Please critique decision on batteries and charging

[mrad]

First off, I want to thank all that have offered advice on how I should have the battery system set up on the new to us toy hauler we will be picking up on Wednesday. The biggest downfall I have with it is the residential fridge. I had asked questions about charging batteries with a 2200 Ryobi as well as if I should put two group 31 in it. The 31's are out as the dealer cannot get a vented case for them and even if he could, this forum has convinced me to go the golf cart battery route. At this time I hope to go with at least two golf cart batteries and if room allows, have them hook up four. From what I understand, the two golf cart batteries should give me more amp hours than two group 27's???

Is there a big difference in brand quality on golf cart batteries? Or all they all better than 12 volt deep cycles?

I had also asked about charging in the event that we dry camp once a year for 3-4 days. The hauler has a 5500 watt onan, with a Xantrex pro xm1000. If I were to start the onan up, how long would it take to fully charge two and or 4 golf cart batteries?

Once they are fuly charged, would the 2200 be able to supply enough power to keep fridge and batteries charged for the day?

I also have a champion 3100 I could use and may to keep one ac running during the day and then fire the onan up later in the afternoon so both can keep it cool for sleeping.

Again, thanks for all the help.

[wopachop]

Sure that charger will work. The flooded batteries will release a gas while charging. Will need to place them outside of the living space or rig up some type of vent system. I guess if youre bringing the Ryobi maybe place the batteries next to where you run the genny. Must be some type of shelter there.

[mrad]

wopachop wrote:

mrad wrote:
There is a secondary issue, although not as important. in th ewinter, I have a fishouse that I stay in for the weekend. I usually use the ryobi to power the satalite, tv, lights, and pizza oven. However, recently I have been using my deep cycles to power it in the evening to keep the noise levels down. I would now use the GC batteries in the winter at the fishouse also.

Have a favorite pizza dough recipe?
For the fish house you could look towards the RC chargers that people use for drones. Know anyone thats into that stuff? They might have a used one for cheap.

Bring the batteries and the Ryobi and a small charger to recharge the batteries during the day. Or for an emergency charge at night.

I have a schujacher 2-6-15 amp smart charger. It was about $50. Would this be sufficient to charge the batteries in a climate controled house in the winter?
It charged two 12 volts discahrged to 40-50% in about 8 hours

[wopachop]

mrad wrote:
There is a secondary issue, although not as important. in th ewinter, I have a fishouse that I stay in for the weekend. I usually use the ryobi to power the satalite, tv, lights, and pizza oven. However, recently I have been using my deep cycles to power it in the evening to keep the noise levels down. I would now use the GC batteries in the winter at the fishouse also.

Have a favorite pizza dough recipe?
For the fish house you could look towards the RC chargers that people use for drones. Know anyone thats into that stuff? They might have a used one for cheap.

Bring the batteries and the Ryobi and a small charger to recharge the batteries during the day. Or for an emergency charge at night.

[time2roll]

NO gc8! That is an 8 volt battery. Those are for golf cars to go 6x8=48 volts.

Note there are 4 caps, 4 cells, 4x2 = 8 volts.

[mrad]

Costco has the gc2 for $90 and GC8 for $105. is the gc 8 the way to go?

https://www.interstatebatteries.com/products/gc8-hcl-utl

https://www.interstatebatteries.com/products/gc2-ecl-utl

[mrad]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

BFL13 wrote:
YIf you have solar you can get them to a higher SOC before dark. In that case, do your 50-80 in the morning and let the solar do what it can the rest of the day. You can run the solar while doing your gen/charger to get more amps--just leave the solar on all day--it will do whatever it can.

A properly sized solar system (and adequate sunlight) will recharge your batteries AND do the long, slow equalization charge as necessary.

What would be adequate size? Dor $50 I can get a 100 watt system from a buddy who no longer needs it. I'm guessing I would need more panels. Also, my toy hauler is not solar prepped. What woudl I need to do? Drill a hole through the door to wire directly to the batteries?

Again, at most I would only boondock 3-4 days a year so I am trying to stay pratical.

[theoldwizard1]

BFL13 wrote:
YIf you have solar you can get them to a higher SOC before dark. In that case, do your 50-80 in the morning and let the solar do what it can the rest of the day. You can run the solar while doing your gen/charger to get more amps--just leave the solar on all day--it will do whatever it can.

A properly sized solar system (and adequate sunlight) will recharge your batteries AND do the long, slow equalization charge as necessary.

[theoldwizard1]

mrad wrote:
... this forum has convinced me to go the golf cart battery route. At this time I hope to go with at least two golf cart batteries and if room allows, have them hook up four.

NOCO does make a battery box that hold TWO 6V golf cart batteries. HM426. These are NOT designed for interior mounting.

mrad wrote:
From what I understand, the two golf cart batteries should give me more amp hours than two group 27's???

Is there a big difference in brand quality on golf cart batteries? Or all they all better than 12 volt deep cycles?

Yes, more power with the GC2 batteries.

Trojan batteries are considered some of the best, but boy do you pay a lot for them. Interstate from Costco or Duracell from Sam's Club is the "best bang for the buck" !

mrad wrote:
Once they are fully charged, would the 2200 be able to supply enough power to keep fridge and batteries charged for the day?

Once you have topped off your batteries in the AM, 2 golf cart batteries should carry you through until early evening. Top off again. Probably less than 1 hour of run time.

mrad wrote:
I also have a champion 3100 I could use and may to keep one ac running during the day and then fire the onan up later in the afternoon so both can keep it cool for sleeping.

3 different generators to choose from ?

If you only have 1 A/C, your Champion should be able to run it AND charge your batteries. If you have 2 A/C units, time to fire up the Onan !

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I had also asked about charging in the event that we dry camp once a year for 3-4 days. The hauler has a 5500 watt onan, with a Xantrex pro xm1000. If I were to start the onan up, how long would it take to fully charge two and or 4 golf cart batteries?

I also have a champion 3100 I could use and may to keep one ac running during the day and then fire the onan up later in the afternoon so both can keep it cool for sleeping.


These two points are utter game changers. 24 hour generator power availability turns the questions 180 degrees. Simply plug-in at HOME and see the small generator get overloaded trying to restart the A/C. Take the larger generator. Let the Xantrex do the work.

What Golf car batteries do, is make themselves cyclable without rapid deterioration of lifespan.

Trojan GC 2's can take more abuse than regular GC battries but does this apply to you?

Again constant 120vac is the game changer. If you stay true to your usage declaration you don't even need to switch to a different battery.

But a single change in your wording makes all of the above worthless.


Trojan golf car batteries use virgin lead and it can be a critical point if the batteries are subject to hard and extended off-grid use. When I hauled scrap batteries to the LA Trojan plant, the first thing they did was to cull the Trojan products.

There isn't a GC or industrial battery constructed of recycled lead that can equal the life span or survivability of a virgin lead battery.

East Penn DEKA has their own exclusive lead smelter. It would take multiple processing runs (read cruelly expensive) to approach the purity of virgin lead. I have my suspicions that East Penn refining as well as their savy (the EPA demands on site degreed metallurgists and chemical engineers) results in a higher purity recycled product. But does not get near virgin purity. This has to be taken along with a strong dose of manufacturing expertise. LTH Mexican batteries used to be 100% virgin lead. No warranties. But single BCI grade availability and the current corruption of lead mining by violent gangs made acceptance of USA recycled lead inevitable. The LTH brand is now nehhh in quality. I have suspicions because of a price jump six years ago that LTH GC 208 batteries still use virgin lead. RAMCAR batteries from the Philippines used to be Virgin lead, but I do not know their current status. Everything on the shipping docks of Rolls & Surrette is virgin lead.
But your extremely gentle usage eliminates the need for expensive grades of lead. If DEKA GC's were available in your area at warehouse prices I would lean heavily towards them. If you have the inclination a 150 watt solar panel and top notch controller would greatly extend the life of your batteries. The reason is, converter manufacturers are separated from the realities of battery needs. Solar controller manufacturers far less so. Other members on this forum can take over as I badly need to apply DMSO to my badly aching fingers.
Hope this helps

[2oldman]

For the future, and if you do more boondocking, consider solar. It's almost a must, especially with a resi refer. It doesn't mean no generator, it means a lot less generator.

I'm next to a guy who has to run a generator to watch tv. Every night. That gets annoying.

I also don't see anything mentioned about an inverter. Don't most mfrs put one in for resi's?

[BFL13]

Don't forget temperature effect! when it is cold out, the spec charging voltage goes up. Eg, 14.6v is now 15.2v when you go from 77F to 32F.

You can beat that with a charger that is temperature compensated. Only converter at a reasonable price that has adjustable voltage is the PowerMax LK model (rebranded as "Boondocker" by Randy).

You would want that for your ice-fishing, I imagine. (The PD with CW is stuck at 14.4 regardless of temp)

https://www.boatandrvaccessories.com/products/powermax-pm3-60lk-12-volts-60-amp-power-converter-batt...

[mrad]

wopachop wrote:
I see this as a noise level issue. Not really a battery issue. You only boondock 3 days a year, and your trailer has a huge built in generator.

Need to decide if you will feel uncomfortable running the Onan at times because it might bother neighbors. If that is the case then bring the Ryobi. You will get a feel for how long charge times take. Worse thing you could do is ignore the built in genny. Actually want to start them every month if you have the discipline and ability. I know people who store trailers hours away so they can only cycle the generator and ACs when they go camping. Which for most is not every single month.

There is a secondary issue, although not as important. in th ewinter, I have a fishouse that I stay in for the weekend. I usually use the ryobi to power the satalite, tv, lights, and pizza oven. However, recently I have been using my deep cycles to power it in the evening to keep the noise levels down. I would now use the GC batteries in the winter at the fishouse also.

[wopachop]

I see this as a noise level issue. Not really a battery issue. You only boondock 3 days a year, and your trailer has a huge built in generator.

Need to decide if you will feel uncomfortable running the Onan at times because it might bother neighbors. If that is the case then bring the Ryobi. You will get a feel for how long charge times take. Worse thing you could do is ignore the built in genny. Actually want to start them every month if you have the discipline and ability. I know people who store trailers hours away so they can only cycle the generator and ACs when they go camping. Which for most is not every single month.

[jdc1]

You're buying batteries from a dealer? LOL. Go to Costco or Sam's and get the same batteries for less than $100 (with core). That way, if and when they go bad, you have some place to return them to without hesitation or questions.