Battery Purchase

Anyone here want him to flap his arms and run around like a chicken?

jrnymn7 wrote:
Do not throw the battery away... buy a boat, instead, :)

Good advice. It will be the happiest day of your life. :B

The next happiest day will be when you SELL IT !!! :h

I would check how old the battery is!!

When we got our 5er, it had a single #27. The battery failed less than a year in. It was already so old that we would have gotten about %10 in warranty from Interstate; got a Wally World #27; that lasted about a year. Got 2 no-name GC's, they're about 7 years old now; recently did a load test, and they still have about 80% of their capacity.

Doug

TomG2 wrote:
My four month old camper came with a dual purpose marine battery and I want to increase my electrical capacity. I realize that dual purpose is not the best choice, but should I pair it with a true deep cycle or purchase a matching dual purpose? I am not ready to throw away a four month old battery just to get two six volt models as I don't boondock that much. Thanks.

I would suggest getting another similar battery and i would get the most capacity you can afford while your at it. Good luck with it!

doughere wrote:
The total AH would probably be about the same, but you would then have 3 of the wrong kind of battery.

Doug

X2

TomG2 wrote:
Here is how I am looking at the math, which is probably the wrong way, I could purchase two more dual use batteries for a total of three for the same money that I would spend dumping this one and replacing it 'with a couple of deep cycle batteries. Would three be better than two, even though they are not the best for the job? Just wondering on a cold day.

I have a Honda 2000 watt generator, so I have a backup plan.

Have you checked your converter top output voltage? 13.4, 13.6, 14.4, ??? Have you checked specific gravity?

To measure any of this and say that the one you have wont go through the night brings up the first measurement and that is if your sg was up or not.

The total AH would probably be about the same, but you would then have 3 of the wrong kind of battery.

Doug

TomG2 wrote:
Lights aren't the problem. On a cool/cold night, the furnace will take the current battery below 50%.

Then charge it up and be ready for the next night. I still think lights take more than you think unless you use a lantern or turn in right at sunset.

The battery should still last a year.

Here is how I am looking at the math, which is probably the wrong way, I could purchase two more dual use batteries for a total of three for the same money that I would spend dumping this one and replacing it 'with a couple of deep cycle batteries. Would three be better than two, even though they are not the best for the job? Just wondering on a cold day.

I have a Honda 2000 watt generator, so I have a backup plan.

TomG2 wrote:
Lights aren't the problem. On a cool/cold night, the furnace will take the current battery below 50%.

OH, now that you mention the furnace it's another thing. That's the hog. I have four gc 6volts. With a decent charge I can run my furnace non stop all night and still be about 505 to 60% SOC in the am. In this case I agree that your best bet may be 2 gc 6 volt.

This is like a set of building blocks. Yes two deep/marines will help but you may need more. If you go to 2 gc 6 volts and it's better but you want to stay out longer so now what? Use 4 six volters Or use a generator to get you though. You need to know what your energy needs are or you are going to be buying and tossing stuff as you climb the ladder. See what I mean? Often times one person cant give you one answer that will fix everything. If you knew the answer to the end of the problem one person could tell you mathematically that you need this , this and this and it will work. That's not what happens though. Next thing you know you may say well the wife really does love to watch tv as she falls asleep so I want to run an inverter. I have two inverters laying around and now look at the next phase which would be big money inverter. Again, I'm climbing that ladder.

The good thing is that you came to a good site to get info. Then you get into the charging side. Will it sit plugged in long enough between uses to fully bring the sg up with your converter or will you need to supplement charge? If you charge while boondocking often times you will have long generator run times because of the converter/charger that you are using. You have opened the door, welcome aboard.