Re: [ihc] Battery question

[Steven Stegmann <steve.stegmann@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ken,

If you're careful that batt will be fine.  But don't
try to make it last all week, won't happen.  I watch
the batt charge indicator on my trailer, when it gets
down to 3/4 charge I hook the trailer up to the truck,
after the diesel has been running 10 min to charge the
truck batts, and let the engine idle for 20 min.  Does
a decent job of charging.  

Give the diesel some time to charge its own batts,
starting those things is hard on the batt.  The
starter draws min 600 amps and maxes out at 2400 amps.
 So it's probably averageing around 1200 amps.  That's
600 per batt.  Plus a good steady 65-70 amps for the
glow plugs.  

My Scout 345 by comparison starts on 250 amps, with a
good starter, 450 with a bad starter.  450 makes the
battery warm up, that was my clue that something was
wrong.

  And you always have to crank the PowerStroke long
enough to pressurize the hydraulic injection system.  

Steve
--- John Hofstetter <hofs@domain.elided> wrote:

> On Aug 25, 2004, at 2:30 PM, Ken Dude wrote:
> 
> > Way off topic here, but can I use a regular
> Interstate 875cca battery 
> > for a SHORT time (1 week) in a travel trailer?  
> Reason being is the 
> > bat is the trailer is dead and I'm only borrowing
> the trailer for a 
> > week. Can't afford to replace the batts.
> >
> > Obligatory IH content: Will be pulled by my F350
> with the IH 7.3 
> > diesel. Woot!
> >
> > Hope you all are doing very well!
> >
> > Ken
> 
> A week of use in a Travel Trailer without being
> charged will run that 
> battery completely dead. The battery people say that
> with a starting 
> battery, one complete discharge reduces life of the
> battery by half.
> 
> If you are going to pull the trailer every day or
> two, so it  gets some 
> charging from the truck, no problem.
> 
> That battery should have its reserve capacity on it
> somewhere. That 
> number is the number of minutes that that  battery
> can supply 25 amps. 
> So if the number is 60, you have 60 X 25 = 1500 amp
> minutes available. 
> If your lights run 3 amps each and you run 2 of them
> at a time for 120 
> minutes, you will use 3 X 2 X 120 = 720 amp minutes.
>  So, you could do 
> that for two nights and be at the end of the
> battery's capacity.
> 
> John
> 
> John Hofstetter
> Ol' Saline
> www.goldrush.com/~hofs