Any issues with 4 12 volt batteries?

Veebyes wrote:
The solar vs genny question always get differences of opinions. Solar is expensive for the initial setup. After that it is more or less free. Solar is great for the desert campers who are out in the sun. Solar is not very good for the woodsy campers who like the shade. You can buy an awful lot of gas with the difference in price between a solar setup & a portable genny.

The portable genny may come in handy sometime at home. The solar on the RV roof is not going to help at home.

Compared to a Honda 2000 purchased new + an upgraded converter, a self installed solar set up might come in lower. But yes you need some sun.

full_mosey wrote:

wintersun wrote:
With room for 4 batteries you could also add 2 6 volt batteries, i.e. the type used in golf carts and forklifts. They provide the longest life for the cost and are easy to find.

Whichever you put in go with flooded lead acid and don't waste your money on AGM and be sure that they are true deep cycle and not the "hybrid" or marine ones.

I agree in saving money. Do you have an example of this waste of money with AGMs? How much would be wasted?

HTH;
John

I'd kinda like to know why AGMs are a waste of money too? I have a single 4D AGM which is now 4 years old. I anticipate getting another 4 years of trouble free life out of it.

The AGM has become the battery of choice in the marine world. It is the battery of choice in the aviation world. It is standard for many high end motorhome builders. There is no maintenance, no gassing, can be put anywhere you have space. Unlike the wet cell which begins to lose voltage as soon as a load is applied the AGM tends to hold its voltage under load till near the end of the useful charge when the voltage drops off rapidly.

Not having all of those connections in a 6V series bank is good too. Fewer connections means fewer potential places to leak & cause problems.

Wet cells, especially the 6V banks are fine if you don't mind the maintenance & don't mind buying 2 to 3 sets of batterys in the lifespan of one AGM. Yes AGMs are expensive put the payback comes over the lifetime & time not spent fussing with watering.

Hi,

No, the most cost effective is flooded batteries. If going to AGM get the biggest meanest 12 volt battery that will fit the compartment. If more capacity is needed then twin the bank, or quadruple the bank, wiring in a balanced manner.

No, solar is by FAR cheaper than a 2kw generator, and most likely will double battery life span. Make sure the charge controller is temperature compensated.

The wfco converter needs to have the wiring to the battery bank as short as possible and be bumped up in size. Then there is a chance the wfco will go to bulk charging. If you don't wish to increase wire sizing then consider a different converter.

But--if you go solar--you may hardly use the converter at all. I often left mine unplugged when I was not full time.

Lowsuv wrote:
Thank You Roy ,
In summary it is your experience that the most cost effective method is to utilize the GC2 6 volt in series batteries rather than a 12 volt parallel combination , even if the 12V are all AGM .
Further a 2 KW generator with a battery charger is more cost efficient than a solar setup .
I think that is the net solution , is that correct ?

wintersun wrote:
With room for 4 batteries you could also add 2 6 volt batteries, i.e. the type used in golf carts and forklifts. They provide the longest life for the cost and are easy to find.

Whichever you put in go with flooded lead acid and don't waste your money on AGM and be sure that they are true deep cycle and not the "hybrid" or marine ones.

I agree in saving money. Do you have an example of this waste of money with AGMs? How much would be wasted?

HTH;
John

The solar vs genny question always get differences of opinions. Solar is expensive for the initial setup. After that it is more or less free. Solar is great for the desert campers who are out in the sun. Solar is not very good for the woodsy campers who like the shade. You can buy an awful lot of gas with the difference in price between a solar setup & a portable genny.

The portable genny may come in handy sometime at home. The solar on the RV roof is not going to help at home.

lowsuv wrote:
Further a 2 KW generator with a battery charger is more cost efficient than a solar setup .
I think that is the net solution , is that correct ?

I'd beg to differ about that. Solar doesn't need fuel.

Thank You Roy ,
In summary it is your experience that the most cost effective method is to utilize the GC2 6 volt in series batteries rather than a 12 volt parallel combination , even if the 12V are all AGM .
Further a 2 KW generator with a battery charger is more cost efficient than a solar setup .
I think that is the net solution , is that correct ?

75 amp WFCO will be great if it works as expected. Trouble is WFCO is notorious for not stepping up to boost mode when needed. Put the batteries in and give it a test is the only way to know.

For testing slowly discharge the battery to about 12.0/12.1 volts with a few lamps left on. Then fire up the generators and plug in. If working you should see battery voltage stedily climb to 14.2+ volts over 30 to 120 minutes. Voltage at the 12v fuse panel should have similar climb to 14.4 volts. More likely you will see 13.6 at the fuse panel and 13.2/13.6 at the battery and it will be a slow 24/48 hours to charge.

From what I have read all of the 9800 series models are a 3 stage charger. So, your good..

http://www.wfcoelectronics.com/UI/ProductsListing.aspx?cm=c1&mcid=110&pcid=110

Lyrikz wrote:

smkettner wrote:

Lyrikz wrote:
My converter is a 75 amp unit. Does that help or i need more information?

Open the breaker panel and get a model number.

WELL,had the wife try and find the converter, she cant find it..
Having her check the owners manuals and the breaker panel now.. i will let you guys know.

Ok, here is a pic of the breaker box. This help at all?


and this, found it.