switching to two 6 volt batteries?
I'm about to replace my two AF1150 batteries. They're currently Interstate Deep Cycle 12 volts wired in parallel. I'm thinking of going with two 6Volt golf cart batteries. Sam's sells the Duracel...
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When my original equipment batteries were gone I went with the two 6v GC batteries. They did better than the original ones but after running the furnace all night there were mornings where they were pretty much shot if it was very cold. I would need to run the generator to make the morning coffee.
After 6 years it wasn't getting any better so I took a deep breath and went lithium. The price has come down enough that they make sense for the long term investment. They also come in a much smaller form factor now for the 100ah batteries with ones even smaller than I bought. I went with 3 Redodo 100ah "smart" batteries for the following reasons. 1) They were small enough to fit 3 and I wanted a 3000 watt inverter so I never have to worry about what the wife turns on. 2) Decent price and they are even cheaper ($350) now than when I bought them. 3) With a single button on each battery I can turn them off so they are not charging/discharging when not in use. Single push turns them back on. Great feature. 4) They have low temp charging protection. 5) They are a LOT lighter than the GC batteries making installation/removal much easier.
There are a few companies that look like they sell the same battery.... just a different name. I went with Redodo because they were the cheapest at the time. I had an issue when I first hooked them up, that was mainly a misunderstanding on my part on how the sleep mode works, and their customer service was outstanding. Emails were promptly answered and they were very professional and knowledgeable. Batteries are working great and I added a Renogy shunt to monitor them. When I fire up the furnace it shows it will run for 22 hours and I can run the microwave and make coffee at the same time. My goal was to never worry about running out of battery and with this setup I've achieved it.
After 6 years it wasn't getting any better so I took a deep breath and went lithium. The price has come down enough that they make sense for the long term investment. They also come in a much smaller form factor now for the 100ah batteries with ones even smaller than I bought. I went with 3 Redodo 100ah "smart" batteries for the following reasons. 1) They were small enough to fit 3 and I wanted a 3000 watt inverter so I never have to worry about what the wife turns on. 2) Decent price and they are even cheaper ($350) now than when I bought them. 3) With a single button on each battery I can turn them off so they are not charging/discharging when not in use. Single push turns them back on. Great feature. 4) They have low temp charging protection. 5) They are a LOT lighter than the GC batteries making installation/removal much easier.
There are a few companies that look like they sell the same battery.... just a different name. I went with Redodo because they were the cheapest at the time. I had an issue when I first hooked them up, that was mainly a misunderstanding on my part on how the sleep mode works, and their customer service was outstanding. Emails were promptly answered and they were very professional and knowledgeable. Batteries are working great and I added a Renogy shunt to monitor them. When I fire up the furnace it shows it will run for 22 hours and I can run the microwave and make coffee at the same time. My goal was to never worry about running out of battery and with this setup I've achieved it.
