Battery question

[pira114]

Thinking of switching out my normal 12v for a Deka 8A8D. This is for some serious boondocking with minimal charging.

They weigh 158lbs. Other than weight and initial cost, what's the downside? Is there anything else I'm not thinking of?

[pira114]

True. I have a couple of good options to pick from and now just need to see what gets me closest to where I want to be. Since none of the options are the only solution and have their up and down sides, I gotta just figure it for a while.

I'm willing to spend the money. I've got solutions for mounting and dealing with the weight. Just need to not jump the gun and decide what will work best.

Thanks again to everyone for giving me the options to consider

[SoundGuy]

pira114 wrote:
Thinking of switching out my normal 12v for a Deka 8A8D. This is for some serious boondocking with minimal charging.

They weigh 158lbs. Other than weight and initial cost, what's the downside? Is there anything else I'm not thinking of?

Other than it seems you don't have a suitable converter (charger) to maintain a battery like this the other factor to consider is what recourse you would have in the event this battery suffered some sort of failure such as a bad cell. Whether it's just one 12 volt battery such as this 158 lb monster you're considering or a set of dual 6 volt batteries you'd be dead in the water, or as the saying goes - up the creek without a paddle. :M A twin set of 12 volt G31 batteries may not offer quite the capacity of that 8A8D lead brick but they'd certainly be a lot easier to toss around and if one should suffer some sort of failure you'd still be able to continue on with the other. This summer I added a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter to our rig and currently power it with a single G27 but now that it's 7 yrs old the time is coming when I'll eventually have to replace it and rather than go with a couple of 6 volts I think I'll instead mount a twin set of G31s on the tongue, for the reasons I just mentioned.

[westend]

The first thing I would do (and did on the advice of more knowledgeable Forum members) is to do an energy audit on how many AH's are used daily. You can collect this data by using your battery without shore power and measuring standing voltage of the battery before and after (confirming with a hydrometer is also a good idea if you currently have FLA battery).

After tallying the usage, you can interpolate with what you have for charging (or anticipate having) and make a decision as to how much battery capacity you will need. It's better to get somewhat scientific about it rather than make the wrong decision and find that you are low on capacity. Discharging any battery system below the 50% level will mean battery replacement sooner, rather than later. Tongue weight and available mounting locations may influence your decision, as well. Also, you will want to secure your batteries adequately. Installing the batteries in a box and just relying on straps to hold everything in place is a bad idea. The movement of the trailer and loosening of the straps can lead to a really bad situation. TYpically, using a purpose built metal box or steel brackets is where most folks end up.

FWIW, I am a dedicated boondocker using a 120V fridge. My system is set up to run the small fridge for a few days as well as to power all the other devices. I have two battery banks, FLA and AGM, a total of 300 AH. I use a 235W solar module to keep everything charged, both in use and when in storage. The batteries are located inside my trailer near the axle locations in custom built, vented battery boxes. There are a few reasons I chose to do it this way. I am now contemplating increasing battery capacity and solar power to run a small air conditioner. Locations where I camp and upgraded insulation lets me get by with just fans, at present. Anticipating farther destinations makes A/C a good choice for the future. It's all about usage.

Good luck with whatever you choose for battery expansion. It sounds like having an additional 12V battery to aid the cause, at present, may be a better choice than a full upgrade. Best of luck!

[lawrosa]

pira114 wrote:
Ok, assuming it is an old model, would it charge the 6V batteries ok? Or same issue with any high AH battery?

Starting to think I'll just buy a new trailer! Ha. Actually, I will be next year. My thoughts were I could just swap all this new junk over to the new trailer. This old trailer has had it. One winter season left in it at best.

Now I'm wondering if it'd just be simpler to limp through this winter like I always have, and just plan to upgrade the new trailer's batteries, and add a charge wizard or similar.

I'll still check the current trailer's charger. But can't until Monday.

Thanks again to all. Probably saved me some headache and money. Much appreciated

It will charge anything but take a very long time. If your boondocking/dry camping do NOT expect to stay in the woods too long after the batterys are dead.

Again unless you use a generator and seperate batt charger.

Up to you. spend money to upgrade the electrical on that trailer or buy something new...

[pira114]

Ok, assuming it is an old model, would it charge the 6V batteries ok? Or same issue with any high AH battery?

Starting to think I'll just buy a new trailer! Ha. Actually, I will be next year. My thoughts were I could just swap all this new junk over to the new trailer. This old trailer has had it. One winter season left in it at best.

Now I'm wondering if it'd just be simpler to limp through this winter like I always have, and just plan to upgrade the new trailer's batteries, and add a charge wizard or similar.

I'll still check the current trailer's charger. But can't until Monday.

Thanks again to all. Probably saved me some headache and money. Much appreciated

[pianotuna]

Replace it with the best model that will fit the space. Boondocker, Iota and PD come to mind.

[lawrosa]

pira114 wrote:
Dang. I don't know what it is either. It's original (as far as I know) to the 1987 trailer. I will not be able to check until Monday afternoon.

Thank you. This is what I need to know. Don't want to waste time and money on half the equation

Definatly not a smart charger. Probably a 6 amp model was the norm..

Look in the electrical panel door and give us make and model.

You would need to upgrage it if you chose to go with the batterys you want. Its would take week/weeks to charge a battery of that size AH.

The other alternative is to get a generator and a 3 stage portable battery charger.

Now your looking at $800 for the gen, $100 for the charger, and $300 for the battery.. :R

[pira114]

Dang. I don't know what it is either. It's original (as far as I know) to the 1987 trailer. I will not be able to check until Monday afternoon.

Thank you. This is what I need to know. Don't want to waste time and money on half the equation

[lawrosa]

Your charger needs enough amps to quick charge in the standard 4 hour time frame.

You must charge at the 14.3 volt area, and thats what the 3 stage chargers do. Often the ones with a charge wizard..

My old 1 stage charger charges at 13.6 volts and max is 12 amps.( Takes days to charge my batterys)

The theroy is charge at 14.3 volts and max amps, say 100 amp chargers that are out there. The amps will taper themselves. Charge at 14.3 volts and all the amps you can until fully charged basically..

No we dont know what you have as far as chargers go...

[JiminDenver]

Some AGM's require specific voltages to get back to 100%. You should be able to find the voltages needed before you buy and make sure your converter is up to the task. I use a charge controller that can be custom set to handle ours and a Megawatt adjustable power supply when that's not available.

[pira114]

JiminDenver wrote:
We started using a 8-D a few seasons ago and the power is addictive as long as you can get past the hassles of size, weight and charging regime. The one thing that concerns me about the Deka 8A8D is that it has auto style post and I would think that it is a starting battery, not a deep cycle.

Our first 8-D was a FLA 8-D deka and while a capacity test proved the Ah's were in it, it didn't last long with us using the microwave, A/C and other heavy loads even if the solar brought it right back up. The power was there, the cycles were not. Then again it would cost a third of what a good AGM deep cycle like the Lifelines 8-Ds we use now do.

Curious. You speak of the charging regimen. Do you mean how long it took to charge it? Or how often. My understanding was that you'd need to charge less frequently, but longer each time. That right?

[pira114]

lawrosa wrote:
For over $500 bucks for a 8A8D 150 lbs AGM @ 245 AH is ridiculous IMO..

Get two 6V from wally world or the cost saving centers and get the same amp hours..

The first GC2 6 volt here in this duracell link is 230 aH and are $89 bucks at sams club for example..

Weight may be similar but 1/3 the price...

At least you can move these individually and not need two guys to move them. And they fit in most battery boxes as they are only a little taller then a grp 24...

GC2 duracell

First, the price you quoted is typical MSRP, but you can get them for $269 if you look around.

Second, that GC you linked to is the first one I've seen with that many AHs. So thank you, because that just became a big contender. It would make more sense at that point. Most I've seen were between 190 and 205. Wonder why so much variation? But no matter, if it's 255, it's better. Speaking of the next larger one than you referenced. But it's not AGM. Am I overly concerned with that?

For other posters, yes, I have already figured how I would mount the 8 series. And yes, I'd like to get solar. Only issue I have with solar is my typical boondocking place is surrounded by trees. So it would work, just not as efficiently as it could.

Thank you all for responding.

One final question. And this would apply to either option really. Am I correct that 12v is 12v and the big difference would be how long it would take to charge? In other words, a converter or charger just sees that it's 12vs, and when wired in parallel, it just sees one bigger 12v. Or in the case of the 8 series, one battery, but simply bigger? Am I correct that if a system will charge 12vs, it'll charge any 12v system of battery?

[JiminDenver]

We started using a 8-D a few seasons ago and the power is addictive as long as you can get past the hassles of size, weight and charging regime. The one thing that concerns me about the Deka 8A8D is that it has auto style post and I would think that it is a starting battery, not a deep cycle.

Our first 8-D was a FLA 8-D deka and while a capacity test proved the Ah's were in it, it didn't last long with us using the microwave, A/C and other heavy loads even if the solar brought it right back up. The power was there, the cycles were not. Then again it would cost a third of what a good AGM deep cycle like the Lifelines 8-Ds we use now do.

[pianotuna]

Do you have solar panels yet? If not, plan to get some.