Trojan L16h-ac batteries - a couple of questions

[Kevin8520]

Hello all!

I have a 2015 Eclipse Iconic 3316 5th wheel toy hauler. This massive beast only came with one deep cycle 12v battery to run the unit. The lights are LED but any short furnace or spot light use drains the battery too fast. I need a better 12v solution as I do a lot of dry camping mainly in the desert. The longest I would be dry camping is 6 days in a row.

I am looking at putting two Trojan L16h-ac 6 volt batteries. They are large and heavy, but I have the room for them. I am open to other suggestions as well. I have a couple of questions:

1) I have a 160 watt solar panel on the roof. Will this solar panel keep these batteries maintained?

2) What is the best way to secure them to the coach? They don't really make a battery box for these batteries as they are 12x7x17" (LxWxH). I was thinking of setting them side by side and running hot water heater straps around them with a bolt/screw at each end OR getting some 1" metal bar stock and bending it as needed. Any other suggestions?

3) Each battery weighs in at 125 lbs. It appears my battery bay will support the weight. Will 250 lbs of weight in one small area cause any adverse effects on the trailer?

Here is a link to the battery in question
http://www.trojanbattery.com/product/l16h-ac/

Here is a link to a PDF comparing this battery to other Trojans
http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/TRJN0111_ProdSpecGuide.pdf


Here are a few pictures of my battery bay

[_plit]

Kevin,

Going back to your original questions. I too have those in my Momentum. Great batteries and very heavy. For mounting/acid control i used dog food bins from Petco. I mounted them directly to a wall using sheet metal screws near the top of the bin to keep them from tilting since we do a ton of boondocking down some bumpy roads. Have not had any issues with them.

Like stated before on solar, if your charge controller cant handle the extra panel then there is not much of a benefit to another panel. 160 panels should be ok as long as you arent trying to dry camp with your fridge and a ton of stuff running. I would use one of the online Amp/watt useage worksheets to balance your solar if you are lookin toward that.

that being said, my batteries are fantastic. I like them alot. Oh and yes they do make boxes for these but good luck finding a spot to fit it 🙂 they use these batteries in heavy equipment and cellular back up systems so they are pretty heavy duty. good luck/ Split

[CA_Traveler]

Have you considered 4xGC's? About 460AH vs 4xL16's at 740AH.

[deltabravo]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

I'd want at least 275 watts of panels for a 435 amp-hour battery bank.

Ditto.

160 watts helps, but for an extended RV camp trip in the winter, the solar won't keep up with demand.

I've got 300 watts on my my truck camper.

[Kevin8520]

Okay so the 20 hour rate is what to follow. Thank you for that info!

[pianotuna]

Hi Kevin,

You may find that most folks here talk capacity in amp-hours at the 20 hour rate rather than reserve capacity in minutes.

The general rules of thumb for long battery life are:

only use 50% of total capacity
recharge to 100% as often as possible
do not over charge
do not under charge
do not leave the battery uncharged for weeks at a time.
For flooded batteries c/5 may be the best (i.e. most efficient) charging rate.

[Kevin8520]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi Kevin,

There are no dumb questions.

If batteries are in series voltage doubles i.e. 6 + 6 = 12
If batteries are in series capacity stays the same

If batteries are in parallel voltage stays the same.
If batteries are in parallel capacity doubles i.e. 100 + 100 = 200

Thank you, I appreciate the fast reply!

[pianotuna]

Hi Kevin,

There are no dumb questions.

If batteries are in series voltage doubles i.e. 6 + 6 = 12
If batteries are in series capacity stays the same

If batteries are in parallel voltage stays the same.
If batteries are in parallel capacity doubles i.e. 100 + 100 = 200

[Kevin8520]

I wanted to bump this thread with one more question. When looking at 6v batteries, do you combine the capacity time of the two? For example the Trojan battery guide says the L16H-AC has a capacity time of 935 minutes at 25 amps. So with two of them does that make the run time 1870? I know that may be a dumb question and I am sorry for that! 😮

[Kevin8520]

Fred, I appreciate that input. I would definitely need help moving those batteries into place. My concern is getting 4 batteries into my coach vs 2. I'll have to "weigh" that decision carefully. Thank you!

[CA_Traveler]

2xL16 battery box.

I used this company for 2xGC batteries and it should work fine for your L16's.

[Golden_HVAC]

125 pound batteries - are you kidding me that you might pick up one by yourself?

I would much rather recommend a set of 4 golf cart batteries, they are 'only' 67 pounds each, and 220 amp hours each. Much easier to move into place. And it will spread out some of the weight over a square foot or so each.

I put two golf cart batteries in my storage compartment, and two came mounted just behind the front bumper of my 97 Bounder based on a Ford chassis. I have large wires running between the factory battery and the second pair, as well as 000 size wire to the inverter! This is rated at around 150 amps, and protected by a 300 amp fuse that I had laying around.

Good luck,

Fred.

[pianotuna]

Kevin,

Yes you still need 275 watts minimum.

Just parallel connect the additional panel on the roof.

I used to have 875 amp-hours of flooded batteries and used bank switching to save on solar costs, back when panels were "cheap" at $5.50 per watt.

Kevin8520 wrote:
I would prefer not to add an additional solar panel at the moment if possible. I do have a generator onboard and I do also camp at campgrounds with full hookups. With those two additional power sources do you still feel 275 worth of solar is needed?

I see you have a hefty battery bank. Admittedly I don't know a ton about solar. Would an additional solar panel connect to the one already on the roof or does it need to be wired down to the charge controller?

[Kevin8520]

I guess the beauty of solar is that I can slap another panel up there if needed.

Any suggestions on how to mount these large 6 volt batteries? Like I said I was thinking of using hot water heater straps or bending 1" metal bar to tie them down to the coach? They do not make a traditional battery box for these batteries.

[sh410]

The radio memory, fridge controller, TV standby and propane detector will consume 2amp/hr or 48ampH per day. Running your generator 2hrs in the morning and 2hrs in the evening may get you to 6 days boondocking. More solar would reduce generator time.