Adding Batteries

[Rueckert]

I have a Greyhawk 26Y....it has one house battery in the drawer, and I hooked up 2 more deep cycles in the storage next door. I used cheaper "wet" deep cycles and was disappointed in their power holding capacity...so know I am considering switching to AGM batteries (nice to not need to check water level in tight space) I am kinda amazed at the range in specs....think mine is a group 27...specs and price. Wondering if someone is a battery nut and has advice?

Right now Bass Pro Shops and Cabellas seem to have the best price at about $200 a battery with like 800 amps.

thought?

[GeorgiaRV]

Depending on your power needs, how long you will be off grid, how much solar you have, etc. there are quite a few factors to consider. I did the same as you replaced my one original Lead acid with an AGM in its original location and added two more AGMs in the storage bay next to original battery bay. Those lasted about a year or so for me. I boondock a lot and have high power requirements. I ended up replacing the AGMs with 4 Battleborns Lithium Ion and have been completely satisfied with their performance. Been on the Battleborns now for almost 2 years and they are going as good as new. If you are going to be boondocking a lot I would highly recommend the extra expense of Lithium Ion...I know there will be a lot of other opinions on this... Just letting you know my experience, this may not be the same for everyone. :-)

[pconroy]

Yeah - I didn't think AGMs come with 'astonishingly more Ah' just less maintenance that flooded. Plus you've still got the 50% Drained limit, I thought.


Seems to me the current approach to max capacity is Lithiums... $$$$$$$$$

[GeorgiaRV]

Originally Posted by pconroy

Yeah - I didn't think AGMs come with 'astonishingly more Ah' just less maintenance that flooded. Plus you've still got the 50% Drained limit, I thought.


Seems to me the current approach to max capacity is Lithiums... $$$$$$$$$

you are correct. Lithiums you can drain down to 10% or less... Though the lowest I have gone is about 20% and that was only once in 2 years.

Another plus is the weight AGMs were about 80lbs each. Lithums are 35lbs each. and they can be positioned in any orientation and don't need ventilation

[Rueckert]

Thanks...just can't swing that high lithium cost

[Vicr]

Originally Posted by Rueckert

Right now Bass Pro Shops and Cabellas seem to have the best price at about $200 a battery with like 800 amps.

thought?

800 amp hours for $200?? I seriously doubt that. 800 cold cranking amp maybe but CCA doesn't mean a thing in the deep cycle world which RV's live in. You don't want a starting battery (CCA) you want a deep cycle battery with the highest amp hours (ah) you can afford. Sporting good stores are not the best place to buy batteries as they are just re-branded low quality batteries. Go to a battery store and get a real deep cycle RV or Solar battery, not a Marine/RV battery unless they are a true deep cycle which very few are.

[Rueckert]

i didnt say amp hours...just 800 amps

looking at their specs it says 640 cca...amp 10 hr capacity 832 when i compare to about anything else it looks equal or better

what do you see as a battery store? give me examples then...I think a place like Bass Pro Shops which sells as much marine and fishing gear where deep cycle is king would have quality and stand behind it...my opinion

[Vicr]

Originally Posted by Rueckert

i didnt say amp hours...just 800 amps 800 amps of what?

looking at their specs it says 640 cca...amp 10 hr capacity 832 when i compare to about anything else it looks equal or better

what do you see as a battery store? give me examples then...I think a place like Bass Pro Shops which sells as much marine and fishing gear where deep cycle is king would have quality and stand behind it...my opinion

You don't want a boat battery (marine)you want a deep cycle battery. Here are the specs to look at when comparing deep cycle batteries


(Ah) @ the 20hr rate

Minutes of discharge @ 75 Amps:


Minutes of discharge @ 25 Amps:


Google "Michigan Battery Stores".

[GeorgiaRV]

If you are definitely going with AGMs these are the ones I used....

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Vicr]

I had the room and boondock a lot so I added 2 J-185's.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by Rueckert

i didnt say amp hours...just 800 amps

looking at their specs it says 640 cca...amp 10 hr capacity 832 when i compare to about anything else it looks equal or better

what do you see as a battery store? give me examples then...I think a place like Bass Pro Shops which sells as much marine and fishing gear where deep cycle is king would have quality and stand behind it...my opinion

The point was that 800 number is cranking amps. Meaning the battery can supply that much amperage for a very short time.


It won't help you for boondocking. What you're after is Amp Hours - how long can a battery supply power. Group 27's are in the 80-100 Amp Hour range, but you have to divide that by two since you can't discharge below 50% without hurting the battery.




I won't tell you the best place to buy a battery, because I don't know. Some people love Costco, others Autozone, others Walmart.


I used to buy nothing but DieHards, but that just shows you how old I am.


The last two batteries I bought, I got from Batteries+Bulbs.
Why?


1) I had a coupon
2) They're a 2 minute drive
3) The store is usually empty
4) I can whine if they bring out a battery that has a date on it I don't like


And (5) because I believe there are only a handful of actual battery manufacturers out there and it really doesn't matter that much.




I used to work in Telco - where they took batteries seriously.
They bought Surette/Rolls and Trojans.

[RPR]

I would suggest having all auxiliary batteries no matter how many the same size and age. So normally they would all charge up in the same amount of time. Older the battery the longer it takes to recharge (like my body). Physically bigger batteries take longer than smaller batteries when charged at the same rate. Bigger plates and more of them.

[bansai]

This thread was pretty timely for me. My 3 year old Jayco needs a new battery and I'm considering converting to a pair of 6 volt trojans, buying a welder and after some practice, fabricating a new box and just buy once cry once... at least for 5 years or so. All I know is camping world wants so much money to do the conversion, I can literally pay for the welder, the better batteries and be done with it all for cheaper, and not have to leave my house to do it.

[RPR]

You may consider a single point watering system also.

[Rueckert]

Dang...serious expense...thanks

[Rueckert]

Nice...guess I always heard use the same length cables between batteries? I assume yours works fine with different lengths? So no worry on that?