TC Battery Replacement - Upgrade Options

[sonuvabug]

Boy when it rains ... it pours. My 4 year old, non-maintenance free Interstate Group 24, deep cycle 12v battery seems to have given up the ghost. It appears to have boiled on the one side and after topping up with distilled water and charging, it doesn't hold a charge and it gets very hot. I'm assuming it's pooched. I'm guessing it needed to be topped up with distilled water before our last trip and it's my fault the level went too low and overheated.

So I'm looking at my options. We are not 12v power users as we usually have 120v plug-in electrical power when we camp. We do not boon dock nor do I see this as a regular thing in our future unless we happen to be travelling through and spending the night off-the-grid.

However, to use the TC's lights, water pump, and to ignite the fridge when rolling or parked, we still need reliable 12v power. My easy to access TC's vented battery compartment is comfortably 14" wide, 12" deep and approximately 12" tall.

I could simply replace the pooched Group 24 deep cycle battery, or upgrade one step to a Group 27 deep cycle battery. I'm also thinking about going to a single Group 31 deep cycle battery as I have the room. My other thoughts are to install two 6v deep cycle batteries hooked up in series that would give me even more power although as you can read from above, I don't really need the extra juice ... or do I?

I also could not find a separate disconnect for the TC's battery (my old Class C had one) so I'm thinking that would be a good thing to install while I'm at it?

What to do ... what to do? Your experience and opinions are welcome and appreciated.

[adamis]

deltabravo wrote:

adamis wrote:
If you don't have an ammeter already, I would recommend looking into one so you know your power usage per day is. I bought a cheap one on Amazon for ~$40:

http://a.co/d/dOZN7gA

An ammeter doesn't track amps over time. It just gives a raw amperage number in, or out.

What you need in order to track power usage over tiem is an Amphour meter such as the Xantrex LinkLite or LinkPro

Thank you for the terminology correction. The device I linked to does track power usage over time so I should have referred to it as an Amphour meeting. The description of it is:

"DROK Digital DC Multimeter 0-90V 0-100A Voltmeter Ammeter Power Capacity Time Meter Monitor, Charge-Discharge Battery Tester, Volt/Amp/Watt/Ah Meter Tester, LCD Color Screen with 20mm Hall Sensor"

The Xantrex and and LinkPro are fine products but the DROK unit is a very affordable alternative for those on a tight budget.

[deltabravo]

adamis wrote:
If you don't have an ammeter already, I would recommend looking into one so you know your power usage per day is. I bought a cheap one on Amazon for ~$40:

http://a.co/d/dOZN7gA

An ammeter doesn't track amps over time. It just gives a raw amperage number in, or out.

What you need in order to track power usage over tiem is an Amphour meter such as the Xantrex LinkLite or LinkPro

[DWeikert]

hedge wrote:
I'd suggest getting a single smaller 12v AGM battery, they are a bit more money but no maintenance. Don't see the point of putting a bunch of money and effort into it if you always have services, just suggesting the AGM to avoid the maintenance.

X2

[sonuvabug]

Great input folks. You raised a few things I didn't think about and certainly a few that I should have. The local Interstate distributor confirmed my 4 year old Grp24 battery is toast ... no life left in it at all.

Based on your comments and suggestions, I'm going to really think this through regarding our needs and best battery solution for as reasonable a cost as possible. I'm not cheap ... but I agree with many of your comments regarding over "upgrading" and not getting the value out of doing that. Rest assured, I'll definitely not go lithium although they sound awesome if that's what you need and want and can afford ... then fill yer boots!

adamis wrote:
... snipped ...If you don't have an ammeter already, I would recommend looking into one so you know your power usage per day is.

Good idea ... makes sense to determine our needs first to really know what our best solution may be.

djg wrote:
... snipped ... where are you in Ontario I'm in Caledonia ... Dave

I'm in KW and thanks for the heads up about the battery shop and CPAP machine Dave. Hadn't even thought of the CPAP ... in fact I didn't think a TC's battery would run it! I wonder what the draw is?

hedge wrote:
... I'd suggest getting a single smaller 12v AGM battery, they are a bit more money but no maintenance. Don't see the point of putting a bunch of money and effort into it if you always have services, just suggesting the AGM to avoid the maintenance.

You raise some good points and your comments got me thinking. There are times we are over-nighting at a truck stop or non-electrical campsites are the only ones available. In those cases, we still need to ignite our fridge, run the water pump, perhaps run our furnace fan and certainly lights are always useful. I guess mobile phone charging is now a reality too.

The local Interstate dealer has a NOS deep cycle Grp27 AGM for sale at CDN$150 (about USD$115). The problem is my TC's cables are the smaller circle hook ups and this particular battery only had the large terminals. I'd have to by additional cables to make them work. More $$.

AnEv942 wrote:
... snipped ... If you do not camp off grid there is no justification for 'upgrading'. Certainly not 2- 6vs or the cost weight of a 31 for something that wont be utilized. However I'd probably go for the 27 over 24 ...

As far as cut-off, I don't understand camper that doesn't have one (ours didn't).

Good points. I'm an "over engineer it" kind-of person so that's why I always think "upgrade" when replacing equipment. I have room for up to a Grp 31 battery ... that's why I threw that out there. I haven't looked at the price points yet.

The reason I think I should install a cut-off switch is it appears my current/pooched battery boiled from being under hydrated and overcharged ... my bad. I figure if I am on shore power, I will simply cut the connection from the on board electrical panel and prevent any current from making its way to over/charge the TC's battery. Does this logic make sense?

[jaycocreek]

My TC came with one group 24 battery and not much room..I quickly replaced the 24 with a 27 that barely fits..Not enough room for two batteries so I put another group 27 in a wheel well so I could have at least,two.

About what to do, is up to you and how you camp and your needs for 12 volt power.Myself,to keep the cost down I went the way I went.As you may well know,putting money into a TC is a never ending process and I chose to keep the cost down so I won't take a bath if I sold it.

Good luck..

[hedge]

I'd suggest getting a single smaller 12v AGM battery, they are a bit more money but no maintenance. Don't see the point of putting a bunch of money and effort into it if you always have services, just suggesting the AGM to avoid the maintenance.

[adamis]

If you don't have an ammeter already, I would recommend looking into one so you know your power usage per day is. I bought a cheap one on Amazon for ~$40:

http://a.co/d/dOZN7gA

There are pricier options that might be more accurate / reliable but for what I needed, this was perfect. It has the battery shunt plus digital LCD readout to give all the information you need to know about your battery use. From that point, figuring out what type of battery capacity you need is just a matter of figuring how many days you want to stay out and then working within the budget you set.

[djg]

Hey sonuvabug where are you in Ontario I'm in Caledonia and in hamilton and toronto there is a place called Great northern battery (GNB) located on Parkdale ave in Hamilton, three years ago bought 2 deep cycle batteries (delco) for $109.00 a piece they were still going strong when my camper did the flip in the wind storm in April so I didn't want to take a chance with them and went back and bought 2 6V golf cart batteries only $120.00 a piece, they are all seconds but haven't had a problem so far, after a good charge and a rest they hold at 12.7, I use them alot as I have a CPAP machine , went to my son's in Calgary and used them for 6 days without a charge, only lights and CPAP and they were still at 12.35V can't beat the price also I think they are about 210 or 220AH

Dave

[AnEv942]

Just an opinion but reading your post appears youve answered your own question. If you do not camp off grid there is no justification for 'upgrading'. Certainly not 2- 6vs or the cost weight of a 31 for something that wont be utilized. However if I were replacing I'd probalby go for the 27 over 24, just more battery with little cost differance.
As far as cut-off, I dont understand camper that doesnt have one (ours didn't).

[sonuvabug]

adamis, neither our budget (nor our needs) are as big as your set-up. I read your thread with interest and what you did is impressive ... but not for us. I am interested in how your first trip will go ... but only from a curiosity standpoint.

[adamis]

Is there a budget you are working with? From the options you mentioned, it seems like you are ready to spend a decent amount of money. Space and weight don't appear to be an issue for you so you have a lot of options.

I just switched from two 6v Lifeline AGMs with 300AH (~170)lbs to a single 12v 100AH (~30lbs) LiFePo battery from Battleborn. The cost is significant but but space and weight are important factors I had to consider that drove me in this direction. They won't be for everyone considering the cost but still worth taking a look into.

In regard to capacity, even though I technically "lost" 200AH of rated capacity, in practice it was't more than 50AH because for long life, you want to prevent going below 50% rated capacity on AGMs thus giving my 6v Lifelines a usable capacity of ~150AH. My batteries were also 10 years old so I doubt I was even getting half of that and they didn't hold a charge for longer than a couple of days either.

I haven't had a trip yet with the new LiFePo but will this weekend. I will be reporting back my experiences to my original thread should you find it of interest to your search.

[Lwiddis]

A Trojan T1275 would give you 150 AHs at a 20 hour rate if your energy survey indicates that you don't use more that 75 AHs or so on those days you are not plugged in.