Trying to understand diffence in batteries

[bogadel]

I'm probably going to need a battery soon. Just charged battery before we went away end of Nov. for a trip without RV. Came back and checked it out end of Dec. and it was down to 1 light on the meter in RV. Did not check actual voltage but normally this almost 2 yr old battery stays charged at least half way in a month with power switch turned off. I only have one 12 volt battery and normally run campground power never dry camp.

With that battery maybe going bad, I'm debating the AGM batteries vs the normal wet battery deep cycle. I have a Jayco Eagle Ht that has a small compartment in front that is impossible to see the water levels without pulling the battery totally out. My back problems make that a bit of a challenge. So, can someone explain to me how one battery is better than the other? As always there are plus's and minus's to just about anything. Is there a battery that will keep a charge and I won't have to take it out to check the water?
Looking for some answers.

[RogerR]

There are a lot of people who can give you the rundown on AGMs.

I would ask, do you have a battery tender?. If no AC to run it off could you get an inexpensive solar charger?. Both will extend battery life significantly.

You said you "shut off" the battery. Some systems still have power use to run carbon monoxide detectors and some other systems that will drain the battery. The only way to truly stop it is to take all the wires off one battery terminal.

Your last item was difficulty in checking the battery. Can you install a slide out battery tray. I googled them and saw them $75 and up but there may be less expensive ones out there. That would make checking a conventional deep cycle battery.

[Lake Huron]

My first two 5th wheels had your basic Interstate marine/rv battery in them. They didn't last very long. After the one puked in my 2nd coach, I started my research. There are 3 battery manufacturers out there. Johnson Controls, Penn battery, and I cant remember the other to save my life. Those three make batteries to various standards which affect how good or bad the battery will be. For example, you have 3 different batteries you can get from Auto Zone. Black top, red top, and gold top. Other than price, the difference is the materials IN the battery. The black top has poorer quality materials, and it wont last very long. Red top being middle of the road, and the gold top being the best of the three. Now, depending on the quality control the gold was made to, it may not hold up as well as a more expensive, higher quality Decka battery. In a way, you get what you pay for.

In my findings, as far as RV batteries go, I went with a Duracell 31 series AGM battery in my coach. I got it from Sam's Club. It seems to be a higher end quality battery and is holding up VERY well. It is a little larger than the standard battery that comes with 5th wheels and/or travel trailers. Due to its size being a little larger, it packs a lot more energy in it. The drain rate on it is more than double, meaning it can last longer. Being an AGM, it is maintenance free. No acid to have to check/fill or spill. There has been discussion on these needing a "special" charging system because it is an AGM..... well, I don't have one. My battery just finished it's 4th season. It is subject to both heat and cold which really takes its toll on a battery. I take mine out in the winter, store it in my basement and fully charge it. I don't have it connected to a battery tender during storage either. In the spring, it goes straight from the basement to the trailer and I've never had to put a battery charger on it during the season. When my coach is plugged into my truck or shore power it is getting charged. When the coach is parked at my house, it is NOT plugged in. However I do have a battery disconnect and that is turned off until I need to use it. Now, there is one item that is powered when the disconnect is off and that is the landing gear/leveling system. Otherwise, EVERYTHING on that coach has no power. Mine can sit for over a month with the disconnect off and not have any issues.
Here's a pic of my front battery area...
Don't get confused here. The front Duracell battery is for the coach. That is the one I've been talking about here. The other two batteries behind it are completely separate from the rest of the coach. They are a pair of 6v batteries wired in series to make 12v to power the inverter that powers the residential fridge/freezer. They are done this way because the fridge requires a lot of power when it kicks on. That is a different story for a different day.
Hope this helps and didn't confuse you more.

[Lake Huron]

I would also check to see if your battery disconnect is actually disconnecting the battery from the entire coach or just a few things. My first coach, the battery would be dead in 10 days. It did not have a disconnect at all. I installed one, in line, and that took care of my dead battery issue. I found the carbon monoxide and smoke detector is what was draining my battery. Which may be your case.

[bogadel]

Lake Huron, Thanks for the info and yes my disconnect does turn off power to everything on the fiver. Even the landing gear which is great since it's a switch on the outside of the coach near left front . I always wondered about that if someone were to play with the switch but once the disconnect is turned off nothing works. Battery is now 4 months from being 2 years old. Not a long life for a battery. But I leave it in a rv lot for months and bring it home every month or two to charge it up. Since it's a pain in my back to get it out more often than I do. I guess I will try one of those AGM batteries and see if that helps. I was concerned about the charging circuit also, whether or not it needed to be a special charger. Still not sure but you seem to do just fine.
Again thanks for the quick reply and information.

[bogadel]

RogerR, to answer about the slide out gizmo, I looked at some from MorRyde and they seem to be all large sizes. I would need to get a fairly small slider as the box opening is only about 13 inches wide best guess without a ruler. As far as the solar power goes, I've looked at numerous articles and most are interested in camping without ac power. I only would need a trickle charge panel and not much info out there and then there is the what to do with it. Mount it on roof? No, I think I just need to get a battery that is better than the one the rv came with which probably was the cheapest one available to them.

[brettt]

Wall Mart will change your batteries for you change maybe 5 bucks, we have a couple of there golf car batteries! Thanks

[Mustang65]

Questions:
In the past 2 years...
- How many times has your battery been discharged below 10.5 volts (dead 12 volt battery)? (Your display will not tell you that )
- Have you ever had the battery to where it was completely dead?
- Have you ever had to add water and the tops of the led plate(s) in the battery were above the fluid level?
- Do you keep the battery charged at 12.6 or higher (13.2 best)?
- Battery connections clean and tight, with no signs of corrosion?
- Not sure if you dry-camp or not?

Even the Interstate 85Ah batteries, when PROPERLY maintained will last 5 or more years. My original Interstate 85Ah batteries (2) lasted about 5 1/2 years before they died, but they were never discharged below 12.2VDC and were maintained at 13.2VDC. The current Trojan T145 6 volt batteries (260Ah) are still going strong (6+years).... well they no longer have 260Ah, but still hold a good charge and get the job done.

Before you go and dish out some $$$ for a new battery(s), you need to do go over the above items and see if any of those items may have caused your batteries to go south. Each time your battery drops below 12.2VDC you are shortening your batteries life (decreasing your Ah's), hit 10.5 volts and the odds of coming back to a useable level may not happen.

So, the first thing I would do is ignore the useless "Idiot light (60's term) bar display" that comes with the RV's and purchase a digital voltage display meter on Amazon. They are inexpensive and do the trick. There are a couple different ways of watching the voltage. The simple way is to get a plug in digital voltage display that will plug into your 12VDC accessory outlet in the RV. This will not be 100% accurate, but close enough for government work (probably not a good example to use at this time). The best option is one that connects directly to the battery, but takes a little work to install. When the battery voltage hits 12.2 volts, you need to stop using the battery and shut down things that are connected to the battery (not the CO sensor).

If you think that you have been discharging your battery a lot, because it does not meet your 12 volt needs, you may want to step up to 2 batteries. If you do not dry-camp and you think that you have been asking too much from your one battery, either upgrade to a 100Ah battery, or just buy (2) 12Volt 85Ah Interstate batteries (or equivalent type 85Ah) and go with that plan. If you do dry-camp, well you should look at (2) 6 volt batteries.

I attached a picture of the plug in display, and the better option which also measures the watts charging/discharging. There is a picture of how to wire in 2 12Volt batteries in parallel an a cut off switch. The prices may have changed a little but you will get an idea as to how much they cost.

You need to find a way to keep the batteries topped off in between use. SOLAR is an option, it you park the RV in a shaded or partially shaded area a small SOLAR charger will not help.

Well good luck with your selection.

Don
My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[bogadel]

mustang65, to answer some of your questions, it is obvious that I have neglected this battery since it is left in the rv lot couple miles from home. No electric and I don't know if I have the wherewithal to go the solar route, just so I can trickle charge the battery. Lots of info online about boondocking and hundreds of Ah's needed to do this or that. Not interested, I just want a battery that I can leave for a month and come back to it and find that I have juice in it to power up the landing legs and a slide out, when I get where I'm going which may or may not be in several months.
You see, I am retired, probably last RV i'll own, use this to visit family up north and we do not camp as often as we used to, but we still enjoy an occasional outing. The camper may sit for 4 months or more but I try to get to it and bring it home to charge the battery. I generally turn off the switch which takes all power from the fiver, but I forgot (senior moment) and drained the charge, not once but twice. Now I am faced with a battery purchase.
One forum user above said he used the Duracell Platinum AGM which is a Marine/RV AGM. He says he has not needed a special charger for this type of battery and it has lasted quite some time. This battery like my Interstate battery is a dual purpose battery, but mine is not an AGM. My question then is this Duracell not a true deep cycle battery? If a true deep cycle AGM battery is used, is it necessary to have a special charger other than the convertor/charger that came with the Jayco originally? If I had to purchase a special charger than my thought would be to just get the Marine/RV AGM and call it a day.
Your advice to add a digital voltage display is something that I will look into. I'll check Amazon and see what is available and then figure out where to best put it. Hopefully I'll remember to turn off the power disconnect but there is a good chance I'll forget again. 2 more years out of a battery and who knows if I'll still need one.
Thanks for your comments

[Mustang65]

bogadel,
Based on your maintenance history, I personally would go with the least expensive purchase. The AGM if maintained as you maintained your existing battery will just be a more expensive replacement and more than likely in the same time frame or maybe less.


Where do you store your TT now?

Don
My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[bogadel]

Mustang65, Looking at the Bayite current voltage LCD readout on Amazon, I'm confused as to the hookup. There was a couple of diagrams and each were wired for showing measuring discharge power, another measuring charging power, to do both you would need 2 of these meters it says. To monitor the voltage of the battery am I correct to say the measuring discharge power is the way to hook up this meter? I am a welder by trade and know enough that standing in water you can get shocked when hooking up the stinger and rod. That said I'm not great understanding what I need to do with the meter.