Electrical load w/ all systems off.

Faye

I recently purchased the 2025 T@G XL Boondocks with 2 100 Amp Lithium batteries and a 2000 Watt inverter.

I've have used the camper twice now over the last 30 days and have a question related to power consumption.

When I use the Victron "Smart Shunt" app to monitor the 12 battery load, I have found that 15 Watts is being continuously consumed with all lights off, camco refrigerator is off, fan is off.  Is this normal? The only load that I can think of that is consuming any power are a couple of LED lights that illuminate the USB ports and 12V lighter ports.  It doesn't seem to me that these LED lights can be consuming a little more than 1 amp of current.  V * A = 15 Watts. 

Any ideas what can be consuming the DC power?

JamesDow

I have no inverter. But . . . My converter on my 2018 consumes around 15 watts even without any load.
I wonder if your inverter is powering your converter which then gives you power to everything, thus the 15 watt draw. 

Faye

Not entirely sure what you mean by converter, but I think I have an idea.  I think what you are talking about is the WFCO system at the foot of the bed that charges the battery bank when shore power is applied and also distributes the power to the various device loads.

It sounds right because you are seeing the same 15 watts consumed that I observe.  The Propane / CO2 sensor load is only 100 mA and the 3 or 4 LED(s) can't be more than 20 mA each.

I'm actually somewhat surprised to observe the power consumed by the WFCO.  15 watts is just too much.

JamesDow

@Faye
Yes, I am referencing the WFCO converter (Power Center 8725).
Below and attached is a PDF copy of an Excel spread sheet I put together. 
One of my surprises was the power consumption of the Fan-Tastic Overhead Vent Fan. 
Looking at the total possible power consumption is why I decided to no longer use the 30 Amp T@G power cord and go with a simple extension cord setup. (See previous post  -  
https://teardrop-trailers.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/1252/electrical-adapter#latest    )

 
 

Faye

Hi James,

Thanks for the feedback.  I was under impression that my WFCO is model 8735, but I can't tell for sure because the dealer put a sticker on the panel covering the model number.

None-the-less, I talked to customer service at nuCamp and discovered the source of the ~15 W power draw. When I was measuring the wattage via the Victron App SmartShunt device, the camper was in my garage and I had the rear (kitchen galley ) door open.

When the kitchen door is open a strong solenoid is energized and allows propane to flow from the tank at the front to the stove burner in the rear.  The solenoid is a safety device and as such is de energized when the door is closed to prevent the propane from flowing to a possibly burning / on stove. A solenoid strong enough to hold that valve open will draw considerable power.

That said, when I closed the rear galley door, my total wattage consumed with all devices off and shore power disconnected drops to approximately 2 Watts.

Hope that explanation helps you to discover where your extra power may be going.

JamesDow

Glad my 2018 does not have the propane solenoid valve. 
Not too difficult to turn the gas on/off at the tank as needed. 
To have an unnecessary battery drain is not a good thing for off grid camping. 

Colorado_Bruce

I removed the propane solenoid valve on our 2021 T@G for this very reason.  It was drawing 1.1 amps from my 12v system 24/7/365.   Replaced it with a straight tube and just turn propane on/off at the tank.  

Jay

I did the same as Colorado_bruce. I removed mine. Turn off the tank.