Replacing my 2 House Batteries, Suggestions?

[Squealers]

Hey folks,

I need to replace my 2 house batteries this week. I know there is a myriad of options, but would love to hear what you have purchased recently. I do know from research here that I probably need an AGM deep cycle battery with the highest amp hours possible, but aside from that I'm in the dark. I've also seen reference to golf cart batteries but I'm out of the loop on that setup.

I'd love to know where you found your batteries as well...WM/Sams? We don't have Costco here.

Thanks guys.

[Squealers]

Thanks all. Appreciate your advice. Given the location of my batteries and the fact we are only keeping the rig for a few more years I went with the WM deep cycle ever start. I was getting a chassis batter as well and figured I get them all at the same place. Also I retired from WM and boondock in their lots a bunch so if there's an issue I should be close!

Thanks for all your great advice.

[frankdamp]

When we bought our Class A in 2010, it was 8 years old and had its original SINGLE 12V house battery. It was getting pretty tired, so I replaced it with two 12V deep cycle units, since the battery tray was big enough and easy to work with. I got Costco batteries, from our "local" (35 miles away) warehouse, but I'm fairly sure batteries from Sears, Cabela's, Sam's/Walmart or other "big box" stores would be fine.

We sold our rig after four years and the house electrics never gave us any grief. We weren't boon-dockers and always stayed at FHU CGs.

[lj2654]

I just recently bought 4 6 volt
Trojan T105's at a Florida golf cart shop for $87 each.

[barmcd]

Our motor home came with four 6-volt golf cart AGM batteries and are just about six years old. They still seem pretty good, but are definitely closer to the end of their useful life than the beginning. I started looking at replacements and holy cow are they expensive. I'm thinking of going to flooded wet cells when I replace them. I can get good quality wet cells for about half the price of the AGMs.

[Oasisbob]

I am on my second set of Costco Marine deep cycle group 27. Got five good years from first set. Four so far on second set. They were sorely abused a few times and bounced back.

[Matt_Colie]

Squealer,

I did a lot of boat work before the depression killed us. I probably did a half dozen house banks a season. About one of those might be AGMs, but you really have to want them. I might if I had spare cash.

AGMs are nice, but I just ordered 2 Lifeline GPL-4ct for 300$us each. GC2s at Sams will be a lot less.
Unless you plan to keep the coach more than 6 years (that is how old my Excide GC2s are), there will be a bad ROI.

Matt

[Hikerdogs]

Our 2013 Winnebago Adventurer on the F53 chassis came with 2 NAPA 12 volt deep cell batteries. They are in the same location as yours and as such I would be hard pressed to spend additional money on AGM batteries. Also I doubt you have a multi stage charging system that could be tuned to charge the AGM's without overcharging them. Also I think you'll find the AGM batteries of the same size have less power than the wet cell batteries.

I would stick with high quality flooded wet cell batteries from both a cost and longevity standpoint. We replaced the original house batteries in our 2001 Winnebago Adventurer on the F53 chassis with a pair of group 31 Sears DieHard deep cell batteries. They lasted over 8 years and 80,000 miles. They were still working fine when we traded off the coach in 2013. I checked the fluid level on a monthly basis and had to add distilled water about once or twice a year.

I have no Idea if the Sears Diehards are the same quality or made by the same manufacturer they were in 2004. When the time does come to change the house batteries in our new motorhome I will definitely look to NAPA. From our experience in other cars and trucks they seem to last quite a number of years.

[crasster]

I'd go with 2 golf cart batteries wired in series. Buy the 6 volt and wire them for 12. They hold a lot of amp hours and are generally pretty stout batteries over deep cycle.

[KRumm]

I just bought a pair of 200ah from Xmax and am very happy with them...

http://www.vmaxtanks.com/Solar-Batteries_c_21.html

They have free shipping no sales tax and first time buyer gets 10% off... And if you buy more than one there is another discount... Just add a couple to their cart and then it will show you the total discounted price 😉

[Squealers]

One challenge I may have is that my rig has a built in battery tray (which holds the 2 current batteries) attached to the rail of the F53's frame. You open the compartment door and it is a lean in event to get to the batteries, and even then it is a challenge to reach them. So I am constrained by the size of the replacement batteries as well as the logistics with getting the replacements in. You could always access the battery tray underneath the rig as the compartment door is just that, a door with no compartment, lol, just access to the batteries and everything attached to the frame located there.

[YC_1]

Take pictures before removing any wires. Close ups of each post. Countless times someone drops a wire or puts one on the wrong post.

[Sam_Spade]

wa8yxm wrote:
and being "Sealed" and maintence free you can not replenish moisture that eventually boils off, this means they may not last as long as a properly maintained flooded wet cell.

That does NOT happen in normal use. The hydrogen and oxygen produced recombine back into water inside the battery.

You can force that to happen if you abuse the battery however......like applying a charging voltage that is WAY too high and leaving it on for a long time. That usually doesn't happen though.

For those folks who want to install batteries and then pretty much forget them, AGMs probably are the best choice even considering the extra cost.

[wa8yxm]

AGM's are among the class of batteries properly called Sealed Valve Regulated Lead Acid Batteries.. These are also called "Maintenance Free" meaning once they are initially "Charged" with acid/water mix you can not add later. If the batteries are hard to access. a good choice,, AGM additionall can be mounted on end, or sideways or other "Unusual" positions (no This side up) sticker

Otherwise they cost a bunch, and being "Sealed" and maintence free you can not replenish moisture that eventually boils off, this means they may not last as long as a properly maintained flooded wet cell. (Source, many web pages about battereies including the manufacturer's spec sheets for the batteries)


GOLF car batteries, specifically the GC-2 are very common in RVs.. You put two sis volt GC-2 Golf car batteries (Which are Usually flooded wet cells) in series you get 220-230 amp hours.. You can add DISTILLED water as needed (JUST below the bottom of the filler tube, not touching it) and they have an average life of 7-10 years properly maintained.

They also cost far far far far far less than AGM's and give you the most bang for your buck.

There is also a GC-12,, (12 volt golf car battery) but I do not know the specs on it.

I went with DEKA G-20s (A GC-2 class. 230 amp hours) when I replace my interstates... I would hate to try and wrangle 230 amp hours of 12 volt battery (A 4D would match that) as I could not even lift the G-20s. and I'm a big strong guy.. The assistant at the store lifted 'em and I slid 'em in place.

[Squealers]

I currently have 2 12 volt batteries. I will check out the link you posted. Thanks!