House battery problem - is it me or Interstate?

[gcvt]

Quick backstory: Bought a 1997 Sportsmobile last August. Class B Ford Econoline E250 extended body van. Two group 27 batteries in parallel, dead house batteries when I bought it. Intellipower 9100 converter/charger.

When I bought the van I picked up two new Interstate ECL Pro 27 deep cycle batteries. They lasted eight months. Don’t know why the went bad, but the date stamp indicated that they were manufactured two years before I bought them. Thought that was the problem. Never dry camped more than three nights in a row on them. Draws are a Norcold fridge (2.3 amp draw), 6 rarely used LED light fixtures, one new unused dual-USB outlet, and the water pump when the faucet is on.

Interstate said they had a high return rate on the “Pro” series batteries and replaced them under warranty with their regular SRM27s. Had those about 12 days unused. They were 12.7-12.8 and I checked them daily. Turned on the fridge for the first time and they went to 12.3v in one hour.

Took them back and they load tested one of them. It was at 12.87v but had 0 cranking amps. This was at our local Interstate batteries warehouse/distributor, not a regular dealer. The tech looked confused. They gave me two more new SRM27s. Went camping this weekend and got the same result. Mostly fridge-only use and they get drawn down very quickly.

When the engine is running, they’re charging at about 13.9v. When plugged in to the Honda EU2000 generator, they’re charging at 13.4v. Verified this using a newly installed dual battery monitor and one of those cigarette lighter battery monitors. My buddy brought his fancy Fluke clamp meter this weekend and we confirmed that the fridge is drawing 2.3 amps, and that there is no draw when everything is shut off.

Before I go back to Interstate, is there anything else I should be looking at here? Seems unlikely that I’d get so many bad batteries from them. I know they’re not the highest quality but 12.8 to 12.3 in an hour is perplexing.

Side note: Ordering a 100w flexible solar setup from Renogy soon - with the 20A charge controller that will allow me to add a second panel later this Summer. But, I gotta get this battery situation figured out first.

[gcvt]

DAS26miles wrote:
I use my Renogy solar 100 watt suitcase to get the higher volts needed to top charge my Interstate's. Which controller do you have coming with your flex panels? Hope you are getting this one, Viewstar 20 amp the cheaper one doesn't have equalization. I set my equalization mode up to 16.3 volts and the boost charge to 15.4 volts. PM me if you want to know how to do it, it's a special way of setting the parameters that Renogy told me.

That is the exact controller I'll be ordering. I'll PM you for details when I get it. Thanks! :C

[DAS26miles]

I use my Renogy solar 100 watt suitcase to get the higher volts needed to top charge my Interstate's. Which controller do you have coming with your flex panels? Hope you are getting this one, Viewstar 20 amp the cheaper one doesn't have equalization. I set my equalization mode up to 16.3 volts and the boost charge to 15.4 volts. PM me if you want to know how to do it, it's a special way of setting the parameters that Renogy told me.

[gcvt]

Just plugged in at work and they're only getting 13.5v. Guess I'll pull them out and put them on my Exide charger at home and see what happens, then have them load tested on Friday.

[Chris_Bryant]

gcvt wrote:

MrWizard wrote:
what is your fridge and where do you get the 2.3 amp number

2.3 amps at 12.3v = 28.3 watts, 10hrs = 23 ampHrs used
this LP or electric, 28w is low power for electric, a little high for control board and lp valve use

2.3v at 120vac = 283 watts, which is what an electric heating element might use for an RV absorption fridge

NEVER run an RV fridge on battery power, except with engine running
with that kind of power draw you need a very large battery bank

a 2way or 3way fridge in a "B" should be on propane , you can use electric mode
IF you are shore power, and only when on shore power

please provide FULL info from fridge, and what mode you are using

It's a Norcold DE-351D. No propane - AC/DC only. The 2.3 amp number came from my buddy's Fluke clamp meter. The manufacturer's website says "Amps 12-24V/DC 2.8-1.6".

Checked again today at work using two separate meters. They're getting 14.0v when the engine is running. After a 3.5-4 hour drive home yesterday they're still only at 12.5/12.6v. These are brand new as of Thursday afternoon.

Nice refrigerator!. That 14 volts is just too low for not nearly long enough. I couldn't find specs for that series, but most Interstate deep cycles models (U) call for bulk and absorb voltages of 14.7

[gcvt]

MrWizard wrote:
what is your fridge and where do you get the 2.3 amp number

2.3 amps at 12.3v = 28.3 watts, 10hrs = 23 ampHrs used
this LP or electric, 28w is low power for electric, a little high for control board and lp valve use

2.3v at 120vac = 283 watts, which is what an electric heating element might use for an RV absorption fridge

NEVER run an RV fridge on battery power, except with engine running
with that kind of power draw you need a very large battery bank

a 2way or 3way fridge in a "B" should be on propane , you can use electric mode
IF you are shore power, and only when on shore power

please provide FULL info from fridge, and what mode you are using

It's a Norcold DE-351D. No propane - AC/DC only. The 2.3 amp number came from my buddy's Fluke clamp meter. The manufacturer's website says "Amps 12-24V/DC 2.8-1.6".

Checked again today at work using two separate meters. They're getting 14.0v when the engine is running. After a 3.5-4 hour drive home yesterday they're still only at 12.5/12.6v. These are brand new as of Thursday afternoon.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

BIG BIG problem with Johnson Controls and their strap stub to terminal post interface. Good resting voltage, good specific gravity, unable to support a 10-amp load. I have no idea if this is the issue with these batteries and I recommend dougranier's course of investigation with much emphasis. Take the batteries to a pro.

Overall quality of mass-produced flooded batteries for auto & RV seems to be declining. I can only wonder if I am seeing first peals of the death knell for Made in USA car jar batteries.

However that comment does not fix your problem. I can only wince at the thought of the difference between a knowledgeable distributor and a pimple-face teenager at a Wal-Mart.

Keep (everyone) posted..

[NinerBikes]

I run a 150w 8.5 amp solar panel and 15.0V to my battery, a 150Amp hour 12V golf cart battery. My Specific gravity stays up, where it belongs.

YMMV, I am not afraid at all to top charge my battery and get it full, like it belongs, so it doesn't sulfate the cells.

You need higher voltage to do this. whether it's 14.4 14.8 or 15.0V, only you can determine what is enough by taking a specific gravity reading of each cell on each battery after fully charging. 1.275 or higher is what you need at 72F.

[tenbear]

As others have said, the 13.4v charging voltage is a problem. A modern converter charges at 14.4v, or more, for several hours before dropping to a lower voltage.

You may also need larger wire between the converter and the batteries. Your batteries could draw 50-60a at 14.4v when discharged and the voltage drop in the existing wire, depending on it's size and length, could be considerable thus reducing the charging current and increasing the charging time.

[mpierce]

You got 13.9 v charging from alternator? Not too bad, just a touch low. However, 13.4v from your charger? NOT GOOD at all. You are never getting the battery full at that voltage. First, you NEED to spend the money to get a good 3-4 stage charger, such as a PD or other, that will charge in the mid 14 v range. Until you do that, you will NEVER get good battery performance. You will be amazed how much longer your battery charge lasts.

When charging at 13.4 for a couple hours, you are lucky if you are getting to 60% or so full. So, does not take much to take battery down. Since you take your battery down until lights dim, and things quit, you are taking the battery down to near 0%. You should only discharge to 50%.

You are killing the battery! The dealer is correct. Get a good charger, and save your batteries.

[JiminDenver]

How long are you charging your batteries?

I have a four year old Interstate that has been put through the mill with all the testing and dry camping we have done. Then again before and after each trip it comes home and goes on a auto charger for three days. It will hold its top charge for days afterwards.

Any more it has the good life with the solar. It sits in float most the day and is fully charged when nightfall comes. We run a few LED lights, watch some TV and run the furnace, the resting voltage in the morning is 12.57v on a summer day, 12.4v when it's cold. We like it at 65 degrees at night so the furnace runs some when it's below freezing. We have dry camped three day without charging. Used the truck and jumper cables, used the generator and cruddy converter, nothing has caused it to take a dive or disappoint me.

[YC_1]

How many hours on shoreline are you charging them? Driving a couple of hours won't do it. You can get full battery voltage without them being full. This surface charge will bleed off quickly and give you the lower voltages you are seeing. Use your friends clamp on meter to measure the charging current going into the batteries and then the math can be done. The condition of your cables is unknown to us as well. Most batteries in RV's are murdered and not given a chance to die a normal battery death. Poor maintenance and lack of understanding contribute to the issue.

[red31]

My new Johnson Control battery came with good voltage but low sg (barely in the green).
It took an overnight charge on a ole time charger up to 15v to raise the sg.
I didn't get to load it up much before selling the trailer.

[mgirardo]

We owned an Interstate battery once. Our Hybrid TT came with it. It only lasted one year. Replaced it with the same size Advance Auto's store brand and that one lasted until we got rid of the trailer.

I've heard many times and not just from Interstate, that Interstate makes great batteries, but that wasn't our experience.

-Michael

[RJsfishin]

Chris Bryant wrote:
Regardless of battery issues, those charging voltages are too low, IMHO . I would get a pendant for the PD 9100 so you can get over 14 volts for bulk charging.

Just to clairify,.........
The PD 9100 series require a plug in "charge wizard" to make them a 3 stage 14.4 volt charger, which includes manual control of the stages.
The newer 9200 series have the wizard built in, but w/o manual control.
They require the plug in "pendant" to give manual control over the stages.

[dougrainer]

As a Dealer who sells at least a thousand Interstates every year (24/27/31 series), I would say it is YOUR fault. Interstate has the BEST batteries on the market. To go thru as many as you have and this is a common customer reaction, is to blame Interstate. I RARELY find that the battery to be the problem. If we can get the RV'er to come in with his RV, we almost always find the problem in the charging system of his RV or his tow vehicle charging system, causing the batteries to draw down too many cycles or never getting a full charge. I have not seen any problem with the 24 or 27 series deep cycle batteries by Interstate. Doug