Possible MH Engine Battery with Amp Hours Too? UPDATE

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Most of the 48 trays I've seen are large and can easily hold a 13" stud type 31. German automakers finally got their head screwed-on-straight and now have 80-120 amp alternators.

I would guess your 48 will do fine BFL.

This one's tray is blocked off by engine stuff so you can just get the 48 in there. The Ram ProMaster City is a modified Fiat (higher off the ground and better suspension) with a 160a alternator. Built in Turkey using a USA engine. It is meant for city busy short hop commercial small van work, so I hope LY is right about the battery staying charged up despite short hops.

The van specs say OEM battery is 95AH, 700CCA, with "Run Down Protection" (It does not have "Thunder Protection" like some things have) The 48 I got has 660 CCA and 130 RC, so it will just have to do! :)

Thanks for the good clues about the battery. Now I know what to expect and watch out for.

Most of the 48 trays I've seen are large and can easily hold a 13" stud type 31. German automakers finally got their head screwed-on-straight and now have 80-120 amp alternators.

I would guess your 48 will do fine BFL.

A 40R flooded was nearly the same size for $10 more and IMO would have fit in there, but the van spec said to use a 48. No idea about 40Rs or 48s. There was a 48 AGM too, but was $100 more than the flooded one I got.

No way to ever get the AGM full using an ammeter and all that in the busy van with its "parasitic" (somebody here doesn't like that term, but knows what we mean by it) loads, unlike with the RV, where you can with house AGMs disconnected.

Have to keep an eye on this 48 calcium, but we should be good for a while. Perfect little van for us. We don't tow a car with the MH, but if using this van as a toad, it needs to be front wheels up.

Cycling is a death wish for a calcium/calcium flooded battery. The clown circus car shone a spotlight on this with the DELCO VOYAGER RV BATTERY. My 2-year experience with a Mexican GOHNER cal/cal battery proved it to be unsuitable for a car. Almost lab perfect conditions. Never over or undercharged. NEVER cycled even a single time and a <10 milliamp key off draw. Car was driven a few times per week never at night, no A/C and engine always started with less less than 3 seconds of cranking.
Phenomenally un-stressful. And it took a dump

Calcium calcium works best in emergency exit lights with correct float charging then a 1 minute exercise during a blackout. Then they should be changed.

Calcium/Calcium is about as worthless as a honka green snot for cars.

Unbelievably ignorant the Germans are with charging systems...

"How unbelievable were they? Tell Us! Tell Us!..."

Take a Sauerkraut Mobile that seals so air tight it's floating ability became legendary. Stick a flooded lead acid battery under the back seat where the seat had steel support for the springs. WAIT! I'm, not done!!!!
Then use a generator that became legendary for having it's voltage regulator stick and jam charge the generator gassing the people inside the car. Don't know if Himmler played a role in the concept...utterly disgusting.

Not even Britain's Prince of Darkness, Lucas the company that inadvertently stumbled upon the interval windshield wiper can top that one...

The short trips not having enough time to replenish that which the starter used to start the engine, is largely horse hockey in this day and age of quick startng fuel injected gas engines.

Now if the battery was not fully charged then short trips will do little to increase that level of charge.

I measured about 45 seconds for amps to taper to the same level as they were at 14.7v before and after engine starting an overnight cold engine. Mine cranks less than 1/3 the amount time when it is warm, compared to overnight cold.

I've charged a few maintenance free flooded batteries inadvertently discharged to sub 11 volts according to Mex's prescription, which was 15.0 vabs, until amps taper to near zero. I did find it getting hot fairly quickly with 40 amps available so lowered the voltage to keep amps under 20 and rose it in a few stages to 15v.

In fact I've done this to the same battery 3 times over the last 5 years. His radator fan sometimes stays on, or comes on when parked and runs the battery dead.

I think it too is a group 48 in a BMW, mounted in the trunk.

Thanks, Mex. I believe it is a re-branded Exide based on some other info on that re-brand. (I had a pair of 6s that re-brand that were long-lasting and took a beating--good batts--G-135s)

How can I "maintain" it at anything in particular when it is parked in the driveway between hops under some vehicle electric load it always has? I don't have a "maintainer" charger on it as the daily driver.

If there is a pause in DW taking it out so often, I will put a charger on it to make up for all the short hops, same as I did with our other cars we have had, but that is not at any higher a voltage than usual.

That is a sealed calcium/calcium battery. Most likely an Exide.

It is to be maintained +.2 volts higher than a starting lead antimony battery. And they do not tolerate cycling.

But they offer CCA up the gazoo. 48's have lots of CCA that's why your old battery tested so well. IMHO good job deciding to swing with the hydrometer. Many 48 batteries fail 2 weeks after impressive CCA readings

Update with some possible application for RVers.

It is a Group 48 flooded, as it turns out. The problem I was facing was it showed ok on holding voltage and the battery shop monster wheeled load tester showed that it was "better than 100%" BUT, it showed all over the map as "Fair" with my hydrometer some almost in the Red, some almost in the Green, but all in the White somewhere.

This after bringing it to FUL at 14.8 and then several hours at 15.7 Equalize with the VEC1093DBD.

All my RV.Net training is to believe the SG, and never mind all that other confusing stuff. So I went ahead and got a brand new Flooded (but sealed--he doesn't sell any with caps) 48 and stuck it in.

It is possible there was nothing wrong with the battery I handed in as core, but I just didn't trust it with that bunch of SG readings. So that's what I did. YMMV.

BTW the one I got has that comical green light. I thought they dropped that years ago. It only shows for one cell out of the six.
Whatever. As a sealed battery no hydrometer, in the future, I can't get confused!

I've seen lots of starting batteries give Ah ratings, and assume they are at the 20Hr rate.

I'd not intentioally cycle any flooded Starting battery, and the presence of many 12v ports is hardly an indication the manufacturer decided a dual purpose battery is warranted. The new trucks which now come with 1000 watt inverters do not even use a dual purpose battery afaik.

My well aged and used Northstar AGM is definitely on the slide. Mostly this is obvious by the voltage it can maintain when starting the overnight cold motor at ~180 amps of load. It has no issues stating the engine but now at 40Ah from full drops to 8.7v before engine catches. If fully charged this is 11.7v.

I have an 18Ah AGM, which can, by itself, just barely start my overnight cold engine in warm ambient temps. If I have this in parallel with engine battery starting overnight cold with both batteries fully charged voltage stays above 12.2v cranking and it cranks much quicker.

As far as voltage held overnight deep cycling, I'd not know this battery has ~1100 deep cycles on it. Still rebounds well over 12.2v at 45Ah from full once the major loads are removed. This is as long as it sees regular full charges and regular high amp recharges from a well depleted state. If it gets lots of low and slow solar only to full the voltage held under load for Ah removed, is not nearly as impressive. Rectifying 'not impressive' means 40+ amps applied to a battery with 35 or more Ah removed from it, until 14.7v is reached and 14.7 held until amps stop tapering. more aps applied from a more depleted level for longer is more effective in rectifying 'not impressive', at least on this TPPL AGM battery.

At its advanced age I cannot get it to taper to 0.4a at 14.7v anymore. It settles at 0.8a or so and then starts rising, though the high amp recharge will lower this plateau for a few cycles before it starts climbing again.
lowering voltage to 13.8 from 14.7 once amps started rising, 12 hours later will have the minimum taper amperage at 14.7v slightly lower than before I lowered voltage.

Group 34 is shorter but do everything by the numbers for an exact fit. Lifeline makes sixty some odd weird automotive sizes