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Old 02-13-2011, 05:53 PM   #1
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What is the amp hours on my battery?

NOTE: I found answer. I jumped the gun.

http://www.interstatebatteries.com/c...o/marine_f.asp


I was wondering how many amp hours my battery has. It is a interstate HD24-DP

This is specs off interstate batteries website:



Reserved capacity on battery says 100. Can someone explain?
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Old 02-13-2011, 06:23 PM   #2
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Scoobie, I am not sure of your question.
Are you looking for definitions of the terms?

Cranking amps is how much juice can come out in a short burst.
Cold cranking amps is how much can come out in a short burst when cold.
These two are important for starting you car; not powering your camper.

Reserve Capacity is the number you look at for house batteries. Your battery can deliver 25 amps for 100 minutes and be dead.
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Old 02-13-2011, 06:25 PM   #3
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I think the battery is a mix battery not a true deep cycle battery. I wanted to know amp hours but figured it out.
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Old 02-14-2011, 08:10 AM   #4
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What formula did you use to figure out your amp-hours?
I would love to know.

I had to call Deka's USA rep to find out the 20 hour rate amp-hour capacity of my DC-24 batteries (75 Amp-Hours) for input into the TM-2025's battery monitor program.
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Old 02-14-2011, 10:24 AM   #5
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I used link that is in first post and it told me.
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Old 02-14-2011, 11:15 AM   #6
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Reserve Capacity and amp-hours are not the same. I did not see the amp hours stated in the link; just reserve capacity.

RC for your battery is = 25 amps for 100 minutes

Amp-hour capacity is rated over a 5 or 20 hour period (it will be stated in the documentation) and states the maximum number of amps that can possibly be delivered over that period of time. There is a curve that adjusts the amp hour capacity based on dishcarge rate (the higher the draw; the less amp hours possible). That is why you can run the lights and small draw stuff for days; but make one pot of coffee off the inverter and your battery is toast in a few hours.
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Old 02-14-2011, 12:07 PM   #7
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I looked at site again. I noticed it said at 5 amps it will last 11.6 hours. So I have 58 amp hours right?

Lou, quick forumla here.

Say I have 100 Ah battery. How many Ah is that if I use a 400 watt power invertor which is 110 volts?
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Old 02-14-2011, 02:08 PM   #8
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ok, I think I have this right; so here goes. Again, any EE dudes out there speak up! I am a novice here.

First we need to assume that the Power Factor in a single phase AC inverter is 1.0 Anything else makes the "figurin'" too hard.

So, Power (in Watts) = Amps (I) x Volts (E) for both AC (PF=1.0) and DC

400 watts of Inverter Output requires how many amps of 12 volt input?

400=12xI solve for I and you get 33.3 amps of battery draw to produce 400 watts assuming no loss in the inverter.

So what can I power with 400 watts of AC output?

400 watts = 120 volts (E) x I (amps) Solve for I and you get 3.3 amps.

This is why you never want to power your 1500 watt AC coffee maker from your 2000 watt inverter. To create 1500 watts of AC you need to pump in 1500 watts of DC plus inverter loss; that works out to about 125 amps of 12 volt DC.

You need BIG wires to your inverter to carry that load. In fact the instruction manual for my 2000 watt inverter suggests a 175 amp auto-resetting fuse inline with the battery. Since my battery bank is 150 amp hours (2x75 AH); making coffee eats up nearly all my capacity (dead batteries) in about 30 minutes. I use a percolator or french press for my morning fix.

This is why Thomas Edison's scheme to power the nation with many safe low voltage DC generators; lost out to Bell and his idea of using less power stations but more dangerous high voltage AC.

Oh, and don't get me started about how long you have to run your generator to put those AMPS BACK IN!
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Old 02-14-2011, 02:22 PM   #9
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A 400 watt inverter will easily draw 30+ amps on your 12v source line so at full output don't plan on a 100 amp reserve battery lasting very long, maybe 80 minutes 90 tops. I had a Xantrex 1800watt inverter and 2 Trojan 6 Volt golf cart batteries in our old trailer. The connections had a 250 Amp circut breaker and double 00 guage welding cable 4 ft long to the inverter from the batteries. But I could run the coffee maker or microwave for a very short time with it. And those Trojans were rated for 447 minutes at 25 amps. I say this just to let you know if you want to use an inverter you better get some really good batteries.
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Old 02-14-2011, 02:29 PM   #10
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All cause I want to dry camp for a night and run 120v fans and tv. Grrrrrr
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Old 02-14-2011, 02:53 PM   #11
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Then you have good news! The TV will only need about 8 DC amps and the fans about 2 amps each. 400 watts of inverter power should be plenty. Running the TV and my computer to watch movies pulls about 20 amps of DC out of the batteries. 20 amps x 12 volts = 240 watts. Heck most times the cooling fan on the inverter does not run.

If indeed your battery is 55 amp hours capacity, that 2 hour movie is about all you are going to get before it is deader than Hoffa.

It is your battery bank that needs upgrading.
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Old 02-14-2011, 03:35 PM   #12
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I have kids so I think 9 out of ten times we will be full hook ups.
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Old 02-14-2011, 03:43 PM   #13
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Quote:
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I have kids so I think 9 out of ten times we will be full hook ups.
Get a good inverter generator like the Honda or Yamaha. We have a Honda EU3000is and keep it in the box of the truck. It is so quiet you can't tell it is running most of the time. Also just running stuff like the coffee maker, TV etc it will run close to 20 hrs on a tank of gas. We dry camp for 2 days every sept at an old farm village and run off the Honda, which usually runs for around 14 hrs and we use maybe 2 or 2 1/2 gallons of gas. Because of the genny we decided not to run the inverter in the new V-Lite. Although I wired in a 250w to run the TV and DVD in our bedroom after everyone is gone to bed but even that is gone to the wayside as we both have decent laptops now we can watch movies on.
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Old 02-14-2011, 03:46 PM   #14
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I would love that generator but not for 1800 bucks. I do have access to a louder commercial one. But perfer not to use cause of noise. Unsure what to do.
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Old 02-14-2011, 04:42 PM   #15
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I would love that generator but not for 1800 bucks. I do have access to a louder commercial one. But perfer not to use cause of noise. Unsure what to do.
I bought the older version of this with free shipping to your door: Wisesales.com | Yamaha Generators EF2400iSHC Super Quiet Portable RV Camping

I have run my 13,500 BTU AC from the generator up to 3500' elevation without a problem....although I leave all other electrical items off if I have the AC on.
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Old 02-14-2011, 07:30 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scubieman
All cause I want to dry camp for a night and run 120v fans and tv. Grrrrrr

I have kids so I think 9 out of ten times we will be full hook ups.

I would love that generator but not for 1800 bucks. I do have access to a louder commercial one. But perfer not to use cause of noise. Unsure what to do.
It sounds like your dry camping and/or boondocking will be infrequent and for short durations. If that is the case, you don't need to make a major investment. If you don't believe your situation would warrant the use of the A/C or microwave, all you would need is a Honda EU1000i to run the television, a few misc items, lights and keep your battery charged. A used one would not be that terribly expensive. If you could find a good deal on a EU2000i, it would allow you to later purchase another one and parallel them. Later when you replace your battery, at least get the largest capacity one that will fit your battery tray or consider a dual set-up.

You don't have to do it all at once. Start small and make sure you are going to enjoy it and if you do then start the "boondocking project".

I can currently go about a week. With a family of four that is about the limit of my holding tanks. I am usually still good with everything else, but when the holding tanks are full, its time to go.

Happy Camping!

Glenn
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Old 02-14-2011, 07:33 PM   #17
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Times two; what Glenn said. Start small and "move to improve".
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Old 02-14-2011, 07:34 PM   #18
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Another suggestion is that you could rent a generator for the first few times you dry camp or if you know someone with one that will let you borrow it. Make sure you will like it first. We love boondocking, but it isn't everyone's cup of tea.
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Old 02-15-2011, 08:02 AM   #19
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Another alternative to the Honda or Yamaha is Kipor. They have been around for awhile now and their stuff gets pretty good reviews. The consensus is they are not as good as a Honda or Yamaha but are still a premimum product and can be had for much less money. Magna also makes decent units. I have seen both and they are very nicely made units and very quiet although I believe the Honda is kind of the standard for economy and sound level that does not make these other units a bad choice when you have to juggle the budget with the wants and needs.
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Old 02-15-2011, 05:54 PM   #20
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Thanks
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