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Old 04-05-2014, 02:52 PM   #1
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New Jayco Owner - 154BH - Going to 6V batteries

My family and I are proud new owners of a 154BH Baja we tow behind our Cherokee. First trip out two weeks ago and the biggest issue we had was the little interstate RV/Marine stock battery packing it in after 1.5 days. We weren't overly conservative with the power usage but we had to find out what it could/couldn't do... 1.5 days wont cut it...

I've got LED bulbs on the way from Amazon and and I just bought a pair of 6V Crown CR-260's and beauty battery box to swap in. Just fabing up the custom mount right now and will post pictures back later today. My hope is the CR-260's will give us piles of extra battery power..

Next project is to replace to rinky-dink wiring Jaycon does from the battery to the fuse panel. If anyone has a Jayco wiring diagram or electrical diagram for the 154BH I'd love a copy.. they wouldnt share one with me..

Cheers!
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Old 04-05-2014, 03:04 PM   #2
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Welcome to the JOF and congrats on the new TT!
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Old 04-05-2014, 04:09 PM   #3
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Enjoy your new Baja. Looking forward to seeing your pictures.
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Old 04-05-2014, 09:36 PM   #4
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Pictures attached as requested.. I'll post more once the batteries are in and the new wiring is done.. Have to figure out what gauge wire to use and whether I want to re-run all the way to the fuse panel... the insulated bottom is now a blessing and pain

My buddy Chris @ Absolute Fabrication fab'ed up the diamond plate base. Glad to have friends with plasma tables
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Old 04-05-2014, 11:06 PM   #5
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You may wish to keep in mind that the absorption charge voltage is 7.75 VDC per battery which equals 15.5 VDC. This is a much higher voltage than most RV converters can provide. This means that you will need to provide separate charging system from your RVs converter. I built a setup for my JayFlight 29BHS and had to add additional charging because I was constantly undercharging the batteries.
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Old 04-06-2014, 10:06 AM   #6
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What converter or charger did you swap in? Also where on the spec sheet for the CR-260's did you see the absorption charge voltage requirement.. I saw 2.37 VDC per cell in phase 1 and Phase 2 charging..

I was also planning on bring them home after every trip and maintaining them on my battery charger/maintainer.

Thanks for the feedback!!
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Old 04-20-2014, 11:29 PM   #7
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Thought I'd follow up after our first trip with the 2 x Crown CR-260's. Actually had more than adequate energy for the entire weekend. Everything ran flawlessly and we had plenty of capacity to spare. 3 Night trip with furnace, lights, water pump etc all running as needed (not heavy conservation) and the battery "gauge" reported at 2/3 by the end of the trip.

I need to find a gauge that actually monitors consumption of Amps as opposed to just battery voltage to get a more accurate indication. Then on to the inverter and solar panel project...
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Old 04-21-2014, 05:31 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msturtz View Post
You may wish to keep in mind that the absorption charge voltage is 7.75 VDC per battery which equals 15.5 VDC.
Edqualization mode is 15.5VDC not Absorption mode which is 14.8VDC

(Flooded Batteries)
Equalization Mode =
- 6VDC battery = 7.8 VDC
- 12VDC battery = 15.5 VDC


Absorption Mode =
- 6VDC battery = 7.4 VDC
- 12VDC battery = 14.8 VDC


Float Mode =
- 6VDC battery = 6.6 VDC
- 12VDC battery = 13.2 VDC
(+- .01VDC)


Most RV charge controllers are not sophisticated enough to do a true Equalization (15.5VDC)and only Equalize around 14.6 to 14.8VDC, as they have no way of monitoring the battery's temperature. At 15.5VDC, the battery will begin to boil and possibly do a worse things if the is not monitored (temperature).

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Old 04-23-2014, 09:53 AM   #9
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2-6's Great now a couple of solar panels on the roof and you will be GOLDEN.
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Old 04-23-2014, 05:26 PM   #10
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I'll say it again. Better to use two 12v batteries in parallel than two 6v batteries in series. That way the batteries are not undercharged and if one fails it can be disconnected and one still would have a good 12v battery to continue functioning.
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Old 04-23-2014, 06:19 PM   #11
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I'll say it again. Better to use two 12v batteries in parallel than two 6v batteries in series. That way the batteries are not undercharged and if one fails it can be disconnected and one still would have a good 12v battery to continue functioning.
And the debate continues....
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Old 05-11-2014, 08:08 AM   #12
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Below is pic of my battery box with two 6V batteries. I welded up a hold down and proprietary hardware for two hockey puck style locks. The opposite side is identical.

Two 6V batteries are far superior for dry camping to two 12V batteries. There is NO 12V battery that is a true deep cycle, tho they aren't shy about calling them that. Golf cart batteries can be cycled thousands of times. 12V batteries, not so much. And you can safely cycle SOC lower with golf cart batteries than you can 12V batteries. There is a reason that 6V batteries (not 12V) are ALWAYS used in golf carts, and for industrial uses.

The alleged risk of one of the two 6V batteries failing is infinitesimal. When these fail, it is from finally wearing out, so one begins to notice that it is time to replace them and is not left stranded.

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