Battery Compartment leak ( Up Date)

I just replaced my pair of East Penn/ Deka GC2’s wets with East Penn / Deka GC2 AGM’s. In my rig you have to remove the batteries to water them, it was just a big pain.
I did the PD 9260 upgrade last summer because the Magnetek converter section was boiling the batteries, it also had a pretty bad parasitic draw when not plugged into shore power. I’m sure thats what damaged my 2 year old batteries to the point of no return.

I was able to pick up the new Deka made in the USA AGM’s from the local distributor for $195 each. I priced the Interstate distributor he carried an AGM under the US Battery brand, made in China for $250 each.

Do wets get more WattHours over their useful life? Do you get these WH when you want them? Do wets rob you of the R in RV?

There have been some test results posted that show that AGMs are better whenever higher draws are involved. Noone disputes the superior deep cycle attributes of 6V GC type batteries, until they are asked to run high Watt devices. That is where they hit a wall on run times. What is the trend in RVs telling us; more or less high draw appliances?

I have gone into great detail to explain how my tiny AGMs(see profile) have been working marvelously for me. I have treated them like lab rats and have posted several results of abusing them severely, and yet, they still keep working. They are 4+ and 5+ years old. IOW, I am working on their 5th and 6th years. I can't believe I had any doubts about using them for LTVA dry camping this year! I am at 24 nights right now without shore power.

Last week, while in Quartzsite, I finally upgraded my van's system with a Magnum MMS-1012 inverter/charger. One more test of the Deka 8a24m 79AH AGM was to see how long it could be used in the morning. Keep in mind that this single 53lb battery is running two 12V compressor fridges 24/7 and had been running overnight. I ran a pot of coffee(~625W) for 6min, then ran the inverter MW at ~425W for a total of 20min to reheat coffee and heat food. These runs were spaced over 1:20h. I did finally cause an inverter LVD at the at ~30min mark as I was making a second pot of coffee. How many minutes can I get from a GC pair before inverter LVD?

Following this, I ran the genny and it took the 50A MMS-1012 charger :54 to reach float. Yep, that's 50A into a 5+yo 79AH battery. That frees up time to maximize the R in RV instead of babysitting wets while you tend to their lenghty and error prone charging regimens.

Now, what I would like to see is some performance stats on wet batteries that can approach that on a per pound basis. All we get is a lot of bloviating about how swell 6V GCs are. A pair of 6V GCs weigh 130lbs. Who is going to step forward and tell us how 130lbs of wets are going to permit 53/130 = 2.45, or ~90min of run time on a per lb basis?

Now, if we are talking about running a 5A furnace fan, the GCs win on run time lb per lb. That may be important for some folks.

I am looking forward to replacing my AGMs this summer while in TN so I can get the Deka 31s from Sam's Club. :)

HTH;

Sully2: I did that drew a diagram and took pictures. Guess what still got it wrong, I looked at the pictures noted that the positive faced the back on all 4 batteries, got all cables connected except the last one when I touched the cable sparks flew, had one of the back batteries turned wrong as you know these suckers are not light, got it turned the right way every thing is fine. Roy

wa8yxm wrote:

Sully2 wrote:

Why not just take PICS of the wiring and such from different angles....then you can easily see how they get hooked back up.

Asked in reply to my suggestion to PAINT the wires.

Too easy for a wire to get lost or misplaced or a photo to get lost or misplaced... Plus it is hard to see the + and - signs on the battery since they are low contrast.

Easier to paint it and compare the signs with the old battery when you replace 'em.

That said.. I likely wont use paint when I do mine.. but I've replaced many batteries on many vehicles. and the wires are already prperly color coded (Well at least one of 'em) and there is a fuse block there that kind of codes it too.

Use RED colored wiring for any positive connections and BLACK colored wiring for any negative post connections. Kinda hard to mistake those in a photo

AGM batteries does not necessarily mean they will last longer then your Interstate U2200.

Sully2 wrote:

Why not just take PICS of the wiring and such from different angles....then you can easily see how they get hooked back up.

Asked in reply to my suggestion to PAINT the wires.

Too easy for a wire to get lost or misplaced or a photo to get lost or misplaced... Plus it is hard to see the + and - signs on the battery since they are low contrast.

Easier to paint it and compare the signs with the old battery when you replace 'em.

That said.. I likely wont use paint when I do mine.. but I've replaced many batteries on many vehicles. and the wires are already prperly color coded (Well at least one of 'em) and there is a fuse block there that kind of codes it too.

dougrainer: A little late with your answer. The reason I wanted to leave it hooked up to shore power, I have a de-humidifier in the MH.
Thanks for your help. Roy

ROYBUCK wrote:
The U2200 I have is going on 7 years, how much longer will the AGM last. Roy

Now that is a good question: I see many people bragging about the life of their AGMs

I bought this motor home in 2005, New from the factory.

In 2006 (3/4 year later) I picked up a pair of MK, G-31 AGMs

I also had a collection of Maintenance free batteries that pre-dated the purchase of the motor home by 1-3 years.

In 2011, I replaced the AGM's

In 2012 I replaced the first of the MFs
IN 2013 I replaced the rest of the MFs.
And finally, the U-2200's are now in need of replacement
As is the chassis battery.


Of course,, that is just MY experience.

wa8yxm wrote:
To shut the charger down (you really do NOT want to do that, you want to stop the batteries from drawing current)
Step one. Get two small cans of spray paint, One red, One black (Testors?)
Step two, On the most positive battery terminal is one or more wires running off to who knows where (NOT to another battery) Spray paint RED
On the most negative.. Well I know where it runs to but paint it black.
Wait 24 hours for paint to fully dry
Now remove wires from negative terminal and set aside (NOTE: If you wish you can lift one end of the jumper between the two batteries first but.. You need to be very careful if you do this I'd wait and pull the most negative lead, an accidental short to ground won't cause damage or injury)
Then remove the POSITIVE (now red) wires and put a bolt through them and wrap this in plastic, put it in a cup, or bottle or wrap it in bubble wrap or otherwise insulate it from everythign.
Replace batteries come spring
The bolt will keep you from loosing a stray wire
The paint tells you which end is which.

Why not just take PICS of the wiring and such from different angles....then you can easily see how they get hooked back up.

Well finally got my batteries got the Interstate GC2 HD they have discounted the U2200, paid $89.25 each. Some one on here suggested the AGM If I had planned on keeping the MH for awhile I would have but at 77 years of age I don't think they would have been worth the price, may be 3 more years I might give it up, no body but myself now so I don't go as much. Thanks to all for the suggestions on my different questions. Roy