coach battery recommendations

[Rickf1985]

Yes you could run three 12 volt batteries in parallel if they are all new batteries and you have room.

And I am thinking for 102.00 you did not get a true deep cycle battery, or you got a real small one.

[Aaarrghh]

This is the one:

[Rickf1985]

Looked it up and it does appear to be a deep cycle battery. No mention of SLI or dual purpose. That is a good deal. What group size is it?

[Aaarrghh]

Looked it up and it does appear to be a deep cycle battery. No mention of SLI or dual purpose. That is a good deal. What group size is it?

Group 31

[DRMousseau]

The 29H is a commercial battery group size,.. 13 1/8 x 6 3/4 x 9 1/8 (10)

The Duracell 29HM is a Marine Battery (1260wh I think) with a deep cycle rating,... not really a true deep-cycle. I believe it's made by East Penn Mfg. and is quite satisfactory for many folks. Many RV's see only occasional recreational use, are "lifelined" when out and about at parks and such. The rare moments they rely on their battery are few. These batteries serve such use requirements quite well and well priced for low budgets,... sorta.

You can likely expect 3-5yrs of reasonable "mild" use from these, if well cared for. Walmart/Sam's Club specifically targets such a market with their product lines, and you should really expect no more than what you paid for!!! As one who lives year around in my home,.... I have much different needs, and require something a bit more "economical".

I have a new battery arriving soon,.... jus under 600wh, for which I paid $435!!! Yes,... it's for a special application, my new "auxiliary vehicle" that'll compliment my unique lifestyle. (specs? 3.5"x3.5"x10.5" 6.5lbs 52V rated for 50A continuous draw. Thank-you Tesla and Panasonic!!! Technology is WONDERFUL!!!)

[Rickf1985]

The 29H is Duracell's part number for that style of battery and it comes in all of the standard sizes. He got the group 31 size which is a pretty good size battery. Quite a bit larger than the specs you gave. This battery is designed to power a electric trolling motor for 8-10 hours and the recharge and do it all over again tomorrow. What makes that any different than what we need it to do? It is NOT an SLI or dual purpose battery.

[DRMousseau]

UGH! I hate mfg designations!!! They are often misleading,... add the "grey" devious marketing ploys of certain corporations, and it's jus worse!!! The lack of disclosing REAL specifications and technical info keeps many of us "in-the-dark" and at the mercy that misleading marketing.

Here's a good although not a complete listing of BCI group sizes.
http://www.evdl.org/pages/bcigroup.html

You'll note the size is rather close to 31's. It's pretty blatant that they would specifically state it as group 31 with such obvious mfg. identifications.

The "M" designation following the BCI number (29HM) designates a marine construction standard,... it IS NOT of SLI construction. It is also not of D or DC designation (Deep-Cycle).

YES!!! It will run your trolling motor AND start your outboard!!! Charge it overnight and do it again tomorrow too,... for RECREATIONAL use. It will also serve the "recreational needs" of most RVer's too and is plainly marketed as such, and you can expect 3-5yrs of the use, abuse, and neglect that is typical of most "recreational" users.

I have much different needs than what many of "we" have. As a "full-timer" who lives year-around in his home, I have a greater need than that of jus "recreational" use and might see the lower range of that expected life in such a battery, even under my close care. The capacity of such a battery after 3yrs of my typical use would be rather unsatisfactory for me. At that time under such use, the plates become thin and begin to deform and warp more and more with each charge and discharge cycle, and with an increasing chances of cell failure due to internal breakdown. Temperature extremes will also critically affect such batteries in this stage of life. The lead plates of deep-cycle batteries are TWICE the thickness of automotive batteries, they are more solid than the "spongy" plates of auto batteries with more antimony in composition. Marine batteries are nothing more than heavy auto batteries with thicker spongy plates.

My batteries did indeed cost more, about $150 ea. They are of quality deep-cycle constructions that I can easily expect 5-7yrs or more of dependable useful life,... about twice of what I would get from this "marine" battery, in spite of heavy year around use, abuse, neglect and even weather extremes. And may even stretch that a bit with some considerate care.

You truly do get what you paid for,... and good products really need little marketing. You won't find my batteries in WalMart/Sam's Club,... because they are not profitable for them. To me, it's a matter of personal economy,... I'll pay more, and get more, with much less concern.

I could of paid HALF of what I paid for the unusual battery pictured in my previous post,.... those cheaper are the ones typical of the low quality that have erupted into flames, exploded, and even burned down homes. Not sure I'd call that a bargain or even a true cost savings.

I'm rather excited of the new technologies and advancements in batteries. In jus a few short years or less, I'm sure we'll see an awesome and practical application in RV's.

[Aaarrghh]

Just curious ... what is meant by "SLI"?

I would classify myself as a recreational user. The worst use of my battery would be to power my wife's hair dryer in the morning, after having run the furnace at night (in Florida). I have 320 watts of solar on the roof, which seems to be doing a good job of getting the battery back to 100% by early afternoon. The controller reports the battery's temperature. I haven't seen that rise above ambient during use or charging.

The battery's physical dimensions are determined by the size of my (vented) battery box. There's space for only one of those, in this relatively small MH.

If I get 5 years out of this battery, I'll be satisfied and go buy another one!

[Rickf1985]

SLI stands for "Starting, Lighting and Ignition". It is your standard battery you would buy for your car.
I think you will get five years out of it with no problem as long as you have a modern charger setup on it.

Here is a site I saw while surfing that has a decent amount of info on batteries.

http://batteriesbyfisher.com/battery-overview

Now if you want to go all out gonzo then go here.

http://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/applications/uninterruptible-power-supply/

[DRMousseau]

SLI is for "Starting, Lighting, Ignition", your typical automotive Battery. Since the plates are quite thin, a large number can be packed into each cell. This makes for the high amperage necessary for heavy starting loads, although such such heavy load is only of short duration.

As a recreational/seasonal user, your Duracell should do you jus fine. Easily getting you thru the cool Florida nights and meeting your lighting needs and all. These are usually warranted by the mfg. for 3yrs and will easily last longer with jus a bit of care. Your hoped for 5yrs is not unreasonable since your solar system is a HUGE asset in that care, keeping your battery properly charged during those long durations of time sitting unused. Florida's winters are also quite mild,... unlike other areas where many live. Winter care is pretty important to others.

And I cannot stress how important is to always wear eye protection around these. Your "sealed" "carefree" Duracell is much safer than typical deep-cycle batteries with cell caps, and I've only rarely seen them burst. But accidental arching can easily cause a sparking splatter of molten metals. Gloves are always highly suggested,... not jus for chemical protection, but for protection from heat and sever burns. A typical auto battery can short with 3000-5000A and even more!!!! That can easily destroy a wrench and gold rings!!! Yes,... I would know this. And I can tell you, it's not easy to quickly remove a glowing half-melted ring from your finger!!! Not easily remove a glowing wrench that welded itself across terminal connections either!!! These things DO HAPPEN,... and can happen to YOU as well. Be safe!!!     

[EldoradoBill]

I'll concur with the safety glasses necessity. Even sealed AGM batteries can and do explode, leaving a caustic mess in their wake. I work with batteries on a (mostly) daily level and if you ever think it can't happen, well guess what it can and does.


Bill

[Aaarrghh]

Just curious ... what is meant by "SLI"?

I would classify myself as a recreational user. The worst use of my battery would be to power my wife's hair dryer in the morning, after having run the furnace at night (in Florida). I have 320 watts of solar on the roof, which seems to be doing a good job of getting the battery back to 100% by early afternoon. The controller reports the battery's temperature. I haven't seen that rise above ambient during use or charging.

The battery's physical dimensions are determined by the size of my (vented) battery box. There's space for only one of those, in this relatively small MH.

If I get 5 years out of this battery, I'll be satisfied and go buy another one!

Well, here I am 3 1/2 years later. The Duracell got to a point where it wouldn't take a charge. I've replaced it with an Interstate. There's no Sam's Club in this town, and even if there was, I'd have paid as much to get a membership and a new Duracell as I paid for the Interstate.

I don't blame the Duracell for not lasting the 5 years. For the first 2 years it was the only battery, and quite often it got discharged pretty low. About a year and a half ago, I added a second battery (Interstate), and between the 2 they've kept up with my electrical demands without getting drained way down. Together, they should last longer.

[Rickf1985]

Pairing a new battery with an older battery in parallel is a very bad idea since the older battery will always drain the new battery down to its level.

[Aaarrghh]

Pairing a new battery with an older battery in parallel is a very bad idea since the older battery will always drain the new battery down to its level.

But in a practical sense, it would be a frivolous waste of money to replace a perfectly good battery for that reason, eh? I'm not needing perfection here.

[Rickf1985]

You call it frivolous, I call it live and learn. It is your vehicle, do as you please.

[c farmer]

Pairing a new battery with an older battery in parallel is a very bad idea since the older battery will always drain the new battery down to its level.

Yup.  It uses the new battery like a battery charger until they are at the same level of charge.  We have alot of diesel engines here and always replace in pairs.

[Ericb760]

I just priced out that comparison today and I think I am going with the two 12 volt deep cycle set-up. Two 6 volt of roughly the same output total would be 100.00 more. I can get two group 27 100 Ah batteries for 200.00 minus some rebates at Batteries plus. For you die hard boondockers I would say go for the AGM batteries but my budget would not cover 350.00 each! I don't do enough camping right now to justify that kind of expense. This is my first class A so I may or may not stay this route.

A bit off topic, but since you have the same rig as me, does your battery tray slide out? Is there a trick to releasing it? The OP hooked the solar to my batts, but I can't figure out how he got them out of the battery bay.

[Rickf1985]

My tray slides out but I think it has been trashed at one point since there is really nothing holding it in but the door and friction. It is really tough to slide out with a hundred pounds plus of batteries on in and it will just slide all the way out with nothing holding it. I have to put milk crates outside to rest it on. I am eventually going to put in a regular battery slide from a truck. I am thinking of adding two more batteries on the other side in what is now a storage compartment. Add ventilation and a slide to that one and tie in the wiring to the ones already in use.

[skloon]

My 92 has a slide out tray that is held in by what looks like a hitch retaining pin it is really just held in by gravity- no rails on the side or anything to stop it from coming out too far- it looks very un Winnebago like as if it was designed by somebody at the last minute while all the engineers were partying

[Rickf1985]

That sounds like mine, there is a hole in the end of the tray for a pin. I have not found the corresponding hole in the frame.