6 volt vs 12 volt batteries for boondocking

You can spend big bucks for the perfect battery, or select 2nd best for a fraction of the cost. I got my CG2's at Sam's Club many years ago.

OldSmokey wrote:

First off you are wrong...fact...battery is made by East Penn, not interstate.

interesting.. my contact at interstate said they supplied duracell brand.. hmmm.. i need to make another call..

Interstate is just a distributor. They do not make batteries.

Yes the may supply the Duracell but not manufacture.

http://www.driveduracell.com/assets/duracell/image/1686.pdf

At the bottom of the page.

Edit

The 31AGM also branded as Deka Intimidator
http://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/wp-content/uploads/Marine-Master-Spec-Sheet-0194.pdf

interesting.. my contact at interstate said they supplied duracell brand.. hmmm.. i need to make another call..

Yes indeedee you do. A battery rebrander claiming they supply another rebrander is curious. Like looking for a used car dealership.

Interstate is a battery rebrander

The only thing they "manufacture" is hot air.

LTH in Monterrey is starting to manufacture conventional AGM batteries.

MrWizard wrote:
I might be wrong
but i am of the opinion that the more Conservative the AmpHr rating per pound of lead, aka more lead per AmpHr

the higher the quality of battery

usually one of two cases, thick plates for longevity and cycles
or surface area for low internal resistance and high discharge rates.
hybrids such as marine sit in the middle. all variations to suit different markets.

high quality comes at a price and that usually implies more lead.


your telco batteries are AGM with Lead Calcium plates
like a car battery.. designed for large currents ( 1C ) and low cycles as they usually sit in float service for most of their life, typically
10 to 15 years.

other AGM are made for high current and moderate cycles, but you pay the price in longevity. also high $$$$

deep cycle like Trojan have really thick plates of lead antimony alloy for lifespan and high cycles, but higher internal resistance and lower current.

so your choice of battery depends on intended use of course.



I see at least three camps in RV ( pun not intended ! )

1. boon dockers who want every modern appliance.. so high current draw and low cycles. this is the AGM

2. boon dockers who minimize and require only lighting and a few low current draws.. therefore low current and high cycles. this is the Trojan RE

3. those who camp with hookups and don't care less.. use a marine or car battery.

4. those who need high capacity and high cycles.. this is the world
of Lithium. problem here is cost.. how many would spend say $4000 for
a battery ? not many..

now, these are just typical use. you can get high draw and high cycles but at a price and weight. Main limitation with RV is space and weight.

I might be wrong
but i am of the opinion that the more Conservative the AmpHr rating per pound of lead, aka more lead per AmpHr

the higher the quality of battery

my Surplus Telco server batteries 105# 135Ah each
thats 1.28 Ah per pound of lead
since the batteries are 33% heavier than a group 31, but also taller
i don't know if the plates are just taller, or also Thicker while being taller
i suspect thicker, because i'm not sure they are 33% taller
i never thought about it until now

as it has been stated many times
plate thickness is design of function
super high amps for a short time, aka spin the starter on a cold engine
or moderate amps for a along time for a dedicated load

For MOdern RV'ers , there is NO constant for comparison
no set number of hours of 40w tv, no set number pump run minutes
lots of intermittent high amp inverter use

Yeah no biggie. Just that some of us know what we are doing for our own particular situation. It's hard to figure all that out on the Internet forums from the information that is provided, lol.
And of course for every setup there is one better setup, just $$$$$

quite right.. sometimes it's difficult to assess things without all the relevant information.

I just finished up a call re: interstate

It was clarified that duracell has had multiple suppliers over the years. including : Johnson controls, interstate and east penn.

OldSmokey wrote:

First off you are wrong...fact...battery is made by East Penn, not interstate.

interesting.. my contact at interstate said they supplied duracell brand.. hmmm.. i need to make another call..

Second, how do you know how much solar is enough? Are you ASSuming I am going down to 50% SOC EVERY DAY? I am not.

only you know that as you didn't post your daily w/hr.

if you would care to post your daily w/hr then I would gladly discuss and assist you with panel/battery best practices.

i made a rough back calc based on battery capacity, no need to get belligerent about it..

I have been an ASE master tech since 91 and a field service engineer in the semiconductor industry for the last 22 years.
I didn't just guess when I added these components.

I'm sure you did, however paralleling always raises a red flag in the professional world, unless there is no better solution, paralleling is the last choice. I have 40 yrs as MSEE and 20 as PE.. as you will appreciate, our design criteria will be quite different.

Yeah no biggie. Just that some of us know what we are doing for our own particular situation. It's hard to figure all that out on the Internet forums from the information that is provided, lol.
And of course for every setup there is one better setup, just $$$$$

I will say this again. GC batteries. be they GC-2 or GC-12 are DEEP CYCLE, you can also get other DEEP CYCLE batteries but they can be hard to find and expensive.

Most of your Group 24, 27, 29, 31 batteries are MARINE/deep cycle. (pay attntion to the case I use)

Starting batteries need to be kept well fed like 80+% at all times. Run 'em down and they are TOAST'
MARINE batteries are starting as well Just not rated for sub freezing temps. but MARINE/Deep cycle.. Well they are Mostly starting with lip service paid to DEEP CYCLE you can run em down safely just a few percent less than MARINE.

DEEP CYCLE are designed for 50% discharge.. Provided you recharge soon.

And due to fact that Golf Courses order GC batteries by the pallet load.. As opposed to ordering in smaller quantities as Auto Stores do the Group this or that types. GC batteries are LOWER COST. as well.