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Old 06-02-2019, 08:16 PM   #21
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interstate batteries

A lot of people will say I m wrong but I can tell you with over 35 years of experience with mainly boat electrical systems Interstate batteries won't hold up like a Trojan or Crown. Yes they are both more expensive but will worth it and you can get larger capacity batteries Crown has a 290ah and Trojan has a 270ah and they will outlast any Interstate in my opinion.
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Old 06-03-2019, 01:00 PM   #22
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SO. There are a TON of responses, which is not a bad thing!

First thing I am going to jump into, is in regards to what pmsherman said about the amp hour capacity. I do understand the math in which he used. However, he stated I only have 79.8AH at 50%, but that is at 25amps. Which I know he used that number to compare to the original battery as those were the only numbers he could use as a direct comparison. But in reality, I will have 105AH as the specs show they are 210AH batteries. So I should actually have more capacity then what he stated as I hopefully wont be drawing a high continuous draw while camping and will be more "sipping" from the battery. If I am wrong then please correct me.

As for those of you suggesting other battery brands and having questions on other brands, feel free to suggest and ask. I am currently stuck with these Interstate batteries for now. But it cant hurt to have more info for future when I will need to replace these as we all know batteries dont last forever.

Last thing that was brought up was what converter I have in my camper. I took a look and it looks to be a WFCO WF-8955PEC. Its a 55 AMP converter with 3 stage charging. These are the numbers from the manufacturer.
Absorption Mode (Nominal Voltage) 13.6V
Bulk Mode (Quick Charging Voltage) 14.4V
Float Mode (Trickle Charge Voltage) 13.2V
Is this a good converter to charge these batteries? I know there is ALWAYS something better out there. But is this set up going to damage or shorten the life of these batteries? Or is this decent for now, then give me time to upgrade in the future?

I currently have my battery boxes, and jumper cable on order so should have it all wired up by the end of the week. Thank you all for your input, questions and comments.
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Old 06-03-2019, 01:05 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CincyGus View Post
As someone that dry camped for 3-4 days sometimes with just a pair of group 24's before I knew anything about batteries here are some other things you can do to save some juice.

Buy a couple solar powered lanterns to use in the camper at night for the living area. They charge during the day when you don't need them and are ready to light up an area in the camper when you come in until you go to bed. Saves you from running your lights inside off the batteries and buys you some time.

Buy a battery operated fan to tuck in a window to cool the camper off at night.
https://smile.amazon.com/O2COOL-Batt...%2C134&sr=8-11 This one is great!

Pull the stereo drain by either pulling the fuse for it, usually in the back of it or putting a switch on it as you have described.


Buy a nice battery pack such as this to charge your phones, tablets, etc. helps save some additional juice.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B06XZ6KS...i-a=B06XZ6KSG3

Doing the above and just being a good power miser and turning off lights/fans/etc while camping should get you 4 days.

I bought this
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Old 06-03-2019, 01:35 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by captrcurtis View Post
A lot of people will say I m wrong but I can tell you with over 35 years of experience with mainly boat electrical systems Interstate batteries won't hold up like a Trojan or Crown. Yes they are both more expensive but will worth it and you can get larger capacity batteries Crown has a 290ah and Trojan has a 270ah and they will outlast any Interstate in my opinion.
It depends on your usage scenario. The Interstates ($93 at Costco) and the Duracells ($95 at Sams Club) offer almost unbeatable value. I've only had the Interstate GC2s for 6 years. Let's assume they die after 6 years, and I can get 7 years from a pair of Trojans or Crowns. That's 15% longer life for how many more $$ (I haven't seen any Trojans or Crowns for $115 each).

If you use your batteries heavily, and are regularly drawing down to 50% SOC or less, you might get enough extra cycles from the Trojans or Crowns to pay for the extra costs. But I kind of doubt it.

The best bang for the buck is take the cheaper batteries, and figure out how to conserve and/or reduce the number of battery-killing cycles. The easiest way to knock down your daily usage below 40AH is to put (and use) a switch into both 12V positive power leads of any stereo/TV/entertainment unit, and use heavier blankets so you can turn down the thermostat to the high 50s in cool weather.

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2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time
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Old 06-10-2019, 09:06 AM   #25
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I finally was able to install the batteries late last week! It is a snug fit on the battery rails, but I managed to squeeze them in still. I had to mount each battery at a slight angle inside the rails as the handles of the cases hit eachother if I mounted them straight. By twisting them, I was able to offset the handles from hitting each other. I also drilled holes in the bottoms of the cases like my original one had, and from hearing others say theyres get full of water, I saw no negative to putting drain holes in the bottom. The last thing I did was use spring washers and wing nuts to secure all my wires. I figure this would be great so I need no tools to hook or unhook the batteries if needed, or to add a wire for some reason. I did use SS nuts and washers to avoid corrosion or rust issues. Let me know If you would change anything or not as I am open to suggestions!
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Old 06-10-2019, 09:29 AM   #26
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Looks great! Congrats!!
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Old 06-10-2019, 07:33 PM   #27
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.

I installed two 6 volt GC batteries this last weekend. While at it I installed a kill switch too and added anther 100 watt solar panel for a total of 200 watts.

Everything works fine and after applying a heavy load on the battery they recover very quickly.

Think I am going to enjoy the set-up this summer.

I also tried our 12 volt electric blanket, nice and toasty warm.


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Old 06-10-2019, 08:22 PM   #28
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Originally Posted by larry2c View Post
To the OP's original question, I sure think you got a good deal!

I'd like to add to the 6V battery discussion. Last year I bought a pair of Duracell 210 AH batteries and I'm very happy with them. We got them from BatteriesPlus and they were $110 each. Works great for me but I'm curious if others have used these batteries (not wanting to steal the OP's thread, just adding options)
Well, hopefully, I'm not stealing the thread, either.

I have a pair of the Duracells as well, also from BP.

They discharge a little quicker than I'd like, but that's likely because of parasitic drain from the stereo, which I'll be working to eliminate soon. Other than that, I think they're a good value (but I've only had them 1yr, so far.) I do try and take care of them properly, so we'll see.
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Old 06-10-2019, 08:27 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by Reprise View Post

They discharge a little quicker than I'd like, but that's likely because of parasitic drain from the stereo, which I'll be working to eliminate soon.

I never use the radio/stereo so I installed a on/off toggle switch and that got rid of the parasites.



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Old 06-11-2019, 07:09 AM   #30
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That radio/stereo switch is a great idea. Does anyone have a link for one that can be purchased online?
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Old 06-11-2019, 08:17 AM   #31
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Originally Posted by pmsherman View Post
I didn't see answers to your questions in the original post of this thread.



Your only comparison point is the reserve capacity (RC) ratings for the batteries. Since the two 6V batteries are in series, the ratings for a single battery will be the same for the pair. Your 12V battery's RC of 100 (minutes) means that its capacity is (100/60)*25 = 41.7AH. Two of these batteries in parallel would have 83.4AH capacity which when combined with the use not more than 50% rule, would give you just under 42AH of power. The 6V batteries, rated at 383 minutes RC have (383/60)*25 = 159.6AH capacity. Again, with the 50% rule, the two 6V batteries should supply 79.8AH of capacity. This is almost twice the capacity of the 12V batteries.


This mathematical comparison doesn't tell the entire story. The 6V batteries have solid plates instead of the grid plates that are probably in the 12V battery. These plates are much more resistant to damage with deep discharge cycles than grid plates. This means that the 50% rule can be violated without significantly shortening the battery's lifespan in cycles.



You said nothing about your current battery charger. The general rule is that you should have a charger whose output is 25% of the battery's capacity in AH. This means that your charger (or converter) should have at least a 40AH capacity. Multi-stage converters will recharge batteries faster than single stage units. Units with an equalization phase, usually found in four stage units will do a better job of keeping the batteries conditioned which will extend their life. Don't forget that equalization will boil off more of the electrolyte than float charging so you will need to monitor the electrolyte level more often and add distilled water as necessary.



It's almost impossible to check the electrolyte level in the batteries in my Georgetown. I solved this problem by replacing the cell caps with a permanent watering system that includes a popup indicator that tells me when it's time to add electrolyte.


Phil
Thanks for the explanation regarding the plates Phil. I think the increased amp hours and the ability to push the 50% rule clearly states the case for 6v.
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Old 06-11-2019, 08:25 AM   #32
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Originally Posted by jefrec27 View Post
That radio/stereo switch is a great idea. Does anyone have a link for one that can be purchased online?

I used one of these DPST switches. I originally ordered them so I could isolate my two 100 watt solar panels individually from the charge controller. With the double pole, single throw I can switch both (+) and (-) at the same time. It really works good for that. On a cloudy day I can see how much is coming from each panel, when the sun is out they are both putting out 14.4 volts.

So I used what I had to switch the radio. There are toggle switches at Home Depot but a bit more $$$.


https://www.ebay.ca/itm/3X-Heavy-Dut...BVgOcU&vxp=mtr


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Old 06-11-2019, 09:15 AM   #33
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Thank you Hodgy, looks great.
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