BAC Forum
General Boards => General Discussion => Topic started by: Keith Moffett on August 26, 2015, 05:24:55 AM
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Ok, so it looks like its time to replace the 6x6volt house batteries.
Deka batteries were suggested but online there is some negative with a fair amount of positive reports.
USA batteries are less expensive and there are some good reports but the bad is very bad.
Trojans are expensive and aparently not what they were.
Heres the question. What batteries do you use and why? Will you pay for them again? Did you buy the entry level of that brand or go for a better overall product?
I am hoping this thread will be helpful to future members so be specific if you can.
Thanks
Keith
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Kieth, I've been very happy with Interstate and when it's time to change that's probably what I'll use.
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When I needed chassis batteries the last time I was in a RV dealership getting a recall done on my Norecold. I got a quote for Interstates. Then I got on the phone and found Budget Batteries who has 10 stores in the Puget Sound region. Their price was much better. I drove the Beaver to their Milton store and they did all the work of installing them.
The interesting part of the story was that the installer forgot to put a label on. As I was paying the manager, I asked about not having a label with the service start date. He apologized, opened a file drawer, pulled out labels and put them on. Seemed strange, so I asked. He explained that various other companies use them as a wholesale supplier, including Interstate. It still seemed strange to me. After I paid and was leaving I paused at the exit to make room for an Interstate van to pull into the lot!
The Budget Batteries I bought worked as good as any I've ever had. They were about 3 years old when we sold the Monterey.
We were due for new house batteries. My Trojans were 7 years old. My plan was to compare Budget Batteries prices to Costco prices and pick. I've never found anyone disappointed in Costco batteries, but you do the install work yourself. Some say the Costco, Interstate and several other brands are all made by Johnson Controls.
The stock number for Costco 6 volt batteries used to be 245725. Unless they've changed it, you should be able to call any Costco and ask them to do a location search for that stock number and see which store closest to you has them in stock. The website for Budget Batteries is http://www.budgetbatteriesinc.com/ (http://www.budgetbatteriesinc.com/).
If you need a recent recommendation on the Costco batteries, call Marty Schenck. I "helped" him put a set of four last year in his Thunder. He bought them in Oregon to save the sales tax and he runs a Samsung household refrigerator on the inverter with them.
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One other possible option. If there is a large golf cart dealer in the area that carries Trojan batteries they may get in a pallet in of blemished batteries. The dealer near me seems to have them regularly. The cases may have a cosmetic scratch or scrape. I bought six of those and I think the price was a little more then the Costco versions. They are well made batteries and I have not had any issues. They were not warrantied at the lower sale price.
Later Ed
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A couple of years ago I looked the Costco batteries and found the AH capacity was much lower than Trojan or Interstate. Don't know if that is still the case or not and, as I remember, the info was tough to ferret out.
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Trojans are good batteries but getting a warranty replacement can be a real pain as they (at least our local dealer) won't use an automotive style load tester but rather runs the battery through a charge, discharge, and charge cycle. So, you are w/o a battery for a day or two. I've got them now but won't get them again unless I can find a more cooperative dealer.
Steve
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Hi Guys,
Steve and Dick are both correct, from my experience Trojans used to be the benchmark and I recommended them but life and reality moves on. The real issue is buy a quality battery and then take care of it.
What really impresses me the most about Beaver owners is their passion to "get it right" because they Love their Coaches. Since Trojans have fallen off with price, service, warranty and availability I have been installing Interstate GC2-XHD Deep Cycle 6-Volt batteries for the last 10 years. Their mortality rate is less than 1 tenth of one percent and no issue with nationwide warranty. Costco has interstate make their own label it is not the same as a GC@-XHD and is simalar to their own version of a Michilin tire.
Life expectency of the GC2-XHD has been around 5 years if you take care of them.
Hope this helps. Regards, Fred
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Gentleman, this may sound strange but over the years battery life will vary with different brands.
I have found Cat batteries will exceed any other battery built. There are made for the long haul
and tested daily on heavy equipment under any condition known to man. Heat and cold, shaking
Before I retired my last very big pipe line contractor decided to save money and buy batteries local
Parts stores ( yes at first saved money ) and yes parts store warrantee batteries, they would not
hold up and preformed bad. The added cost of changing out many batteries throw the cost savings
out the window along with the down time. Switching back to Cat battery off set and stopped all the down
time cost . The same was applied changing to Cat' 6000 hour hydraulic oil.
Dave Atherton Retired Cat mechanic
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Our Monterey came from the factory with all Interstate Workaholics. They are now over 9 years old. Our old '62 Chev pickup on the farm went 15 years before a new battery. God knows how old the '52 Ford 8N tractor battery was when it quit... Dad knew how to take care of his equipment; I tried to follow his lead when I took over the old place. Watch the water, keep connections clean, make sure the alternator or generator were always good to go, and try to never let something profoundly drag down the voltage. Of course Deep Cycles are designed to allow that, but Chassis batteries don't tolerate much draw down, and won't be the same after.
Knowing Johnson Controls makes many if not most American batteries, regardless of the brand that's put on them, I'm not averse to Costco's good value when the time comes.
-Joel
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Seems that Johnson Controls makes most of the batteries in the US including Interstate.
I went to Costco to look at their batteries today and they now all say Interstate. They came from Interstate before but had the Kirkland label. I also noted that on the only 6V battery they had there was no Ahr listing and the catalogue they had showed no info in the Ahr column. Further more the 12V did show the CCA but it was 1/2 or a bit more of the CCA's commonly found in good batteries.
CAT makes good 12V batteries with like 1000 CCA's. The only 6V batteries were very low AHr.
I have yet to get info on Deka and US batteries but Lifeline has a battery that has double the AHr in a auto parts store battery (around 200AHr). This brings up a point I hadnt thought of. The best Lifeline weighs over 100 lbs each. I dont think the tray will handle 6 of those.
Keith
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Hi Keith,
Just a few other considerations before you buy replacement house batteries. There are 2 different kind of batteries on your coach. House batteries are "deep cycle" which are designed to be discharged 50 percent and then recharged. They are rated in amp hour capacity and are not designed for CCA (cold cranking amps) because of application design. The engine battery is designed for short bursts of high energy to start the engine and should never be discharged. You will find some battery manufacturers claim they have batteries that do both start engines and deep cycle but from my experience you can't have it both ways without compromise.
Another consideration is life style. If you enjoy dry camping and rely on your house batteries for your inverter and 12volt interior lighting, then you want the maximum capacity the batteries can provide before you have to recharge them (50 percent discharged 11.9 volts)
If your RV life style is driving from campground to campground and plugging in to 50 amps then consider the batteries that Costco sells as they will do the job, just do the maintenance.
If you do not want to do the maintenance and it is within you budget, then install the "Lifeline" AGM batteries. They will last 10 years and no worries. The only thing you need to do is reprogram the converter to tell it that it is charging AGM batteries instead of "wet cell batteries" so you don't damage them.
Your house batteries can be your "best friends" or your "worst nightmare" because they are out of sight and mind and usually the most commonly neglected component in an RV. (can't tell you how many I've changed and totally dislike nasty corroded, smelly batteries)
Hope this helps, Fred Brooks RVIA certified technician 44 years experiance
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I have 6 Lifeline AGMs [150AH each] plus the 2 maintenance free chassis batteries. To make adequate room I removed the tray, installed a floor of 3\4" treated wood plywood and secure the batts with l-channels bolted to the floor. After 5 years I have not missed the tray as no maintenance is required. When I occasionally clean the contacts I have enough room to reach the back studs. Although they are expensive, Lifelines have other advantages [more resistant to cold; charging more efficiently; more relilient to deep discharges, etc. ] which made it worth it for me as I full-time and dry camp frequently.
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You know, Fred brings up a point often overlooked. If you switch battery types your inverter's charging program needs to know about it, at least on my '06 with a Magnum. So as Fred mentions, be sure to program it at the control screen.
But Fred didn't mention that if you have a solar panel, that may also need reprogamming. There are dip switches on a panel at the top of its controller that need setting according to the battery type its charging. On mine, all switches are up (On) except #2 for my liquid acid batteries. If you go with glass mats, the #1 and #4 switches are up and the #2 and #3 are down. Additionally there is a Mode switch which needs resetting to "FL" (Float) for AGM's. If it's set on "EQ", an equalization charge, that brings weak wet cells up to snuff, is automatically fired off once a day; sealed up AGM's don't deal well with the higher voltage spike that equalization puts out. Many owners with AGM's may not be aware of that, and could be shortening their expensive batteries' lives if the solar controller was not reset at changeover. The controller also floats at over 14 volts if set for liquid acid batteries; AGM's ideally float at 13.4v.
If in doubt about your controller's switch pattern, contact its manufacturer.
-Joel
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Ron, just for curiosity sake, what made you choose the 150 AHr lifelines as opposed to their 400AHr version? As you describe it your whole bank produces 450 AHr. Just 4 cheaper batteries that produce 232AHr would make a bank produce 464AHr.
Of course the weight is also a consideration. 6x400 amp hour lifelines weigh about 700 pounds.
Keith
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http://consumerpete.com/reviews/kirkland-car-battery-any-good
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Hi Keith .. I have 6 house batteries [GPL 6CT] rated at 150AH each or 300AH per pair for a total of 900 AH for the battery bank. I considered the 400AH [per pair] GPL L16T but as they are 120 lbs apiece I figured that was too much to play with. Plus these larger batteries have the same footprint but they are 2.7" taller which left no room for contact cleaning.
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I was at Costco yesterday, and on the way out I dropped into their tire shop and checked out the battery rack. My Interstate Workhorses are nearly 10 years old and the house bank showed some signs this fall of not being up to their old snuff. The two chassis bats never failed to be at the ready, regardless of warm engine or not.
They no longer carry Kirkland-branded batteries; they are all Interstate. The largest duty chassis start one is 850 cold cranking amps (Group 65) for $90.
The 6 volt Golf Cart battery is $84. There is of course a $15 core add-on to that price, but I'd be taking in my old ones to immediately get that credit back off the top.
Recalling the much higher prices I was quoted at various other facilities this fall for similar batteries or Trojans, I know where to go now when the time comes, given there is also factored in a Costco Executive (and/or other) member kickback later. If I put that in the mix, I calculate my net cost for 2 chassis and 4 house batteries to be $500.46, depending on the exact kickback ultimately given; but regardless, the net cost will be not much more than that, if not that.
-Joel
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The easiest way to evaluate a flooded lead-acid battery purchase is dollar cost per pound of battery. There are not but a few manufacturers in the US and they private label for everyone.
People will passionately argue on this one - but it really is that easy.
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John, I believe you are right. Johnson controls is one example. They make batteries for everybody including Interstate. Not all of Interstate batteries are Johnson. The 6V are made in Mexico. This from the Manager of Costco.
Also most products made for rebranding can be made to spec by the seller. Costco and Walmart often sell items with a model number that is unique to them.
A battery shop guy told me that Trojan isnt what it was and many of the employees now run Deka.