GT5 house battery weight - 49 lbs each

[NXR]

I know some people have asked about replacing the two 12 volt batteries with two 6-volt golf cart batteries wired in series instead of in parallel.

I had both 12 volt batteries out today to check their water levels and for a bit of cleaning so I weighed one. It was 48.5 pounds so there's a hundred pounds of house batteries.

I'd really like to know what the capacity of these batteries are. Perhaps someone from FR could chime in with that information. There's no label on either of them. There is an identical stamp on both of mine but it means nothing to me.

One person installed a couple of these golf batteries, the UTL, I think: https://www.interstatebatteries.com/.../extreme-cycle

I sent a query to Progressive Dynamics, the manufacturer of my PD9270 converter. They assured me that the converter will work fine with AGM or 6-volt golf cart batteries.

As an aside, only one house battery needed water in one cell and the plates were not uncovered. That's the same as I found last October and this March. The motorhome has been plugged in for seven months with a few trips in between. The terminal voltage on each batter after an hour of being disconnected was 12.65 volts. That four-stage converter is awesome.

FWIW,

Ray

[wrapperman]

Hi Ray,
I hope you're doing well. I'm no battery expert but when I see the number 27DP it is the size of the battery. Just search "27DP battery" on the internet. The weight will give you an idea of its amp/hrs rating. At 48 pounds sound like you won't get but around 150 amp hr rating.
I would think that RV OEM batteries would be like a marine battery.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by wrapperman

Hi Ray,
I hope you're doing well. I'm no battery expert but when I see the number 27DP it is the size of the battery. Just search "27DP battery" on the internet. The weight will give you an idea of its amp/hrs rating. At 48 pounds sound like you won't get but around 150 amp hr rating.
I would think that RV OEM batteries would be like a marine battery.

By jove, I believe you've cracked the code! I did find a 27DP23 but it's supposed to be a maintenance-free and these are not: http://rencobattery.com/webstore/bat...epcycle/27dp23

That should make these a Group 27 battery at around 12 1/2" L x 6 3/4" W x 9 3/8" H. I did not measure it but that's gotta be close.

Thanks!

Ray

[wrapperman]

[emoji106]

[TominVegas]

It's my understanding that my batteries are manufactured by Worldwide Battery. I couldn't find an active website but the phone number is 866-885-1089. The website located at the Internet archive doesn't list specific battery information.

[NXR]

From a Google cache:

Worldwide Battery was founded in 2001 as a wholesale distributor of batteries, located in the Midwestern area the United States. Initial operations began in Anderson, Indiana and through rapid growth, Worldwide Battery has quickly expanded its operations to nine locations in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.

WorldWide Battery Warehouse is operated by executives who know the ... (fluff deleted)

Corporate
9955 Westpoint Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46256
Phone: (317) 845-1330
FAX: (317) 845-1534
Email: sales@worldwidebattery.com

The HTTPS certificate on their web site expired nine days ago and the web site seems otherwise down. Other Internet references I found to their other offices also failed to pan out. They may be extinct now.

One reference from years ago said WorldWide Batteries responded to a query and said the battery was made by Exide. So they likely resold others batteries under their private label.

But...they also may be under a new name, Battery Systems of Indianapolis. They're located at that same address with the same phone number but a different website address.

https://www.batterysystems.net/

Ray

[NXR]

Originally Posted by wrapperman

I'm no battery expert but when I see the number 27DP it is the size of the battery. Just search "27DP battery" on the internet. The weight will give you an idea of its amp/hrs rating. At 48 pounds sound like you won't get but around 150 amp hr rating.
I would think that RV OEM batteries would be like a marine battery.

This one from Superior Battery lines up pretty well except for the maintenance-free part. I did send a query to Battery Systems of Indianapolis so we'll see if they respond.

Methinks you're more of a battery expert or at least aficionado than you realize.

Ray

[camaraderie]

27dp means a group 37 DUAL PURPOSE battery... supposed to be good for starting and cycling but if you boondock you want a DC battery...thick plates made for deep cycling to 50% of capacity for many hundreds more cycles than a DP.
ANY group 27 should have roughly 95 amp hours of capacity so a pair will put you close to 200 amp hours OF WHICH you can USE 1/2 safely before needing to recharge without a loss of capacity over time. Of course you can cycle down to 20% of capacity in an emergency but you'll pay a steeper price for that.
I believe the batts used are chinese imports regardless of who distributes them.
If you stay plugged in wherever you go...they'll be fine for a few years... if you boondock, I'd abuse them then replace them! Don't worry...a DP27 will let you run off batteries just as long as a DC27...but it will die an earlier death in cycle life land.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

27dp means a group 27 DUAL PURPOSE battery... supposed to be good for starting and cycling but if you boondock you want a DC battery...thick plates made for deep cycling to 50% of capacity for many hundreds more cycles than a DP.

Since these house batteries do start the Onan generator, and get down to about 11.8 volts when doing a start, does that change your mind about the DC battery recommendation?

Ray

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by NXR

Since these house batteries do start the Onan generator, and get down to about 11.8 volts when doing a start, does that change your mind about the DC battery recommendation?

Ray

Good question and I'd answer no it does not change my opinion. As an example...a single starting battery or dual purpose should be sufficient to start any small generator. A single DP27 has around 650 Cold Cranking Amps of starting power. A pair of DC27's has around 1100...so plenty of power and a temporary voltage drop is nothing to worry about as you are pulling a LOT of current but only for 30 seconds or less.
If you do boondock a lot, I would suggest you invest in a TRUE battery monitor like the Victron line. You will be able to watch that 11.8 volts rise right back up to nearly full AND see how many amp hours you still have left in capacity...among many other useful things...like the moment when the batteries are indeed full and you can turn of the genny!
Hope this helps!

[NXR]

Thanks, Cam. So far our boondocking consists of the time period from when I shut off the shore power until the generator fires up. And vice versa.

Ray

[camaraderie]

That's like me...except I have about 50 hours on the genny in 6 years!...I'm almost always plugged in. All YOU need is DPs' if you don't boondock/deep cycle. Walmart $99 specials are just fine.