House Batteries

[The_Stuff]

So in my RV i think the house battery is on the way out.. doesnt seem to take a charge very well anymore. lasts about 2 days for just the lights on inside at night which are LED's..


so what is the best type or style of house battery? I know that it has to be a deep cycle. I doubt i can afford to go really fancy but im game for whats out there.

 

[chev49]

so, what is your total current draw/ hr, and how many amp hr battery do you have?
For example, in my bus i normally don't run more than around 12 watts - which is 2-3 light bulbs depending on what room i am in, occasionally use the couple of 12v car light bulbs i have and occasionally use the 12v water pump. one 200 amp works easily for me for many hours. i also leave one light on continually but that is only 3 watts. i only have one battery hooked up at the moment for the house battery.

i would imagine the best size for the weight and cost would be something like a marine battery like at wal mart, or a group 31 at the battery store. you can normally put two of them in a smallish space. golf cart batteries are ok as well, but are more expensive. a meter is also a good idea for your house batteries

 

[browncrown]

You do need the Deep-cycle and there are quite a few to choose from. I recommend choosing a maintenance free style, especially if the batteries are difficult to get to for checking water levels if you don't get the maintenance free style. They are pricier. However, I found myself forgetting to regularly check fluid levels because I had to crawl under the bus to get to them. Finally ended up getting two Series 31's. Have had them on board now for a year with no problems. And don't forget some type of charge controller to keep from over-charging.

 

[The_Stuff]

I was thinking of getting one of them blue top gel batteries. yay or nay?

not sure if the house charger is charging at a constant rate or not.. I would love to get a small solar panel and just stop using the house converter all together!

for drains i have at most 9 sets of lights on at once. usually just 3 sets in the living room of LED's and outside light that is LED. the ceiling fan is also 12v and usually only on during the day.

 

[syke]

Just my two cents.... I'd stay away from the gel batteries. The main reason being you can not charge them very quick and if you over charge them they are garbage, generally speaking. If you want a sealed type battery then go with a more expensive agm. The agm has all the advantages of a gel and none of the disadvantages. Or stick with the flooded style batteries if you have the room and don't mind checking the water levels. (it's really not a huge deal as long as you have the room to work)
Me personally, I went with sam's club 6 volt golf cart batteries. $78 a piece. For my first set of house batteries I did not want to spend a fortune on them just in case I ruined them.
Also make sure you get a nice quality 3 or 4 stage charger. And keep the battery (s) charged up. Try not to let them fall bellow 50%.

If you want to be a little more accurate, add up all the watts of everything you run off the battery. Post up the numbers and we can help do some math equations and show you how many batteries and what size, etc. Then you will have a good idea as to how long they would power what you need.

 

[lornaschinske]

You had better make sure that the charger likes gels then. Over at Phred's Poop sheets he talks about the chargers and gels. As far as that goes.. read about the batteries and charging them. I don't agree with all he says but we don't need a big battery bank nor can we fit a 6v golf cart battery in our battery bay. So we will use the deep cycle Marine batteries from Wal-Mart. Got 6 years on one right now that is a house battery with a vintage converter/charger on it. Works for us so it will be multiplied on the bus.

 

[The_Stuff]

well space aint a issue. I have the current battery on on a plank on the ground under the trailer. im sure i could fit in a couple golf cart batteries or an AGM battery. ill have to see whats available here.

 

[roach711]

Most of the chain auto parts stores will load test your batteries for free.

I've read that AGM's charge at lower voltage than wet cells. Wet cells can take 14.8 or so but AGM's like a few tenths of a volt lower. If you use them get a charger with adjustable voltage.

The AGM's cost a lot more.

 

[Diesel Dan]

I just bought a pair of 6v golf cart batteries yesterday for $85 each at Batteries Plus. They are branded as Rayovac and are 215AH as opposed to the more expensive 225AH Trojans. I'm pretty jazzed about having new batteries!

 

[bansil]

I just bought a pair of 6v golf cart batteries yesterday for $85 at Batteries Plus. They are branded as Rayovac and are 215AH as opposed to the more expensive 225AH Trojans. I'm pretty jazzed about having new batteries!

What part number did you go with?
I attempted to talk with an individual at our local store,and since I didn't have a golf cart model they couldn't help me even tho' I said I wanted to buy 2 6v golf cart batteries..the conversation was pretty stupid I said I wanted atleast 215AH each and the person didn't have a clue what I wanted I mentioned "SLIGC110" and the responce was what year is the golf cart...argh!!!

 

[cschlessman]

One place I found real helpful with batteries is Crown Battery Co. If you have one near you go talk to them they are very helpful at my local store and I got 6v 395aph batteries for 255.00 each.

Chuck

 

[Diesel Dan]

What part number did you go with?...I mentioned "SLIGC110" and the responce was what year is the golf cart...argh!!!

That is the same part number as the batteries I got. The guy at the Batteries Plus I went to was very helpful and knowledgeable. I just told him my application (RV house batteries) and asked a few questions about different options, and the SLIGC110 was the option we agreed was best for my situation. I asked if there was any advantage of 6v golf cart vs 12v marine batteries and he said the 6v tend to be bigger and have more capacity (longer run time between charges). I asked about the Trojan brand golf cart batteries and he said some people swear by them but they cost a lot more than the ones I got and only have 4% more capacity, but are otherwise the same quality. So anyway, I felt like he gave me good advice and understood my application.

You're guy must have been a newbie or something...

 

[chev49]

i would go to a battery distributor store where they have a large volume of sales to stores, truckers, and the like over going to batteries plus. In my town, these guys know 10 times as much as the batteries plus kids that are here... just saying.