Battery Question

[kodabear]

What the heck is the matter with battery manufacturers/distributors/retailers, whatever. Just what does this stuff mean? Why can't they just list the Amp-hours. Can anyone tell me what kind of group 24 battery this is? It doesn't even say "deep cycle," "marine," or anything remotely useful. "1500 camping amps?" WTH does that mean? "CA575" sounds suspiciously like 575 cold cranking amps to me. Can someone help me out?

[david]

The way I look at it, any battery that doesn't specify the amp hour rating tested at 1/20 of the amp hour capacity per hour in amps, is not a deep cycle battery. And many that do so are not either.

With some exceptions the only flooded cell battery that I totally trust to be deep cycle are golf cart batteries. This is such a big market that anyone who falsely advertises their product will quickly get run out of the business.

AGMs are a different story and there often isn't any difference between an AGM starting battery and a deep cycle one.

Having said that, I have an Interstate Group 27 battery on my 16TBS that was installed by the dealer which does specify a 80 amp hour rating. It has held up fine for 8 months. But we won't know for another 2-3 years whether it is really a deep cycle battery. A falsely labeled starting battery will probably fail by then. Seen them do it in as little as a year.

BTW, golf cart batteries are made with heavier plates, the plates are higher off of the bottom to limit sulfate build up shorting the plates, and there is more headroom for electrolyte. All of these are essential for long term deep cycle use.

But the Interstate Group 27 serves my needs fine, otherwise I would have replaced it with two golf cart batteries.

The only advice I can give you icebear is to use it until it fails. The amp hour rating of some Group 24s is about 60 amp hours.

David

[charliem]

[font size="3"]X2. Where the heqq did that battery come from? Distributed by 52.12127658??
[/font]

[daplumbr]

I can't help with the information on that battery, but I'd agree that it's pretty much irrelevant. Camping amps means nothing! If battery power is important to how you use your Camplite, you may want to consider installing a good one(s) that you know will provide some juice for a while. Below is a site with accurate, reliable information about batteries that may help dispel lots of misinformation floating around about batteries. There is a deep cycle battery FAQ, a glossary, info on battery technology, and battery comparison charts, among other information. It's written for the renewable energy sector, but all is directly applicable to RVs.

I use dual, deep cycle AGM batteries. 

http://www.solar-electric.com/deep-cycle-battery-information-faq.html/


And as an aside, that positive cable crimp looks a bit iffy! Is it a good, solid connection?

[kodabear]

Thanks for the responses guys. 

I spoke with Bob (the parts guy) at the selling dealer (Leo's Vacation Center, Gambrills, MD) and he assured me that the batteries were indeed true deep cycle batteries, not marine starting batteries. He said they only use two types of batteries, these and Interstate 6V. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to negotiate the 6V as part of my purchase deal. He didn't have much other info, but promised to get it for me from their distributor. I guess that's 52.12127658 USA, whoever the hell they are.  B-| Maybe I'm too impatient. It's only been 24 hours.

David, I plan to do just what you suggest. Use them 'till they fail, then go to 6V golf cart Interstates or Trojans. I had Optima Bluetops in my previous unit. They were sweet.

Merlin, I didn't even show you the crappiest crimp job. I think I'm going to redo all the cables over the winter. Must be hard to get good help these days.

[admin]

Its sad when several Google searches show no signs at all of that manufacturer. I would just assume its some cheap import and run it till it dies.

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Just to be clear, the battery is a dealer selected and dealer installed item. The choice of 52............. is the dealer's, not LL. Save a buck, make a buck. Leo's got some work to do [attachment id="436" thumbnail="1"].
[/font]

[kodabear]

Here's the reply I got back from Leo's:

"the battery has 575ca  460cca. 140min @10amps. have a great day, steve"

That info tells me it's a fairly wimpy starting battery, and a lousy house battery. My math tells me that "140min @ 10amps" means I have a 23 amp-hour battery, no? Good grief, I have flashlights with that much juice   I don't expect much performance out of my pair of batteries.

[fasteddieb]

I have a Light Sport plane where weight is critical.

By going from an AGM battery (over 15 lbs) to a Lithium Iron battery (under 3 lbs) I gained about 12 lbs of useful load. May not sound like much, but represents 2 add'l gallons of fuel, which can make a difference.

Since I'm trying to lighten my tongue weight as much as possible, wondering if anyone has stumbled upon anything similar for an RV? They ain't cheap, but saving wright has many benefits, so it might be worthwhile.

edited to add: Google came up with a lot of hits, but they ain't cheap!

Just one:

http://www.lithiumion-batteries.com/lithium-rv-deep-cycle.php

[kodabear]

[quote timestamp="1415276532" source="/post/4820/thread" author="@fasteddieb"]
edited to add: Google came up with a lot of hits, but they ain't cheap!

Just one:

[a href="http://www.lithiumion-batteries.com/lithium-rv-deep-cycle.php"]http://www.lithiumion-batteries.com/lithium-rv-deep-cycle.php[/a]
[/quote]Very intriguing! Wow, they're light. 

[mitch]

$1,000 for an 80 Ahr battery is a bit on the crazy side.

[admin]

Plus don't the Lithium Ion batteries require special attention when it comes to charging? If done incorrectly can't they explode?

[david]

Lithium batteries for marine use are starting to come out and from name manufacturer's and not just fly by nights. Sean is absolutely correct, lithiums need a specially designed battery management system to charge them right (or they explode) and use them right (or they die). They are horribly expensive- $2,000 for a 100 AH system from Gensun. I don't think you will see them on RVs soon. Only Tesla owners can afford big Li battery banks.

David