Batteries

[forestwalker]

What do you look for when purchasing a new battery for your pop up ?

[MtnCamper]

As big a battery as I can find, That I can afford, that will fit where it needs to go.

[oldmoose]

My group 24 went south so I bought a group 27. It has about 30% greater capacity and it is the same width (but longer & taller) as the old battery. I had to buy a new battery box. The battery was $60 with trade-in and the box was $10. I usually only dry camp for 3-4 days so no problem.

[Ab Diver]

Bigger is better, in terms of available amp hours.
 
2 batteries are better than one for cold weather if you plan on running your furnace for more than three days. *Cold* being a relative term-- below freezing in the mountains vs. a foggy 50

[Ab Diver]

For a single battery for a pop-up, look for a true "deep cycle" 12V battery. NOT a starting battery, and NOT a deep-cycle starting/trolling battery. If it lists cold-cranking amps, it's probably not a true deep cycle battery.
 
Bigger is better, in terms of amp hours.
 
2 batteries are better than one, if you plan on using your furnace for more than three days without recharging. *Cold* being a relative term: below freezing in the mountains vs. a foggy 50

[tlhdoc]

The bigger the battery the more power you will have.  I use group 31 batteries, because we do a lot of dry camping.  As stated above, if the battery has CCA (cold cranking amps) or starting capacity you don't want it.  What you want is a true deep cycle battery.

[forestwalker]

Thanks for the replies.Ab Diver-What percentage of increase in amp hrs do you get by using the two 6 volt batteries instead of one 12 volt battery? Where is Casini ? Oldmoose-Did you have trouble finding extra room for the larger battery and box? Looks like there is very little room for anything larger on our Starcraft tongue.

[oldmoose]

Forestwalker, the new group 27 is the same width as the old group 24 and fits in the same spot. The new battery box fits in the same spot with no modifications.

Moose

[MtnCamper]

Looks like there is very little room for anything larger on our Starcraft tongue.

if you need room, buy a couple pieces of 1" angle, hacksaw them paint, and pop rivet them onto the tongue. Add a battery box. works good. i also had a local awning shop make me 2 nylon straps, with a push, latch for the boxes. Easier to get into, than the standard nylon strap. Cost $5.

[Ab Diver]

<<<>>>
 
Here 'tis:
 
http://www.arveeclub.com/showthread.php?t=47472&page=1&pp=20
 
Or, check out the Nick-Neff-Cough link in my sig, go to "Future Rallies", and check out the "Falling Turkeys" rally, Nov. 21-23. Hope you'll join us. It's a fun bunch of folks.... the best!
 

What percentage of increase in amp hrs do you get by using the two 6 volt batteries instead of one 12 volt battery?

The percentage is more a measure of the *usable* amp hours in a battery. Usable meaning how much you can get out of a battery without damaging it. A standard marine starting/trolling battery shouldn't be discharged to less than 50% of it's *rated* amp hours. Further discharging can shorten it's lifespan considerably. 6V "golf cart" batteries can take an 80% discharge without suffering ill effects, this is what they are made for. So a 100 amp/hour 12V battery means you'll only have about 50 *usable* amp hours, and a pair of them gives you 100 Usable Amp Hours (UAH). A pair of 6V batteries are rated about 225 amp hours. 80% of that gives you 180 UAH. So, figuring it that way, you get 80% more juice from a pair of 6V batteries over a pair of group #24, 12V batteries. Also, when discharging a battery, care should be taken to watch the actual voltage of the battery. Given that a fully charged battery reads about 12.6 volts, anything below 12.0 volts is not a good thing. Others use a method of dividing the reserve capacity (listed in minutes) of a battery by 2.4 to get a ballpark for UAH. Haven't heard any complaints from using that method, either.
 
That's just a dirt simple, bare bones paragraph. If you'd like to read enough about 12 volt batteries to make your eyes water, check out this site:
http://bart.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm After that, you'll be more informed than 95% of the battery buying public.
 
Again, hope you'll join us at Casini. It's starting to sound like quite a fun weekend. But then again, all of our rallies have been.... so far.
[/size][/font]

[aw738]

My group 24 went south so I bought a group 27. It has about 30% greater capacity and it is the same width (but longer & taller) as the old battery. I had to buy a new battery box. The battery was $60 with trade-in and the box was $10. I usually only dry camp for 3-4 days so no problem.

I have sold batteries for over 8 1/2 years and have replaced a 24 with a 27 in my tv. If a 27 is taller why did I not have to modify my holddowns? See link below for further details.
 
http://www.rtpnet.org/~teaa/bcigroup.html

[champ521]

My group 24 went south so I bought a group 27. It has about 30% greater capacity and it is the same width (but longer & taller) as the old battery. I had to buy a new battery box. The battery was $60 with trade-in and the box was $10. I usually only dry camp for 3-4 days so no problem.

I don't know about taller but in my experience the 27 is longer than the 24. After reading in here some time ago that the 27's are the way to go I replaced my burnt out 24 with a 27 just to discover that it did not fit in the 24's box or even in the space allotted on the tongue. So I took it back and got another 24.

[topcat7736]

Here's a few links you may want to check out:
 
http://www.rvpowerproducts.com/tech.htm
 
http://www.exide.co.nz/pdf/2.7.8.pdf
 
http://www.crownbattery.com/products/sli/deep_cycle/deepcyclespec.html
 
Many types of deep cycle batteries are available. The best ones provide lots of power and long drain times, (such as 6-volt golf cart batteries), but are very large, expensive and extremely heavy. A Group 24 or 27 is the typical choice of those who are dry camping for shorter periods of time, as they are lighter in weight and much cheaper in cost. A Group 24 battery at Walmart is under $40 and a 27 under $60.
 
Starting batteries are not the type of deep cycle you want to buy, as they are intended to provide a large power surge and not a sustained drain.
 
Contrary to the other posts, a marine deep cycle "trolling" battery is true deep cycle. Just as golf carts require batteries with a long drain time, so do trolling motors. Their operation and drain is not the same as that required to start an engine in a car or boat.
 
If you purchase an Everstart battery from Walmart, insure the label says "deep cycle trolling". They also sell ones for "starting" which you do not want to buy.