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Old 06-24-2018, 10:40 PM   #1
mtlakejim
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battery suggestions

Running two batteries on our 50amp coach with residential fridge. Any suggestions on best battery brands and types?

Also is a battery isolator worth the effort/cost?

Is there a really good reason to contain the batteries inside a box when the compartment is vented already?? To be honest the lid on the factory installed battery box never has stayed on ours due to poor design.
 
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Old 06-25-2018, 09:02 AM   #2
DQDick
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Personally, I like AGM batteries and for more storage golf cart type. The battery cutoff is necessary if you store your rig and don't want to pull a cable everytime. Things like the propane detector and others are not controled by the battery cut off in the convenience center and will kill your batteries in short order.
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Old 06-25-2018, 09:19 AM   #3
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I recommend the AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) type of battery as they do not normally vent unless in a severe overcharged state. I would find one that is designed as a true deep cycle battery verses one that is designed for cold cranking amp (CCA). They are a sealed battery and usually have longer warranty than lead/acid batteries. The can also handle vibration better than standard lead/acid batteries as the glass mat will minimize plate to plate grounding failures.


I researched batteries because I purchased two new ones this week due to a issue I experienced last week. I had set up the RV in a campground on Tuesday evening. Late that evening I began to smell an odor that I originally thought was sewer related. When I got up Wednesday morning the odor was worse so I went and put a seal leg in my sewer hose (even thought black tank valve was closed) hoping the sewer smell would go away. The odor kept getting worse and when I walked between the pin box and the battery vent it hit me! I new I had a battery issue! I opened the compartment door and the battery box was so hot I couldn't get the top off. I turned the battery disconnect of in the compartment and waited about 30 minutes to open the box. What I found was that the nut for the positive terminal of the battery (two batteries in parallel) that fed the disconnect was very loose and the resistance had caused both batteries to overheat to the point that the acid was boiling (was still bubbling 30 minutes after I turned disconnect off) and the batteries were still too hot to remove from the box. I am lucky that they didn't melt the battery case or even work explode due to the heat.


I have had the 3791RD for about 18 months and I never check the battery terminal connection after I purchased (shame on me!). I will now periodically go and tighten all battery cable connections to prevent issues in the future.


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Old 06-25-2018, 09:43 AM   #4
mtlakejim
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Yeah they really seem to have an excess of connections with even a pass thru for battery box lid. So many wires that lid doesn’t fit!!
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Old 06-25-2018, 10:47 AM   #5
jeffba
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AGM's are on my list of upgrades. will get 2
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Old 06-25-2018, 06:21 PM   #6
Butch & Kathy
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I have the original 12volt battery and very unhappy with how quickly it discharges. I installed a cut off switch because it will quickly discharge to a point where the hydraulic system will not work.

What type and voltage AGM is recommended?
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Old 06-25-2018, 07:15 PM   #7
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Jim,

Six volt golf cart batteries are a good way to go. The lithium batteries are the best but very pricey (about $1K each) and you need to be sure your converter will support them.
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Old 06-25-2018, 08:00 PM   #8
jcurtis934
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As to the necessity of venting the box via the hose...heck yes! Gas off can be explosive and inside that compartment on a hydraulic leveler system is a motor. That is not good news with any gas that rises. Don't know all that is in that compartment on a high country, but be careful. I switched to agm battery for many reasons, this being one.
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Old 06-25-2018, 08:02 PM   #9
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Butchy-- The units come to the dealership without a battery in them and the dealer furnishes the battery/batteries for the unit. I would suggest you purchase two new batteries and hook them up correctly and also put a cut-off switch in the power line going from the batteries to the converter. Like has been stated previously in this thread, there are numerous items in the unit that still take power from the battery even though the battery cut-off switch in the convenient center has been turned. Hate to say this but I think your dealer cut some corners and saved some money by only putting one battery in your unit. It really needs two to keep thing running as they are suppose to.
mtlakejim-- you can purchase dual battery boxes on Amazon or do as I did and purchase separate boxes that close up and I took the tubing/hose that runs from the vent in the front of the unit and split it and install a "Y" piece of pvc with radiator clamps and some extra hose that I purchased at an auto parts store. You can ask for under the dash vent hose and will have plenty for putting new all the way including from the "Y" to the boxers.
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Old 06-26-2018, 12:15 PM   #10
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I had the same issue with the battery box lid not fitting properly and determined it was due to the negative/ground wire leading from the battery to the frame. Agree that the design is poor at best as there's no way for the lid to fit properly as designed. It's amazing that they actually use this design. I disconnected all cables, removed the lid, drilled a hole just slightly larger than the cable and then fed the cable through the hole. It still isn't perfect but much better than the way it was.
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Old 06-26-2018, 02:52 PM   #11
jeffba
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From the dealer-- only 1 battery. Second was going to cost me extra. Battery enclosure does not close properly from dealer.
Going to most likely replace with 2 12VDC AGM batteries. Will have better batteries, venting will not be an issue and I am back to just watering the yard.
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Old 07-02-2018, 04:48 PM   #12
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One of the first things I did after buying a 293RK about 3 years ago was to replace the two 12-volt deep cycle batteries with 4 6-volt golf cart batteries from Interstate. Went from 150 amps to about 468 if I remember correctly. Bought a plastic box on the internet that the 4 batteries fit in perfectly. They've worked great for the last 3 years without any problems. Use a portable solar panel to recharge in most cases but sometimes supplement it with charging from the Honda 2000 generator. About 1 - 1/2 hours daily use of generator tops the batteries off and fully charged. The 120 watt solar panel takes pretty much the whole day to fully recharge.

There's a really good YouTube video that details the same installation and I just followed what the guy did in the video.

Very pleased with results.

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Old 07-02-2018, 04:53 PM   #13
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I fought Lead/Acid batteries for years on my fist fifth wheel. I keep mine plugged in all the time in a storage building as we use it as a guest room when people visit. I finally gave in and spent the money on AGM batteries. I sold the RV and the batteries were at least 4 years old. After doing my research I settled on the Optima brand. Most boaters and RVer's liked that brand. As far as which model I would choose would be based on the size of the battery box. The 34M is smaller and will fit any box. The 31M is the larger size one and might not fit in the space provided so measure first.
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Old 07-02-2018, 07:55 PM   #14
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I replaced my 12 volt dealer battery with two Trojan 6 volt lead acid golf cart batterys. If you are not using solar then two 6 volts are plenty and you get more amps out of the 6 volts than 12 volts. If dry camping then i can charge them up fairly quickly with my Honda portable generator. If going solar then i would go 4 or 6 batterys. In storage I keep my batterys on an deltran 1.5 volt battery maintainer and add distilled water 2 or 3 times a year. I use an pigtail on the batterys to hook up the charger and i don't have to remove the lid to charge the batterys. As for the battery box, i used some plywood to make me a box to fit both batterys and made a lid for the box with the lid cut out in the middle and screwed the old vent to the lid then i made some notches in the box and lid for the cables to go between. The lid sits down on the box evenly all the way around with no problem.
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Old 07-03-2018, 09:53 AM   #15
Razahoryin
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Batteries

I am running 4 Lifeline 6V AGM batteries.

they provide 600AH and are paired
with a Magnum 3000 hybrid inverter/charger
and a morning star solar controller

they do not vent or off gas.
excellent life and great for boondocking.
a little pricey but worth it.
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Old 07-03-2018, 10:04 AM   #16
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I use 4 6 volt interstate gulf cart batteries did that when we got the 5er and got a battery box for them to fit in and yes they are vented!
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Old 07-03-2018, 07:19 PM   #17
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Hi

I went with battelborn batteries.
No worries ever and zero maintenance.
just right for me

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