Battery Upgrades

[JustCruzzin]

Seems like I can't decide on replacement batteries for the chassis and the house.  Every time I look up the details something new pops up and throws
me a curve.  Do any of you have preferences for brands and grades, I believe I want to install AGM 8D and have them installed by a supplier but picking
the right ones gets tricky. What say all the great minds of FMCA family?  (04 Country Coach Allure)

Just say'n A= chassis; B & C= house

[dickandlois]

Roy, The current Batteries appear to be Wet cells, worry free for the chassis battery and standard wet cells for the coach side. 

AGM Batteries are a good way to go overall. The Key items are to make sure the Charger / inverter system can be setup to charge them and is operating correctly, supplier warranty period and a good national supplier that covers and supplies replacement if needed.

Your current battery cables are made for the Post style, so replacing them with the blade style batteries would require replacing the terminal connections.

Three links to compare different brands.

http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/datasheets/8DAGM_Trojan_Data_Sheets.pdf

http://www.interstatedealers.com/ibcatalog/common/commercial_spec.pdf

http://www.dcbattery.com/deka_8a8d.pdf

 

Rich.

[wolfe10]

And, the house batteries (the two on the right) do not appear to be hooked up properly.  You want the positive to the house to come off one battery and the ground/negative from the OTHER battery.

[BillAdams]

Also take a look at the Universal Battery brand.  They are about 1/2 the price of the Lifelines and I have had mine for about 5 years now.  The Lifelines are great as well.  My first set lasted 10 years so that helps compensate for the beating you take on the purchase price.

[five]

Eight Ds are huge, heavy and expensive.  I'd compare them with AGM 6 volts.

[wolfe10]

Nothing particularly right or wrong with 8D's vs 6 VDC batteries-- yes heavy, but on the OP's installation looks like an easy in/out. The only caution is that many 8D's are starting batteries, not deep cycle batteries, whereas most 6 VDC batteries ARE deep cycle.

As long as you verify that your new batteries are deep cycle, either the 8D or 6 VDC in series will do the job.  We have had both set-ups on different coaches and both work just fine.

[JustCruzzin]

I appreciate all the reply's and appears my work is still cut out for me as to what replacement brand I should get. I guess I should stay with the setup I have (8D) just to simplify installation, but I will make sure of the deep cycle type for the house.

Thanks guys and (wolfe10) I'm not sure I follow the notation of the connection error this is from the original owner setup. It looks to me like they are in parallel I'm guessing.

[wolfe10]

Roy,

Yes, they are correctly in parallel as far as the interconnect cables (positive to positive and negative to negative).

But the connections to the coach should be positive from ONE battery and negative FROM THE OTHER. That way both batteries do the same amount of the "heavy lifting" as well as receiving charge.

[JustCruzzin]

27 minutes ago, wolfe10 said:

Roy,

Yes, they are correctly in parallel as far as the interconnect cables (positive to positive and negative to negative).

But the connections to the coach should be positive from ONE battery and negative FROM THE OTHER. That way both batteries do the same amount of the "heavy lifting" as well as receiving charge.

Okay gottca, I found a interesting read while chasing down battery dealers. Not sure if it pertains to larger RV's?

Batteries101.pdf

[JustCruzzin]

Is there any particular brand of battery to stay away from got quoted on some Centennials, a starter 8D and 2 DC 8D's (not AGM) installed

with solar 20W charger $1300 and change.

Edited December 8, 2016 by JustCruzzin
missinfo

[dickandlois]

Roy, I tend to pick the battery supplier by the number of locations that sell them across the country rather then brand name.

The best name brand can sell a bad battery now and then, think the key question to ask is where are the outlets for the Centennial battery, how long is the warranty period and what is the price difference for batteries that have a large distribution network. 

I have had a name brand battery fail in less then a year ! They get shaken well riding down some of the roads.

Rich. 

[jrock]

Batteries are only made by 3 manufacturers regardless of the name on them. Batteries made by Johnson control are the best ones made and tend to have the best warrantee.

[JustCruzzin]

Thanks, that gives me a better understanding as to purchasing guidelines.

[wildebill308]

When you pull your old batteries out scrub the bay with baking soda and rinse well then paint with an acid resistant paint.

Bill

[wolfe10]

Bill,

Do you know of a widely available acid resistant paint you could recommend?

[kaypsmith]

Bill probably knows a better paint, but I have used Flexseal, it's a rubber sprayon that works very well for me.

[dickandlois]

43 minutes ago, wolfe10 said:

Bill,

Do you know of a widely available acid resistant paint you could recommend?

Brett, I use the rubberized body undercoating on the metal in the battery bay area to protect against the acid fumes. It gets refreshed when the batteries are replaced.

The hold down bolts threaded area is coated with a silicon grease(the lower portion is sprayed with the same as the metal) an grease the cable terminal connections.

Rich. 

[desertdeals69]

22 hours ago, Jrock said:

Batteries are only made by 3 manufacturers regardless of the name on them. Batteries made by Johnson control are the best ones made and tend to have the best warrantee.

Now that East Penn batteries are in all Sams Clubs across the country, not just in the east, they are a good choice.  More of their batteries are made in the US.  Some Sams Clubs have the AGM golf cart battery for $179.97.

[wildebill308]

1 hour ago, wolfe10 said:

Bill,

Do you know of a widely available acid resistant paint you could recommend?

This is probbabley the best. Randolph 345 Acid Proof Battery Box Black Paint

http://www.skygeek.com/345qt.html?utm_source=googlebase

One extra step if/when you have everything clean. As a prep step use a Phosphate rinse like this one.  http://www.por15.com/ . 

Now I think if cleaned properly the bead liner material may work as well. Or just use a couple of coats of a good paint (rattlecan) like rustoleum.

Everything is now easily available with the internet.

Brett what do you use on the boat?

Bill

 

[wolfe10]

18 minutes ago, WILDEBILL308 said:

Brett what do you use on the boat?

Bill

 

Bill,

Battery box and compartment is all gel-coated fiberglass.  And, batteries are AGM. 

[wolfe10]

40 minutes ago, desertdeals69 said:

Now that East Penn batteries are in all Sams Clubs across the country, not just in the east, they are a good choice.  More of their batteries are made in the US.  Some Sams Clubs have the AGM golf cart battery for $179.97.

At least here in Texas, our Sam's Club pulls up this for availability of many of the 6 VDC batteries: ONLY AVAILABLE IN AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, AND WV

 

Like you, looking forward to wider distribution through the Sams Clubs.

[abyrd]

Sam,s has 6 v golf cart batteries in  WA and OR just different brands than on east coast.  however SAM's CLUBS are few and far apart in this region.

Jim

[desertdeals69]

1 hour ago, abyrd said:

Sam,s has 6 v golf cart batteries in  WA and OR just different brands than on east coast.  however SAM's CLUBS are few and far apart in this region.

Jim

East Penn has replaced Johnson Controls as the supplier for all Sams Clubs as of a couple of months ago.  Before that it was split, East Penn in the east and Johnson Controls in the West.  There are no Sams Clubs in Oregon.

[JustCruzzin]

8 hours ago, kaypsmith said:

Bill probably knows a better paint, but I have used Flexseal, it's a rubber spray-on that works very well for me.

Good idea, I actually used that for a leaky water connection on a RV toilet which no one had a replacement for but it never leaked again. 

Has anyone done the charging system swap to AGM?

[BillAdams]

I pulled out my battery rack and took it to someone to be cleaned and powder coated (black).  That was something like 10 years ago and it still looks just as it did so many years ago.