Is shore power harmful (to battery)?

[gklugie]

I am very new to this, but I read somewhere this week that keeping your RV connected to shore power too long (several days?) is harmful to your house battery. Presumably it will overcharge, heat, electrolyte boil away, etc.

I have a 2000 Roadtrek P190. I believe it has a Magnatek 6300 series inverter/converter.

What are the facts about keeping connected to shore power?

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by gklugie

I am very new to this, but I read somewhere this week that keeping your RV connected to shore power too long (several days?) is harmful to your house battery. Presumably it will overcharge, heat, electrolyte boil away, etc.

I have a 2000 Roadtrek P190. I believe it has a Magnatek 6300 series inverter/converter.

What are the facts about keeping connected to shore power?

The antique chargers do only one thing -- charge!

The smart chargers will check the condition of your battery and supply the charge accordingly.

[BBQ]

.

A quick search on the internet came up with this video:

This is not an endorsement of his video, this is for your info only. There are a few more similar video on youtube you can check out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkroh7Ak-Ho

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by gklugie

I am very new to this, but I read somewhere this week that keeping your RV connected to shore power too long (several days?) is harmful to your house battery. Presumably it will overcharge, heat, electrolyte boil away, etc.

I have a 2000 Roadtrek P190. I believe it has a Magnatek 6300 series inverter/converter.

What are the facts about keeping connected to shore power?

Your unit has no inverter function. It's a converter and single stage battery charger that potentially can damage batteries if left connected for long periods of time. It's been supplanted by multi-stage battery chargers. Parallex makes a unit that will directly replace the innards of your 6300. Randy at Best Converter can provide you with details.

[gklugie]

I am sold. I just ordered the upgrade kit. This is particularly alarming since my battery box has rusted/rotted through.

[Keyne]

How do you know what battery charger you have to ensure it is a smart charger? We ordered a 2017 Roadtrek Agile but the specs online don't seem to indicate the specifics.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by Keyne

How do you know what battery charger you have to ensure it is a smart charger? We ordered a 2017 Roadtrek Agile but the specs online don't seem to indicate the specifics.

The Agile incorporates a smart charger. The particular model charger depends on whether you have AGM or lithium batteries.

[saenzm]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

Your unit has no inverter function. It's a converter and single stage battery charger that potentially can damage batteries if left connected for long periods of time. It's been supplanted by multi-stage battery chargers. Parallex makes a unit that will directly replace the innards of your 6300. Randy at Best Converter can provide you with details.

This is exactly what happened to me. I read somewhere to leave your unit plugged in all the time. Well I had an old single stage converter converter in my 97 PW and I think I fried my Optima Yellow Top Battery.

I now have a new 3 stage inverter and I have to get a new battery. Pretty expensive lesson