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Is your battery bad? Did the manufacturer rip you off? Did the dealer rip you off? Are you going to be able to use your RV without being plugged into shore power?
Frustrated and maybe even a little bit angry.
It’s how you feel when you burn through RV battery with seemingly little effort.
Understanding how much power the individual components, like the lights, TV, fridge, and other features use is the key to moving from frustration to empowerment.
It’s like a diet
The key to losing weight, broadly speaking, is to burn more calories than you eat. That means you have to understand the caloric value of the food you eat and the amount of calories burned when you exercise. Sure, you can give it your best guess, but there is a reason programs like Weight Watchers (now WW) and devices like Fitbits have soared in popularity. They help people stop guessing and get smart about diet and exercise.
The battery power consumption is similar: the key to extending battery life is to use less amp hours than you have. Sure, you can take other people’s word for it, or give it your best guess, but to really know what you can and cannot use, you need to dig a little deeper.
Working remotely pushed me to reluctantly dig a little deeper several years ago.
Note: I misspeak in the video and say “inverter” when I meant to say “converter” around the ten minute mark.
Links to products mentioned in video
- Fuse Buddy
- Victron BMV Battery Monitor
- 35 piece blade fuse set
- Fantastic Fan fuse
- Alde fuse
- Petzl headlamp (currently unavailable)
- Goal Zero Crush Lantern
- Goal Zero Lighthouse Micro
2021 T@b 320 Spreadsheet
Pre-2021 T@b 320 Spreadsheet
conFUSEd
Fuses list for the 2021 T@b 320:
- Battery: (30 amp)
- Converter: – various
- Fan: 125v 4A glass
- TV: 7.5 amp
- Jensen: 10 amp
- LP Detector: F1AL250VPridge –
- Alde: F3.15AL Fuse 3.15A 250V Slow Blow Glass Fuses
- Fridge: 15 amp
Converter Fuses:
| Color & size | Components | |
| F1 | 7.5 amp, plum | Overhead light in cabin, overhead bathroom light, and 2 reading lights, Alde panel |
| F2 | 15 amp blue | TV, Jensen |
| F3 | 15 amp blue | USB and 12v outlets |
| F3 | 20 amp yellow | Fridge |
| F4 | 15 amp blue | Pump, outside lights, LP detector, fan, kitchen accent light, side accent lights |
| F5 | 30 amp green | Battery charger |
| 40 amp orange | Reverse battery protection |
Don’t let it suck the life out of you!
I have a few easy tips for power saving:
- Turn off the lights and use rechargeable lighting.
- Turn off things you don’t use, like the pump and Alde.
- Turn the fridge off.
- Install power switches for outlets and the Jensen. I haven’t done this but others have.
- Turn off the battery disconnect switch.
What do you do to save power? Let me know in the comments.
Get in the driver seat
Understanding your power consumption, needs, and battery capacity puts you in the driver seat and helps you correctly size your battery and solar options, as well as conserve battery.
How are you approaching your power needs?