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Old 04-13-2015, 09:06 PM   #21
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I switch mine manually.....If set to auto nothin worse than finding out that both tanks are empty and no propane can be found!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! j
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Old 04-14-2015, 08:39 AM   #22
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They will keep you going for a while. Are those group 27 or 31? And where did you get them; chain store? I found a few places online and prices are over 300 bucks per battery...
I know right. The prices are crazy.
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Old 04-14-2015, 12:44 PM   #23
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....I haven't had a chance to try it out yet but hope to be able to get 6 nights on battery.
The heater fan is the big draw in PUPs (assumes you have LEDs for interior lights). How long the batteries last is going to depend on how much the heater runs.

The fridge on some PUPs has a DC control loop and thermostat that takes some battery power even when running on propane (6-10 AH per day). On PUPs and A-frames like mine, the fridge just runs continuously with the cooling determined manually by the fridge propane valve setting. No DC control circuit to take battery power.

Other parasite draws, like the CO/propane detector can eat another 6 AH per day.

I have 2 85 AH batteries on my A122 A-frame, which gives me 85 AH useable. The heater fan draws 4 amps running in my camper, which gives 18 hours run time on the heater without taking the batteries below 50%. I set the heater thermostat at about 55 on cold nights, and turn up to 66 when wife wakes/gets up. I can count on 3 nights with this setup, more if the nights aren't too cold.

3 nights (a 4 day weekend) without hookups for 3 season camping in the Colorado Rockies was my endurance and planning goal, and I'm satisfied I have achieved it.

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Old 04-14-2015, 02:34 PM   #24
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Well, I just pulled the propane tanks off and weighed them. One has 6 lbs, the other has a full 20 lbs.... So that tells me I killed the battery first.

So now I'm into the researching stage of trying to upgrade my electrical system to give me about 3-5 days of dry camping. Maybe up to 7 days next year.

I guess my first step is changing out bulbs to LED. Still have to open up the pup and pull a bulb to see what type of connection I have.

Then I'll move on to adding a second battery. Not even sure what the heck battery the dealer put on. But I'm looking to spend the cash to get the most bang for my buck with a dual battery set-up.

Third, I think I'll look into some type of solar to maintain/charge the battery bank. Most of my camping is done on the beach at Assateague, so there should be a good amount of sunshine there.
Of course, I do have a 3500/4000w Champion generator that I can use to run the a/c on the really hot days, but I don't want to upset the neighbors too much.
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Old 04-14-2015, 02:43 PM   #25
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Of course, I do have a 3500/4000w Champion generator that I can use to run the a/c on the really hot days, but I don't want to upset the neighbors too much.


They're probably running theirs'. Put on your future purchase list a Yamaha/Honda/SOB Inverting gen around the same wattage. Life around the camper is much better when your gen is humming at 50dbs.
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Old 04-14-2015, 02:50 PM   #26
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They're probably running theirs'. Put on your future purchase list a Yamaha/Honda/SOB Inverting gen around the same wattage. Life around the camper is much better when your gen is humming at 50dbs.
Haha, I would, but... Have you seen the prices on those things? I picked up the champion used, but never used, from a friend of a friend for $200
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Old 04-16-2015, 06:16 PM   #27
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They are group 27's, I picked them up at Battery Plus and was able to get the manager to take $50 off each Battery.
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Never heard of them before (Battery Plus), but find out there is a store about 3 miles south of me that has them at a great price. I'll have to do some research. I was just getting ready to order some trojan, flooded deep cycles.
Thanks,
I just did a search for Battery Plus, and found there is a store near me too... Never heard of them.
But I want to upgrade to a dual set up like yours, and just found a co-worker who can fabricate a battery box for me. But after doing some measuring, I can only fit 2 Group 24s if I set the box between the rails in the A-frame on the angle iron. If I mount a box on top of the frame, I can go up to about any size battery.

Are these the ones you got? SLI27MDC Duracell Ultra Battery - BCI Group 27M - Deep Cycle - Marine and Boat - Batteries Plus
Or is that link a dual purpose? Price is too good. Think I answered my own question.
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Old 04-16-2015, 07:37 PM   #28
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Pretty sure they are dual purpose; starting and deep cycle so not as good as a dedicated deep cycle like a Deka DC or a Trojan. However, for that cost, you can purchase four for the price of two Trojan AGM batteries.

I believe they are manufactured by East Penn, who also manufactures Deka.

I guess if you are very careful and make sure they never drop below the 12.06 volts (fifty percent) they might be ok for quite a few years.

I might take a gamble, since due to the rough places I take my trailer, an AGM sure looks nice. I have to carry distilled water with me to add back the water that splashes out of the cells.
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Old 04-16-2015, 11:00 PM   #29
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I believe they are manufactured by East Penn, who also manufactures Deka.
:

Hmmmm,,,,, just had a light bulb go off in my head. I'm only a few miles (less than 20) from the Deka/East Penn factory and the Exide factory. Gonna check if they might have a factory "outlet store" for retail sales at the plant. Or I'm sure if I dig deep enough, I'll find out somebody I know, or a friend of a friend, works there.
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Old 04-19-2015, 12:37 PM   #30
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Just tossing this out there, best price on a Honda generator I've seen is a store in Denver called Alamia, www.alamia.us. Extremely friendly and very helpful. When I picked up my 2000i, they asked if I'll be doing high altitude camping (6000' and higher). They set me up with a high altitude jet and instructions. Great stuff.
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Old 04-19-2015, 08:59 PM   #31
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Good price on the generator.

The other day I picked up my gasket kit for the carb and asked the service guy if it was necessary to adjust for altitude. He said most people don't and as I thought, if you go up your ok, but if you have it adjusted for high altitude and then go down, it can run too hot and MIGHT cause damage.

I know from personal experience, I have camped up to around 10K a few times and never had a problem running the generator. And living out here in the mountain state, you an go higher and lower than 6K on the same trip. I live at approx. 4400 feet, and I can easily top 6K in less than two hours to some great camping areas. So, if I was to switch every time I went up and down; I'd wear out the carb bolts.

Also, as I found out, when you rebuild the carb, the o-ring on the fuel bowl is not reusable as Honda states (at least in my case). Thus, a trip to order a new gasket/o-ring kit.

And, don't believe Honda's statement about for under 6 month storage to just run the fuel dry (assuming you are running a fuel stabilizer). After two years of doing that, the main jet was basically plugged due to varnish buildup.

Honda's Manual for 2-6 months storage:
Fill with fresh gasoline and add gasoline
conditioner *. Run the engine for 10 minutes
to use up the non-treated gasoline.
Or drain the gasoline.


You need to not only run the fuel out, you also need to drain the fuel bowl; which takes about another two minutes.
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Old 04-25-2015, 10:41 AM   #32
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Solar Update:

I purchased the Renogy 100w Solar Suicase.
The battery installed by the dealer is a dual purpose marine battery with 65 AH. Not a true deep cycle.

I had the battery fully charged before departure, and when we got here to the campground, I checked it after I had completed set up. Friday at 3pm. It was reading 12.86 v. We ran the fridge on propane (still using DC to the control panel), the water pump as needed, minimal lighting, and had the furnace running at the lowest setting overnight.
Checked the battery at 8am today (Sat) =12.16 v

I hooked up the Solar Suitcase at 8am with little expectations, as it is extremely cloudy today. I haven't even seen the sun. It seems to be pushing anywhere from .8 - 2.3 amps in this heavy cloud cover.
Battery check at 11am shows 12.44 v. (I'm impressed)

Fingers crossed that it'll be topped off by nightfall.

Btw, we're in Assateague on the beach. Was expecting sun, but the weather rarely cooperates with my camping trips.
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