Mr. Monk and the Weak Interstate Battery –
About four months after receiving our Excel, the coach battery went from being a three-night battery to a one-night battery; for our use. “Here’s what happened.” The coach converter would work through its charging stages and get the battery to a full charge voltage. Without charging, during use of the battery, voltage dropped a lot faster than previously. I checked for the easy possible drains and moved on to the battery. The Interstate SRM-24 “deep cycle” battery provides access to the electrolyte in each of its six cells. I used my old hydrometer to check each cell; the first five were fully charged, but the 6th cell near the positive battery post was very weak. “He’s the guy.”
I checked the Interstate web site for dealers near me, removed the battery from the tray, and schlepped it to the dealer with the star by his name; a gas station with active work going on in the service bays. I told my story about the dead cell with water-like specific gravity. It did not matter; “Two hour charge and then test.” I was told. When the battery was put on the charger, I pointed out that no current was flowing through the battery; it was about as charged as it was going to get. “Here’s the thing;” again explaining about the low specific gravity of the one cell. I was told: “I do not understand what you are saying.” I could relate to this as I have had teenagers try to explain to me the processor architecture in their laptops, with similar results. I asked if the mechanic had a hydrometer. “No, but I do have this multi-hundred dollar Snap-on battery tester.” My battery was then tested and pronounced “GOOD.” He could not help me get anything off on the price of a new battery.
I thanked him and drove to my next choice Interstate dealer; a tire sales and service shop. They did not have a hydrometer either and they did not seem interested in my story about the bad cell. However, they did have a Midtronics battery tester, which printed out “REPLACE BATTERY.” The tester failed the battery because the equivalent Cold Cranking Amps were calculated to not be up to that printed on the top of the battery; apparently no testing directly related to Reserve Capacity or Amp Hours is included.
The battery manufacturer ship date molded into the battery case indicated that the battery was originally shipped 9 months before we bought the Excel from the Pleasure Way dealer. The Interstate distributor authorized the local dealer to pro rate my new battery cost based on the now, over one year old date.
My very small sample of battery dealers could indicate that there are not a whole lot of people out there worrying about the things that concern RVers; such as Reserve Capacity, Amp Hours, and any related specific gravity problems with the electrolyte. It’s a Jungle out there.
Chuck Sorensen
Buellton, California
2012 Excel TS
P. S. Unlike Monk, I took pictures of the original battery tray cable runs and ties, which I used when mounting the new battery.
I checked the Interstate web site for dealers near me, removed the battery from the tray, and schlepped it to the dealer with the star by his name; a gas station with active work going on in the service bays. I told my story about the dead cell with water-like specific gravity. It did not matter; “Two hour charge and then test.” I was told. When the battery was put on the charger, I pointed out that no current was flowing through the battery; it was about as charged as it was going to get. “Here’s the thing;” again explaining about the low specific gravity of the one cell. I was told: “I do not understand what you are saying.” I could relate to this as I have had teenagers try to explain to me the processor architecture in their laptops, with similar results. I asked if the mechanic had a hydrometer. “No, but I do have this multi-hundred dollar Snap-on battery tester.” My battery was then tested and pronounced “GOOD.” He could not help me get anything off on the price of a new battery.
I thanked him and drove to my next choice Interstate dealer; a tire sales and service shop. They did not have a hydrometer either and they did not seem interested in my story about the bad cell. However, they did have a Midtronics battery tester, which printed out “REPLACE BATTERY.” The tester failed the battery because the equivalent Cold Cranking Amps were calculated to not be up to that printed on the top of the battery; apparently no testing directly related to Reserve Capacity or Amp Hours is included.
The battery manufacturer ship date molded into the battery case indicated that the battery was originally shipped 9 months before we bought the Excel from the Pleasure Way dealer. The Interstate distributor authorized the local dealer to pro rate my new battery cost based on the now, over one year old date.
My very small sample of battery dealers could indicate that there are not a whole lot of people out there worrying about the things that concern RVers; such as Reserve Capacity, Amp Hours, and any related specific gravity problems with the electrolyte. It’s a Jungle out there.
Chuck Sorensen
Buellton, California
2012 Excel TS
P. S. Unlike Monk, I took pictures of the original battery tray cable runs and ties, which I used when mounting the new battery.
