House Batteries

[lkncyclist]

Would like some feed back on brand of House Batteries.

We currently have Trojan 6V in our 2008 National Tropical.

Not really having any problems but these are the original one and we need to replace.

[wolfe10]

First decision is what kind/battery technology you want:

AGM's are probably the best and are maintenance free. If you do a lot of dry camping where you are running your generator to charge the batteries, they will also take a charge faster because of lower internal resistance. But, they are more expensive.

But quality wet cells like your Trojans, IF PROPERLY MAINTAINED, can give goo, long service life as well.

[tbutler]

Your coach is 6 years old and you are replacing the batteries for the first time, that is about as good as you can expect. You don't indicate how much you use your coach. If you are using it only occasionally, I would purchase a good set of 6V batteries of the same type you had. If you use our coach frequently or are full timing in your coach you may want to get better batteries of the type Brett mentions above. Absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries are permanently sealed and are thus maintenance free. They are more expensive but should last longer.

Some people ask about 12V batteries and I don't see that in your question but if you are thinking of changing to 12V, that would be a mistake. Two 6V batteries in series give you 12V and are much stronger than a 12V battery. The industry standard 6V 220 amp hour batteries are the same kind used in golf carts and are thus a relatively cheap commodity. Also when selecting batteries, house batteries are not starting batteries which are designed to deliver a large current flow for starting an engine and then be recharged. House batteries are of the deep cycle type, made for constant discharge to power appliances or a golf cart over a period of time before being recharged.

One of the biggest factors in battery life is the care they are given. Keep them clean and make sure they do not discharge completely. You must be doing these things to get the length of life you did from your current set of batteries.

[Jared]

I am also looking for advice on replacement/upgrading on the charger/battery combination. I have a 2007 Valenica with a IOTA DLS-75 charger/interstate u2200 url 6 volts(2). Looking to upgrade to trojans T-105s (4) with Xantrex truecharge2 (smart charger). My current interstates started gassing a few days ago,they have a label date of 10/9. The charger was replaced just under 2 years ago. Is it that the batteries are just to old or is it the charger causing the gassing/heating of the batteries? Anyway i was thinking it was a good time to buy new/upgrade.

With the charger plugged in the volts across the pair was 13.6-13.7vlts... the batts were 6.5.

unplugged 13.2vlts and 6.2vlts per. Unplugged to stop the gassing and over heating.

Now hoping to move in the right direction. Thanks all.

[huffypuff]

I went to the Interstate similar at Redmond and they state use wet type if access is good and dry cell type when access is bad. You don't want to mix type of batteries whether it be starting or house batteries as it will not charge properly. If you went to one type of battery to another you will have to adjust your charger inverter so you charge at the right rate.

[huffypuff]

I am also looking for advice on replacement/upgrading on the charger/battery combination. I have a 2007 Valenica with a IOTA DLS-75 charger/interstate u2200 url 6 volts(2). Looking to upgrade to trojans T-105s (4) with Xantrex truecharge2 (smart charger). My current interstates started gassing a few days ago,they have a label date of 10/9. The charger was replaced just under 2 years ago. Is it that the batteries are just to old or is it the charger causing the gassing/heating of the batteries? Anyway i was thinking it was a good time to buy new/upgrade.

With the charger plugged in the volts across the pair was 13.6-13.7vlts... the batts were 6.5.

unplugged 13.2vlts and 6.2vlts per. Unplugged to stop the gassing and over heating.

Now hoping to move in the right direction. Thanks all.

Jared, gassing is bad if water level is good. Half inch over the plates only, not up to the bottom ring or you can be causing the gassing.

[Jared]

I was thinking about upgrading, but I am still working and not retired so I decided to keep the same setup and just replace the batteries. From reading from the threads I went with the T-105 Trojans.

ITOA has IQ4 Smart Charger that will plug into my DLS-75 and hopefully help keep the batteries in shape (with the belief that the problem were the old batteries). After I finished the house batteries I also changed the chassis batteries, as both sets were 5 years old.

Maybe by the time these need replaced I'll be ready to retired and give the upgrade another look. Thanks all for the input and the information this site provides.

[jleamont]

This brings up a good topic; the Imperial we bought this year has 6V wet cell batteries and I was wondering for winter storage what is the preferred method? Keep in mind the Coach will sit from November to April under cover.

1, remove the batteries, bring them in to the garage and keep them on a trickle charge.

2, keep the coach plugged in so the charger keeps them on a "floating charge".

Our old class C had one 12v AGM coach battery I would bring it in and trickle charge it since the charger in the coach was not very technically advanced.

Any recommendations to help make these last?

[desertdeals69]

You should use a float charger whether left in the coach or not.

[jleamont]

You should use a float charger whether left in the coach or not.

Thank you for the advice.