House battery problem - is it me or Interstate?
Quick backstory: Bought a 1997 Sportsmobile last August. Class B Ford Econoline E250 extended body van. Two group 27 batteries in parallel, dead house batteries when I bought it. Intellipower 9100 converter/charger.
When I bought the van I picked up two new Interstate ECL Pro 27 deep cycle batteries. They lasted eight months. Don’t know why the went bad, but the date stamp indicated that they were manufactured two years before I bought them. Thought that was the problem. Never dry camped more than three nights in a row on them. Draws are a Norcold fridge (2.3 amp draw), 6 rarely used LED light fixtures, one new unused dual-USB outlet, and the water pump when the faucet is on.
Interstate said they had a high return rate on the “Pro” series batteries and replaced them under warranty with their regular SRM27s. Had those about 12 days unused. They were 12.7-12.8 and I checked them daily. Turned on the fridge for the first time and they went to 12.3v in one hour.
Took them back and they load tested one of them. It was at 12.87v but had 0 cranking amps. This was at our local Interstate batteries warehouse/distributor, not a regular dealer. The tech looked confused. They gave me two more new SRM27s. Went camping this weekend and got the same result. Mostly fridge-only use and they get drawn down very quickly.
When the engine is running, they’re charging at about 13.9v. When plugged in to the Honda EU2000 generator, they’re charging at 13.4v. Verified this using a newly installed dual battery monitor and one of those cigarette lighter battery monitors. My buddy brought his fancy Fluke clamp meter this weekend and we confirmed that the fridge is drawing 2.3 amps, and that there is no draw when everything is shut off.
Before I go back to Interstate, is there anything else I should be looking at here? Seems unlikely that I’d get so many bad batteries from them. I know they’re not the highest quality but 12.8 to 12.3 in an hour is perplexing.
Side note: Ordering a 100w flexible solar setup from Renogy soon - with the 20A charge controller that will allow me to add a second panel later this Summer. But, I gotta get this battery situation figured out first.
When I bought the van I picked up two new Interstate ECL Pro 27 deep cycle batteries. They lasted eight months. Don’t know why the went bad, but the date stamp indicated that they were manufactured two years before I bought them. Thought that was the problem. Never dry camped more than three nights in a row on them. Draws are a Norcold fridge (2.3 amp draw), 6 rarely used LED light fixtures, one new unused dual-USB outlet, and the water pump when the faucet is on.
Interstate said they had a high return rate on the “Pro” series batteries and replaced them under warranty with their regular SRM27s. Had those about 12 days unused. They were 12.7-12.8 and I checked them daily. Turned on the fridge for the first time and they went to 12.3v in one hour.
Took them back and they load tested one of them. It was at 12.87v but had 0 cranking amps. This was at our local Interstate batteries warehouse/distributor, not a regular dealer. The tech looked confused. They gave me two more new SRM27s. Went camping this weekend and got the same result. Mostly fridge-only use and they get drawn down very quickly.
When the engine is running, they’re charging at about 13.9v. When plugged in to the Honda EU2000 generator, they’re charging at 13.4v. Verified this using a newly installed dual battery monitor and one of those cigarette lighter battery monitors. My buddy brought his fancy Fluke clamp meter this weekend and we confirmed that the fridge is drawing 2.3 amps, and that there is no draw when everything is shut off.
Before I go back to Interstate, is there anything else I should be looking at here? Seems unlikely that I’d get so many bad batteries from them. I know they’re not the highest quality but 12.8 to 12.3 in an hour is perplexing.
Side note: Ordering a 100w flexible solar setup from Renogy soon - with the 20A charge controller that will allow me to add a second panel later this Summer. But, I gotta get this battery situation figured out first.
