House Batteries

[desertdeals69]

3 hours ago, CarlAda said:

Anyone have any personal use info on FullRIver AGM batteries?  I saw them at the battery store when I was having the battery replaced in my car. 

I have been using Full River AGM for 2 years.  The thing I noticed was that the voltage is a little lower when at full charge.  The staying power seems ok, just that the voltage is about .2 volt lower through out the range.  When I first got them I thought maybe there was something wrong so I took them out and had them sent back to be checked.  They said they were ok.

[obedb]

Typical 6 volt battery weighs mid sixty pounds. They will seem even heavier when you have to maneuver them out of and back into tight spaces. Used ones have to be hauled back for core charge credit. Take pictures of cabling and also label them carefully even if you are not doing the replacement. Mistakes can be made even by someone that claims to be an experienced tech. If your chassis batteries are  blocked by the new house batteries, take a look at replacing them also. Agree on using AGM batteries for the reduced maintenance, but wet cells have been around for a very very long time. Consider your options carefully.

[manholt]

Joe.  Mine ran me about $1790 + Tax, removal of old and installation of new, came to $2,200+/- !  I'm not 45 and short...  Also, from NAPA.

Blake.  Your right, I forgot about Inverter!  My bad.

[hermanmullins]

For the first time Carl is correct two times in a row.

1) He isn't even close to 45.?

2) His is definitely not short.?

See you soon.

Herman 

[wayne77590]

26 minutes ago, hermanmullins said:

For the first time Carl is correct two times in a row.

1) He isn't even close to 45.?

2) His is definitely not short.?

See you soon.

Herman 

Oh my! It's a  miracle?  Praise be!

[wolfe10]

Is time out far over the horizon for the "Texas Trio"?????????????

[kaypsmith]

Herman, Carl was speaking in the past because of the short circuitry. As in 45 years in the past and short circuited.

[TimWright]

Blake,

I appreciate the tip. My coach is 15 years old, so I am guessing not, but I will verify. 

To me, the big appeal of the Lithium is the shelf life/life span. My coach sits a LOT these days. It wasn't always so, but, things happened, career went a different direction...but I am now 101 days from retirement (not that I am counting...) and hoping to get back on the road again. So, I am getting it back into shape. House batteries are but one item. 

My concern is that I wont get it out as much as I hope and it will sit and the batteries go bad (note, I live in AZ where most wet batteries are toast at about 2 years no matter what you do). If AGM's will tolerate sitting around, great. And, if Lifelines will stand up to the beating of a race boat,  that is a huge endorsement. Of course, 4 Lifelines are as expensive as the Lithium, but if they last as long, and have zero fire risk, and my inverter and charging system will handle them, then this conversation may have convinced me.

 

Tim

[jleamont]

Got them..

[hermanmullins]

As we have this discussion my battery tray is sitting on my saw horses with the Rustoleun Primer drying. Cleaned the rust and other deposits off and when the primer dries, I plan on spraying the inside of the pan with Flex Seal and the outside with a plastic based paint.

Just one of the many little chores needed to keep this old lady looking and working good.

Herman

[jleamont]

Good idea Herman! After looking at these it dawned on me the hold downs will need to be altered. I've got all day tomorrow to make it work and its supposed to be sunny and 70 .

[BillAdams]

I pulled out my battery tray (really a rack for 4 8D's) and took it to a shop and had it powder coated.  I will never have to worry about maintenance again!

[jrock]

Problem with powder coat is its expensive and it will still chips off. I think Herman has the right idea with flex seal or even rhino seal. 

 

[jleamont]

Powder coat also has a problem getting into the corners of a 90 degree angle, as its drawn in by magnetic charge it will always take the path of least resistance and cling to the sides rather than the center V portion of the 90 degree angle.

There is a truck body company up here that builds utility bed truck bodies, their claim to fame was powder coating the bodies, theirs turned into Swiss cheese in 2-3 years, the painted ones last on average to 10 or more.

[blakeloke]

Cleaning up, adding hooks for bungee tie downs and coating our battery trays is still a project I need to complete.  Am following what Herman does as his seems like a simple solution.

Blake

[obedb]

What did you do Joe? Drive to factory? Can't be far from your home. East Penn Mfg. One of the few battery builders left in the US.

[jleamont]

Obedb, NAPA in Delaware, no tax 

installed them yesterday and changed my charger/inverter to AGM, all the while with a big smile on my face .

one of the old wet cells leaked over the winter, crust everywhere and they were all egg shaped. 8 years old and seen better days!! 

I cleaned it all up with Deka battery cleaner, washed it, lubed the tray slides and painted all of it including the compartment. I also buffed the cable ends and applied Antiseize to all of the connections (old hot rod trick) 

[jleamont]

Here's one of the photos I took of the old ones

 

[wildebill308]

I don't think I would have let anyone see the connector in the left front.

For those who need new cables here is a source. They are sealed and won't corrode as easily. http://www.bestboatwire.com/

The custom made ones are about as cheap as the ones I got at Napa and better quality.

Bill

 

[manholt]

Joe.  Your old acids look just like the ones I replaced, last September, egg shape and all !

Herman, you ought to use the new Flex Tape, then Flex spray the coach..

Kay.  Payback will come!

Wayne.  Caught me by surprise.

Brett.  Your going to miss this!  Every time during a full moon.

[abyrd]

Joe,

You should be ashamed with your credentials.

Jim

[bates4cs]

Had solar installed 200 amps, running to both house batteries and main engine battery and aftermarket gadget battery.  I'm praying something doesn't go wrong.  Starting a conversion, and hoping electrical would have been the best place to start.  I have an extra battery that is not deep cycle, and not sure if it would hurt tying in with the deep cycle. 

[hermanmullins]

4cs,

Welcome to the Forum. 

It wouldn't be a very good idea to mix a cranking battery with deep cycle ones. A cranking battery is made for what it's called "Cranking an engine with a high Amperage draw, and then being kept charged by the charging system. While the Deep cycle battery is designed to provide power for an extended period of time before needing to be recharged. 

Here is an example. In a fishing boat there are, in most cases, two batteries. One is a cranking battery for starting the engine and to be recharged by the engines alternator. The second battery is for the trolling motor, where it is used for extended periods trolling without being recharged.

Herman

[jleamont]

That crust formed while in storage since November and my box is behind the right drive tire, there is no way to keep them clean without altering the air circulation around them. When the coach is in storage that side up to the front door is 10" from my garage wall, once its parked there is no access to the batteries or that side of the coach, ANOTHER reason for the AGM swap I cannot check the fluid level while in storage.

[manholt]

Another excellent reason why we live in Texas!  We do get some cold, sleet and snow, but it's gone in a day or two and followed by balmy 70+!

4cs.  Welcome!  As Herman suggested, you don't want to mix the 2 types of batteries!  I have a over ride switch that I can use, in case my 2 start batteries are low.  It then takes all 8 of my house batteries to crank over engine.

Carl