Live of batteries

[Daboo]

It seems as if I can't get the batteries (both engine& house) won't last but just little over a year..I try to maintain them,water,running the engine , etc, but now I need 3...in looking at the dates on the battery..10/12...11/12 ...12/12'..all just over 1 yr.. These were replacements for previous batteries of about the same age....bought both sets from Walmart......what am I doing wrong..when not in use I turn the battery switch off..perhaps a new brand of batteries is in order

[ArchHoagland]

Walmart batteries have a 2 year warranty, or at least the $84 one I bought did.

So you could probably return them.

But I have a question.

How are they failing...won't hold a charge...won't charge...etc?

Have you checked the specific gravity on them?

[full_mosey]

Daboo wrote:
It seems as if I can't get the batteries (both engine& house) won't last but just little over a year..I try to maintain them,water,running the engine , etc, but now I need 3...in looking at the dates on the battery..10/12...11/12 ...12/12'..all just over 1 yr.. These were replacements for previous batteries of about the same age....bought both sets from Walmart......what am I doing wrong..when not in use I turn the battery switch off..perhaps a new brand of batteries is in order

Your disconnect switch may not be totally disconnecting the bank from all draws. A simple test is to pull the neg cable(s) the next time and monitor the resting voltages daily or weekly.

Running the engine is not usually done long enough to provide sufficient charging so that the batteries can hold a charge for a whole day, even if disconnected. You will need to do the disconnect test to observe this.

HTH;
John

[wa8yxm]

My U-2200s just died at 8.5,, My Chassis battery is .... Very close to dead I think.. I"m hoping it will last the month with help. (Same age)

My G-31 AGM's barley made it five years. (And folks tell me they should last longer) and I've had Maintenance free (My chassis battery) several that made it to the 9 year point.

So if you are killing them in just a year, You are either seriously OVER charging them (Any time) or seriously UNDER chargeing them over-winter.

[mena661]

smkettner wrote:
Do you let them run down between trips? Or are you plugged in?
Have you ever checked the battery voltage?
Does the Chassis battery get charged when the House battery is charging at camp?

I think the short life is a maintenance issue more than the brand. Lead acid likes to be tip top 100% charged.
If parked in the sun 100 watts of solar would go a long way for battery longevity.

X2, and nice chart Old Biscuit.

[Shadow_Catcher]

No substitute for a battery monitor Trimetric or Victron
Battery FAQ

[gbopp]

Did you ever read The 12 Volt Side of Life?

Maybe it will help. I found it useful and informative.

[RoyB]

Looking at the year of your RV I suspect you are not using an on-board SMART MODE Converter/charger unit.

The smart mode converter/chargers will really take care of your batteries for you.

Also on the previous post about taking care of things. The best you can do is NEVER EVER run your batteries down below 50% charge state which is around 12.0VDC. Then promptly re-charge them back up to 90% charge state and you can do around 12-14 charge cycles from the 50% - 90% charge states before you have to do a full 100% charge state. Using smart mode charging technology you can get re-charged in as little as three hours of charge. Doing the full 100% charge will take around 12 hours of charging...

This is what we do with our multiple deep cycle battery bank. I am on six years now for my three GP24 85AH Interstate batteries (255Ahs) in my 2008 OFF-ROAD POPUP camper which is mostly used for camping off the power grid. Lots of charging cycles...

Roy Ken

[time2roll]

Do you let them run down between trips? Or are you plugged in?
Have you ever checked the battery voltage?
Does the Chassis battery get charged when the House battery is charging at camp?

I think the short life is a maintenance issue more than the brand. Lead acid likes to be tip top 100% charged.
If parked in the sun 100 watts of solar would go a long way for battery longevity.

[sch911]

How are you recharging the batteries? Is the rig plugged in at all times? Simply running the engine for a few minutes a month while in storage won't do it. If the batteries are disconnected with the rig plugged into shore power they're not going to recharge either.

[init6]

Also make sure you don't have a load on them. Sounds like something is draining them all the way down and they are staying discharged. I would put a battery disconnect in there and also keep a battery maintainer plugged into AC. They are cheap and use very little power but will keep the battery fully charged and will help you keep them for a long time.

If you don't want to put a battery disconnect in there, you can take off one of the battery cables.

Also use distilled water (only) in your battery. Tap water is not what you want.

[Old-Biscuit]

Sounds like batteries are being allowed to discharge without routine/frequent maintaining of voltage.

Allowing battery voltage to drop below 12.3V will shorten a battery life

[naturist]

Not enough info to be able to help.

How are they used? IS the rig they are in used often or left in storage? Are there battery disconnect switches in use when the vehicle is not being used? Do you have them on battery maintainers in storage? Do you live in the rig full time? Are you adding distilled water or tap water? How often?

Without details, I can only assume you are doing exactly what I, do, and my batteries last for years.