House batteries question

[raptor]

Have someone here replaced house batteries with maintenance free? What are pros and cons of using maintenance free batteries?

[sgtlm17]

Do you mean AGM or lithium?

2016 Forester GTS 2801QSF

[raptor]

I would prefer lithium. May be cost more but worth it? I'm fishing for ideas.

[sgtlm17]

Well lithium is the Cadillac of batteries with some real advantages such as less weight and 100 percent discharge. With that said the price is extremely high. I personally would only consider lithium if I did a serious amount of boondocking. And then I would have to add solar to that. . For occasional boondocking I would probably stick with standard lead acid or maybe AGM. . I could change my batteries 5 times for the price of lithium.

2016 Forester GTS 2801QSF

[raptor]

Thanks you, right now I have no need to replace them yet because they are new. When time comes to replace them then I will consider if they are worth for the money and my future situation.

[KatanaPilot]

I replaced our house batteries with 2 Crown Group 31 AGM batteries. A manufacturing defect (poor crimp on a battery cable) fried one of the two flooded batteries.

The Group 31's are a bit bigger so you have more capacity. Downside is a little higher cost and some additional weight which cuts into the already quite limited CCC.

[SidecarFlip]

Nice thing about L-Ion batteries is, the price of admission is coming down all the time so when yours are pooped, they will probably be 1/2 what they are now.

[TimVWulp]

yep maybe Musk will have developed his hole house battery power system to weigh less and cost less than $5,000.00 in 4 - 5 years.

My 2 Cents Tim

[SidecarFlip]

Musk isn't the only manufacturer, actually, I believe he subs them out.,

[Rich.M]

Originally Posted by KatanaPilot

The Group 31's are a bit bigger so you have more capacity. Downside is a little higher cost and some additional weight which cuts into the already quite limited CCC.

X2 on the pro and con, I have 2 Duracell group 31 deep cycle AGM from Sams club . They performed well boondocking over the summer and are holding up well at over 1 yr . Nice to not have to check and adjust water level. The AGM batteries accept charge faster on solar or generator if that is important for you.
Lithium is still too pricey for me, may consider if the price comes down when the current batteries need replacing in 2-3 years.

[raptor]

I didn't know these lithium batteries would cost that? It's out off my retirement income unless We're not eating for a month

[SidecarFlip]

Price of admission on the big ones is upwards of $1200.00 a battery.

Give it a couple years and the price will come down..... alot.

[HONDAMAN174]

A group 24 was $1700. Don't forget that you need to change your converter also to charge them.

I'll stick with old school!


2014 Evo 2850 "Woodstock"
2011 Toyota Tundra "Clifford"

[SidecarFlip]

Anything over a grand... I can replace a ton of conventional flooded cell or AGM batteries for a grand....

reminds me of solar price wise.

Now, if I had a Prevost and an unlimited wallet....maybe.

[nusslejj]

On a 2015 Solera - if I put a charger on the MB Battery, and have the house batteries switched OFF via the big rotary on/off in the stairwell, will the house batteries still charge, or does the switch completely isolate them ?

Thanks !
Jeff

[ScottBrownstein]

Originally Posted by nusslejj

On a 2015 Solera - if I put a charger on the MB Battery, and have the house batteries switched OFF via the big rotary on/off in the stairwell, will the house batteries still charge, or does the switch completely isolate them ?

Thanks !
Jeff

The general answer to that, allowing for differences between RVs is no. The battery disconnect switch will isolate the house batteries from the 12 volt buss using a separate heavy duty, mechanical disconnect solenoid.

[KatanaPilot]

Originally Posted by nusslejj

On a 2015 Solera - if I put a charger on the MB Battery, and have the house batteries switched OFF via the big rotary on/off in the stairwell, will the house batteries still charge, or does the switch completely isolate them ?

Thanks !
Jeff

The BCC certainly ties the coach batteries to the chassis when the engine is running, so it's reasonable to think it might do so if it senses 14+ VDC on the chassis side even if from a battery charger.

What I have found on the MBS coach is that the battery disconnect switch on the wall by the stair entrance only isolates a portion of the loads connected to the coach batteries. I have not taken the time to figure out which ones. It also appears the coach batteries will charge from the converter when shore power is plugged in - even if the disconnect switch is in the OFF position. I'm not 100% on this, but I will check today.

[ScottBrownstein]

Of course, all coaches are wired differently. However, most BCCs use different switches to disconnect batteries rather than paralleling them. Battery disconnect switches are energized only to switch state. That is power it...goes to on. Power it again...goes to off. They do not draw current once in either state. Hence if your battery is disconnected via the switch, even if the BCC senses more than its trigger voltage (13 to 14 volts) it cannot bring on the house batteries if they are disconnected. It can fire the boost solenoid but it will do nothing since the batteries are physically disconnected via the disconnect switch system.