Battery - Montana Owners Club

Still_waters · 07-29-2008, 10:23 AM

My battery on my 2955 will not hold a charge even when totally disconnected from the unit. So I am looking to replace the battery. Any recomendations on what type to get? Of course a deep cell but any other recomendations?

bsmeaton · 07-29-2008, 11:16 AM

It really depends on how much you use the battery. If you go from plug to plug, any 12V marine/rv deep cycle is fine.

I was looking for a little more capacity so I went to twin 6-volt golf cart batteries and a marine box.

A little pricey and took some work to get the ventilation done. Did I need them - probably not. Have I ever had dead batteries - never!

HamRad · 07-29-2008, 12:12 PM

Brad,

Great shot of the batteries and box. I like that box! I've seen them before but yours shows the construction of the box really well. When my current batteries go out.... which may be anytime now..... I'd like to replace them with the type of setup you have.

Dennis

noneck · 07-29-2008, 01:18 PM

Yep, That is sweet Brad. My signature lists my battery setup, when those go south I'll move up to the golf cart batteries.
I also see the 50 amp transfer relay which suggests your a boondocker...sweet!

bsmeaton · 07-29-2008, 01:46 PM

Thanks guys - the box is a Blue Sea.

I'm not a serious boondocker, but occassional (like when the cord won't reach - hahahaha). The transfer switch was actually Keystone factory for the generator.

**Carl n Susan** · 07-29-2008, 04:23 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by HamRad

Brad,

Great shot of the batteries and box. I like that box! I've seen them before but yours shows the construction of the box really well. When my current batteries go out.... which may be anytime now..... I'd like to replace them with the type of setup you have.

Dennis

The Blue Sea boxes are very nice and the price reflects it. The problem is the largest box they have only holds two golf cart batteries. If you want to go to four batteries (great for Q and Casino parking lots, but likely wouldn't fit in Brad's basement) you need two of those boxes and introduce a cabling challenge.

I found a place in WA that sells battery boxes in lots of sizes including one that holds four golf cart batteries and the price is a lot cheaper. They aren't as pretty as Blue Sea's boxes but who ever sees them anyway? I would give you the link but my hard drive just crashed and I can't do anything with it until I get home (I am working with Susan's laptop right now). Take a look at my setup the next time we cross paths.

On Edit: I actually found the url with a Google search. Take a look at
http://www.alliedbattery.com/boxes.htm
and see what they have to offer.

bw2 · 07-30-2008, 02:13 AM

bsmeaton, very nice. This has generated a question, does the OEM converter/charger maintain the twin 6 volt batteries?

LonnieB · 07-30-2008, 02:24 AM

I'm not Brad, but the answer to the question is yes, the charger does maintain both batteries. They are hooked up in series to attain the 12 volts needed, and the charger acts just like it's maintaining a 12 volt battery. I have installed 2 golf cart 6 volt batteries in mine as well, but my box isn't as neat as Brad's, and takes up more space,

.

HamRad · 07-30-2008, 03:17 AM

Carl,

Thank you for the info and link for the battery boxes. The Blue Sea stuff sure looks nice. Too bad it is so expensive.

Sorry to hear about your hard drive melt down. That is a bummer.

Dennis

bsmeaton · 07-30-2008, 04:03 AM

BW2,

As Lonnie says, the charger keeps up nicely.

I did install the little Iota Smart Charger on the converter as well because we stay plugged in the majority of time we are in storage.

bigmurf · 07-30-2008, 06:19 AM

I don't have my converter turned on at all. I have 4 -6volt batteries and let the solar panels charge them.

tbhd2 · 07-30-2008, 11:24 AM

We just purchased two of the AGM batteries. There is no acid in them and they don't have to be vented. They were expensive but we didn't have to buy a new battery box plus there is a mail in rebate on them right now. They are supposed to last longer and charge up faster also. Haven't had a chance to use them yet. As far as the original battery in the Montanas, they aren't very good batteries to begin with and there are much better batteries out there that last a lot longer.

HamRad · 07-30-2008, 01:33 PM

tbhd2,

It is my understanding that the battery(ies) are provided by the dealer. Of course you are correct. They are not the best battery(ies).

The AGMs are nice batteries. No liquid in them so they can be used anywhere. You can even use them upside down from what I've heard. I seem to remember something about them needing a special charger. If you haven't already checked on that you may want to before just hooking them up to your standard charging setup.

I'm sure one of our battery / electrical gurus will stop by and set us straight.

I hope they work out for you.

HamRad

tbhd2 · 07-31-2008, 02:44 PM

It's just nice to have the reserve power in case of a power outage like at last years fall rally and this winter in Texas, hottest day of the season, power was out for quite a while and not uncommon there. If you are a snowbird, sooner or later your'e going to get caught in a storm of some sort and need to have extra power.

Dennis
I'm told the charging system is adequate to keep the batteries charged. Actually they claim to need less time to charge up. Dunno, haven't had to use them yet. Maybe someone who has them will come along and let us know from their experience how well they perform.

HamRad · 07-31-2008, 05:05 PM

Tbhd2,

I think it wasn't the time of charge that was the issue. I seem to remember something about "tapered" charging was necessary. You may have one of the newer converters that charges in stages. Anyway I'm way over my head here since I've never had any AGMs. Just wanted to pass along my concern.

Good luck.

Dennis

simonsrf · 08-01-2008, 05:43 AM

Try this link,(http://tinyurl.com/6y7stj) should clear up any questions about AGM batteries.

We have 6 6v AGM 'golfcart' batteries, they sure satisfy our needs. There is no need for them to be vented or boxed and there is no maintenance. They are expensive, but the sun to feed them is free.

HamRad · 08-01-2008, 06:05 AM

Thanks Robbie,

Those AGM batteries sound like a great deal. Too bad they are so expensive. The charging process does not appear to be as big a deal as I thought. Guess the only thing to be wary of is going with too much charging voltage. Other than that sounds like a normal battery.

Thanks again.

Dennis

simonsrf · 08-01-2008, 06:15 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by HamRad

Thanks Robbie,

Those AGM batteries sound like a great deal. Too bad they are so expensive. The charging process does not appear to be as big a deal as I thought. Guess the only thing to be wary of is going with too much charging voltage. Other than that sounds like a normal battery.

Thanks again.

Dennis

Dennis, I think a good battery charge controller is necessary, there may be others who don't think so, but it is nice to not have to worry about the rate of charge. The cost of the batteries warrants care.

ols1932 · 08-01-2008, 07:31 AM

I did things a little different when we got our AGM batteries. At the same time, we had our solar system installed with a ProSine 2.0 inverter. We have a HPV-22 charger controller which takes the current from the solar panels through the inverter charging circuitry for charging the batteries so we disconnected the installed converter. We just use the circuit breaker/fuse panel that is part of the converter setup. So I can't tell you just what kind of charge the converter might give the AGM batteries. I do know that my solar charging circuitry works great. The batteries are kept charged up. The HPV-22 controller will charge more rapidly when the batteries have had a draw on them but as the batteries reach their full charge (13.9 volts), the controller stops the charging.

Orv

drjjj · 08-01-2008, 08:26 AM

Is there a particular brand and/or source for the AGM batteries you prefer?

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