Best Battery?

[Stonefeather]

Hey all,

A few years ago when I bought my 2006 Trail Sport FQ 27' TT I was told that more is better and so I went with a high dollar battery (Optima) that turns out isn't really worth a poot! Granted I've had the TT in covered storage for the last year with intermittent shore electricity (two TT's per 20A breaker, one 110 plug per customer). Sometimes there is an outage and a couple months before I check it. (Kept off site D/T Bastrop fires)

So, two questions. If I just park it at the house and connected to 110, how long will it take to charge a dead battery?
And two, Can anyone recommend a good battery for my little 27ft TT that will last and also get me through a rough patch if needed?

For now the Optima is dead, dead, dead. I don't really run much off the single battery, but do need it for tongue jack, occasional lights etc... In other words, I don't go all commando out in the wilderness.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

SF

 

[Alfa38User]

Walmart carries a decent deep discharge marine battery (used on electric trolling motors) for about $70. The best, nah but ok.

A good 3 stage charger will charge a discharged battery fully in about 48 hours or so. I doubt your trailer has a converter containing a 3 stage charger but... You will have to find the make and model of the converter to know for sure. You should never allow these kind of batteries to discharge more than 50% if you want them to last.

 

[BobX2]

A deep cycle Interstate battery would probably work for you just fine. Decent battery, but not outrageously priced.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

While I'm not an Optima fan (a lot of money for the capacity you get), probably none of them are going to hold up well under the circumstances you described. A "couple years" with only intermittent charging is rough on any battery.  Since it's just one battery, you might consider disconnecting it and bringing it home when not in use, using a battery maintainer (small charger) to keep it alive.  And I would probably get a modestly priced marine type battery rather than a high dollar model, since your usage is not conducive to a long life anyway.

May I suggest that you review my article in the RVForum Library titled Choosing the Right Battery for Your RV.
http://www.rvforum.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=506:choosing-the-right-battery-for-your-rv&catid=39&Itemid=132

Here's an inexpensive battery maintainer:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Battery-Tender-Junior-Charger/15779492

 

[Mopar1973Man]

I tend to chuckle about the "The Best battery" question. First off realize there is only a small hand full of companies that produce batteries. So buying a name brand isn't going to guarantee good service and long life.  As for batteries the only thing I buy is lead acid batteries for the sticks and bricks, trucks, RV, etc. All batteries here last at least 10 years plus. Something I rarely ever see a AGM or Gel Cell do. Then the other thing is proper battery maintenance and batteries will last a very long time. Attached picture is my stick and bricks battery system which cost $4,200 for all 8 batteries weighing in at just over 1,000 pounds. The first batch lasted 12 years. It all in how you take care of the battery.

 

[PaulinBaja]

It is hard to know what a "Tough Patch" means.  But if you store your trailer you would be better served to get a battery maintainer than to use the built in charger.  As far as batteries 4 ea. 6 volt are superior to 4 ea. 12 volt batteries.  If you don't understand this concept speak to someone who does.  It can be a long discussion.

As far as batteries.  Buy warranted batteries from a reliable source.  I use Wal-Mart.  Buy 5 year batteries and expect three years service! 

If you remove the batteries and set them on 2x4's when not in use, use a good battery maintainer while stored you may get many more years.

 

[John From Detroit]

To make a comment and answer:

I warn folks about Optima, Now, understand if I had a Wave Runner or a 4 Runner where I'm slamming over waves or the land equivalent, the kind of a ride where as Phillis Diller or Bob Hope (They both starred in that movie) once said "Send for you Kidneys later".  THAT is the enviorment for which the Optima is designed.. For that job it is the ideal battery...  But for RV use...

Due to the spiral design it has perhaps 60 percent of the capacity of the same group size anything else.

What is best:  Trojan T-105 pairs (or their larger brothers)

What is most cost effective,,, Sam's Club GC-2 pairs

These are flooded wet cell, DEEP CYCLE six volt batteries, You put two of them in series ( -Battery===battery+ 12 volt) and you get one big (4d) 12 volt battery.


Now, you ask how long to recharge a "Dead" battery.

To figure that out you need to now 3 things
First: The capacity of the battery (Multiply the following by .6 for Optima)

Group 24: About 75 amp hours
Group 27 95
Group 29 105
Group 31 130
GC-2 pairs; 220-250

Next how fast your converter can charge..Generally this is the last two digits of the model number,, IE: Intella Power 9235 is 35 amps.
HOWEVER some older rigs have Magnetek converters, on those it is closer to 3 TO 5 amps.

Divide the first number by the second

Add 4 hours.

This is the maximum recharge time.. In practice the state of DISCHARGE (100%-State of charge%) needs to be considered.

Example..  using a Group 27/29 rounded to 100 amp hours.. If it is only 40% discharged, then you need add only 40 percent of those amps so your 35 amp charger I cited above would need about an hour to bring it up to 90 percent, and 2-4 hours to top it off.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

As far as batteries 4 ea. 6 volt are superior to 4 ea. 12 volt batteries.  If you don't understand this concept speak to someone who does.  It can be a long discussion.

That, and more, is covered in simple terms in the Library article I referenced above.
http://www.rvforum.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=506:choosing-the-right-battery-for-your-rv&catid=39&Itemid=132

It has nothing to do with 6v vs 12v and everything to do with the type of battery. It just so happens that the most commonly available and least expensive, rugged, deep cycle, battery is a 6v model.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

If weight and space wasn't a issue even better yet is 2 Volt batteries. Now there is a battery that supplies the power for long time.
http://www.trojanbattery.com/product/l16re-2v/

But 6 volt batteries are common enough.
http://www.trojanbattery.com/product/t-105/

 

[Rene T]

If weight and space wasn't a issue even better yet is 2 Volt batteries.

Mike,
Would he have to buy six 2 volt batteries to come up withy 12 volts?  ;D  LOL

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

If you have plenty of height but not much width, the L16 size battery is available in 6v, so a pair of them makes a great battery bank, about 435 AH worth. The suckers weigh 125 lb each, though, so better have a strong back!

http://www.trojanbattery.com/product/l16h-ac/

 

[Mopar1973Man]

Funny part my sticks and brick home is just a over-sized version of a park model RV with full hook ups.

Would he have to buy six 2 volt batteries to come up with 12 volts?

Yes. You would have to purchase SIX batteries to get your 12V system hooked up. Just goes to show that as the batteries go down in voltage the amp/hour rating goes up quickly. So as Gary has also suggested about the upgrading to two 6V batteries is much better that two 12V batteries. The Amp/hour rating is much much better.

Like if I had the physical room in the stick and bricks for 2V's I would upgrade my 6V cells for 2V for the amp/hour rating. But the system is 24 Volt so I would require twelve 2V batteries. Ugh!

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Like if I had the physical room in the stick and bricks for 2V's I would upgrade my 6V cells for 2V for the amp/hour rating. But the system is 24 Volt so I would require twelve 2V batteries.

You really wouldn't gain anything by doing so. The 12x 2v batteries still only have 1110 AH,which isn't a lot for 12 big batteries.  Your present collection of 6V's is probably much the same total. There is no escaping the basic chemistry - it takes a certain amount of lead in an acid bath to produce a certain amount of amp-hours at some desired voltage. The 2v cell is a basic battery building block; a 6V battery is merely 3x 2v cells, while a 12v is 6c 2v cells. In fact, it is slightly more space efficient to package multiple 2v cells in one battery than to make each one separate.

So as Gary has also suggested about the upgrading to two 6V batteries is much better that two 12V batteries.

That's not at all what I said (or at least not what I intended to say). 6v and 12v deep cycle batteries produce the same amount of power for the same amount of lead. A pair of Trojan 12v's produces the same 230 Ah that a pair of Trojan 6v's produces. The significant difference is price - the 6v deep cycles are mass-produced for the golf car market while 12v deep cycles are a specialty item made in limited production volume, and priced accordingly.

 

[Mopar1973Man]

The 12x 2v batteries still only have 1110 AH,which isn't a lot for 12 big batteries.

Vs. 410 Amp/hours currently its a huge gain... or 2 banks  for 820 Amp/hours which would be 2220 Amp/hour in 2 V...

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You have to compare apples to apples, which in this case is a bank of 12 batteries.  12x typical GC2 deep cycle batteries would give you 12/2 x 230 AH or 1380 AH.

 

[Stonefeather]

Hey ya,

Thanks all for the links, pics, and sage advice. It'll definitely help me! ;D
Got a charger and it says the bat is bad. So off to consider what type to buy next. I like the 2 6v idea but need to try to use existing batt box on tongue if possible.

Follow up question. How do I test to see if I am getting a trickle charge when connected to the 20A 110 outlet at storage? (Remember there are two of us TT's 110's on this 20A breaker.)
If using a voltmeter what settings to use and what values to look for?


Also, while TT is plugged into 30A at home or park, is it safe to attach charger to battery then?

Thanks,

Everyone here contributes so much to making my RV'ing experience a hoot!!!

SF

 

[Mopar1973Man]

Hey ya,

Thanks all for the links, pics, and sage advice. It'll definitely help me! ;D
Got a charger and it says the bat is bad. So off to consider what type to buy next. I like the 2 6v idea but need to try to use existing batt box on tongue if possible.

Follow up question. How do I test to see if I am getting a trickle charge when connected to the 20A 110 outlet at storage? (Remember there are two of us TT's 110's on this 20A breaker.)
If using a voltmeter what settings to use and what values to look for?


Also, while TT is plugged into 30A at home or park, is it safe to attach charger to battery then?

Thanks,

Everyone here contributes so much to making my RV'ing experience a hoot!!!

SF

Covering both questions.

First unplug the RV from 120 VAC. Then install your batteries. Then pull out a DVM and check for voltage between 13.2 to 14.5 then you'll know if your converter is working or not.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Use the low DC volts setting on the voltmeter (it's usually a range, like 0-20v) and check the voltage at the battery terminals. If charging, the voltage will be 13+, usually 13.3-13.7.

Your trailer has its own charger, so whenever it is plugged in, it should be charging. However, if power is lost for months at a time, the battery can go dead enough that the charger may think it is bad (shorted) when you reconnect to power.

 

[Dakota98]

Hey all,

A few years ago when I bought my 2006 Trail Sport FQ 27' TT I was told that more is better and so I went with a high dollar battery (Optima) that turns out isn't really worth a poot! Granted I've had the TT in covered storage for the last year with intermittent shore electricity (two TT's per 20A breaker, one 110 plug per customer). Sometimes there is an outage and a couple months before I check it. (Kept off site D/T Bastrop fires)

So, two questions. If I just park it at the house and connected to 110, how long will it take to charge a dead battery?
And two, Can anyone recommend a good battery for my little 27ft TT that will last and also get me through a rough patch if needed?

For now the Optima is dead, dead, dead. I don't really run much off the single battery, but do need it for tongue jack, occasional lights etc... In other words, I don't go all commando out in the wilderness.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

SF

  The very first question you must ask yourself is:  "what is the charging capabilities of my Convertor" If you don't know the answer, you're just shooting in the dark & all other questions are mute.

  answer to question #1  ---  maybe & probably "NEVER".  unless the battery is fully charged before connecting it to shore power & there are more amps going into it than are being drawn from it. ( LP gas sensor, parasitic drains, etc. ).

  answer to question #2 ---  pretty much any 12 volt deep cycle will work for you. Your Optima went dead because of improper charging or in this case, lack of charging. Anytime a deep cycle falls below 50% capacity & doesn't get re-charged back too 100%, you stand the risk of complete battery failure, which is exactly what happened.

  Proper charging & maintenance of a "DEEP CYCLE BATTERY" is imperative to it's life span.

For an in depth explanation of  "How to charge Deep Cycle Batteries"  go to: 
www.trojanbattery.com  >>>> techincal support  >>>> battery maintenance

 

[John From Detroit]

You were told MORE is better...  Next time you can do so take a good look at the OPTIMA battery, Notice how about 40% of it is simply not there.. Yes, the OPTIMA is not more, it is less, roughly 40% less (60% battery 40% wasted space)  Source: Optima batteries specification sheets of course.

Or as I used to say 2/3 the battery for 3/2 the price

NOTE: For a 4-Runner or Wave-Runner type ride that is slamming over waves or ruts and rocks and ridges.. OPTIMA is the greatest thing since electric self-start.  But for house batteries.. The very worst choice