Newbie battery question

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UTBOB

Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2019
Posts
7
Hello all, just acquired a new Minnie Winnie TT, dealer included a Interstate SRM24 battery.  I believe it to be about 75ah.  I suspect this will not be adequate for our planned usage.  My question is this, should I buy another identical battery to parallel, or just chunk it, and go with 6v GC2s to start?  I expect our camping will be about 50/50 with hookups, charging with a Honda 2000eu while dry camping.

Thanks, Bob
 
At this point considering you have a new battery simply go buy another one.  This setup will not get you long term dry camping, but a night or two of careful use you will be fine.  In the long term make plans in a couple of years to upgrade your battery system.  In a few years you may find either your not dry camping as much as you thought or that you might want to do a serious upgrade including adding solar panels.
 
The least expensive way forward for you is to buy another identical battery and wire in parallel.  The best choice would be to purchase 2-6V batteries wired in series, because of greater amp rating and the robust nature of 6-volt batteries typically used in golf carts and wheel chairs.
 
We had the same issue/question when we got our TT. I did a test run at the house with the interstate battery and was not pleased with the results.

However I needed to be able to run a TV all night long for my wife along with the other normal 12 volt usage.

I switched to the 2 - 6 volt batteries and have been very pleased.

I will 2nd the solar as a good upgrade.
 
I'm with Don. Don't scrap a perfectly good battery

I normally say G-24s are "About 75 amp hour) and you can use about 15 of em before rapid aging sets in (not much)
Now when it (And the one you add to it) fail. if you have the headroom go with a pair of GC2  You will have over 3 times the usable power.. and about the same cost.
 
Since you have a genset you aren't 100% reliant on battery capacity.  So I'm on board with the idea of adding a 2nd battery and using that set to get an idea of your usage.  Armed with that information after a season or two you'll know exactly what the next set will need to be.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
There is no question a generator and/or solar is an important component, however battery capacity, I would argue is the more important component when boomdocking is in the conversation, to address because you need to have sufficient battery capacity when it may not be possible to run a generator or when solar production is reduced or non-existent.  So IMHO if the OP can afford it, the best choice if planning to boondock, is 2-6V deep cycle batteries.
 
Well, if it's a "money is no object" question, he should buy a pair of Lithium-ion 12v to get the max possible usable AH and longevity. But few of us have that kind of budget...

The options are roughly:

Add a second SRM 24 (or similar) for about $100.  About 150 AH, 50% usable
Convert to 2x 6v GC2 for about $230.  About 230 AH, 50% usable
Convert to 2x AGM Group 27 deep cycles for about $450. About 210 AH, 50% usable
Convert to 2x LiFePO4 12v deep cycles for $1200-$2000.  About 200 AH, 80-90% usable
 
Thanks for the input.  I?ve decided to buy another 12v group 24 to start with, although I?ll probably upgrade to 6v GC2s for my next set of batteries.  It looks like I?ve got room for 2 of either type on my trailer tongue.

Thanks,  Bob
 
Sounds like a plan to me.. In fact it's what I would recommend. duplicate existing battery till time for replacement then UPGRADE. 

Course that is a bit different from some upgrade programs. For example my radio. they came out with upgrade firmware but it was buggy so they released a new version with differnet bugs.. Finally Revision 3 got it right :)
 
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