southern California so plenty of sunlight is not an issue. Not sure if its wired already for solar or not but I will call Entegra and see if they can let me know. Battery Minder has a few models, I looked and they have one that shows 2/4/8 Amp. I will probably talk to a couple of places around here and see what they recommend. I was just curious if what others are doing in my situation if anything? Thanks for all of the responses! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted March 29, 2020 15 minutes ago, templeandgary said: Hey Everyone, My coach is a 2018 Entegra Insignia 45ft. I live in Southern California so plenty of sunlight is not an issue. Not sure if its wired already for solar or not but I will call Entegra and see if they can let me know. Battery Minder has a few models, I looked and they have one that shows 2/4/8 Amp. I will probably talk to a couple of places around here and see what they recommend. I was just curious if what others are doing in my situation if anything? Thanks for all of the responses! If you have a place to plug the battery minder in why don't you plug the coach in? Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
templeandgary Report post Posted March 29, 2020 I dont have a place to plug in. The Battery Minder also sells Solar Panels for this purpose. I don't really know enough about the electrical system in my coach, I need to learn more, but I know that it has a pretty good electrical management system that takes care of this when I am plugged into shore power. Maybe I can get away with just hooking up solar panels and leaving the inverter breaker on when I store it? Then I dont need a Minder? Not really sure, think I am over my head and need to take it somewhere where they know what they are doing before I burn it to the ground 😐 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted March 29, 2020 Solar and a good controller will directly charge the batteries-- it will not involve the inverter/charger. And, you will need to verify that BOTH battery banks will be charged by whatever system you go with. In the meantime, you will need to run the generator to power the inverter/charger to keep the batteries charged (at least the house bank-- you will need to verify that the inverter/charger also charges the chassis batteries). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rayin Report post Posted March 29, 2020 2 hours ago, templeandgary said: Hey Everyone, My coach is a 2018 Entegra Insignia 45ft. I live in Southern California so plenty of sunlight is not an issue. Not sure if its wired already for solar or not but I will call Entegra and see if they can let me know. Battery Minder has a few models, I looked and they have one that shows 2/4/8 Amp. I will probably talk to a couple of places around here and see what they recommend. I was just curious if what others are doing in my situation if anything? Thanks for all of the responses! Download the sales brochure for your MH, it will identify pre-wiring: https://www.entegracoach.com/brochures/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huffypuff Report post Posted March 29, 2020 You can look at the information here -------->>>> https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2018-entegra-coach-insignia-class-a-floorplan-44b-tr34544 but this won't tell you if you have it or not. You have to look at your original window sticker and see if the option was installed. If you don't have one you can call Entegra and ask them with your serial number. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
