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07-27-2012, 08:39 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Trailer: 2006 17b Goucho
Posts: 306
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12 Volt Battery Choice
My trailer seems to be a battery eater. I've had three Interstate SRM-27 lead acid batteries in six years. Here is a link for an example:
http://www.interstatebatteries.com/c...ement++battery
I keep it charged and level checked and top it off with a Honda 2000 when bookdocking so it has been resonably well teken care of.
Anybody have better luck with a battery?
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07-27-2012, 09:09 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
I assume they have been replaced under warranty, otherwise I'd go with AGM.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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07-27-2012, 09:39 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,561
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
I am on my 4th year with my dual 6V batteries, and they appear to be holding a charge real well. I do nothing special but keep them charged as often as possible, and check acid levels once or twice a year. I do leave them in the trailer over winter, but put them on to charge once or twice over the 6-7 months.
That does seem like a way too short of life if you are caring for it.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
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07-27-2012, 10:29 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Trailer: 2006 17b Goucho
Posts: 306
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Two were replaced under warranty, one died at 35 months. The trailer puts about 16.5 volts across it for charging when weak.
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07-27-2012, 11:58 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 276
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
If you are near a Costco Warehouse check out their RV Batteries with 100 month warranty. Bought one in 2009 the battery would not hold a charge took it in got 100% credit for it and bought another one same size zero cost out the door.
chuck
__________________
Tundra Crewmax 2007,2001 Bigfoot 21RB, 73 Boler, 75 ECO,
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07-28-2012, 12:56 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: St. Thomas not BVI., Ontario
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0TA / 2016 Ram Eco Diesel 4X4
Posts: 8,038
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Hi: All...We're still on our original battery from '07. Are we doing something wrong Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
__________________
Quote Bugs Bunny..."Don't take life too seriously, none of us get out of it ALIVE"!!!
'16 Ram Eco D. 4X4 Laramie Longhorn CC & '14 Escape 5.0TA
St.Thomas (Not the Virgin Islands) Ontario
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07-28-2012, 05:54 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Janesville, WI, Wisconsin
Trailer: Escape 19 (sold) Escape 21 2014
Posts: 1,886
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
What about your discharge level? If you frequently take your battery below 50% before recharging you will shorten battery life. With your generator I doubt this is the case but thought I would ask.
__________________
Paul and Janet Braun
2003 Toyota 4Runner V8 now 2012 Toyota Sequoia V8
Escape 19' 2010 now 2014 Escape 21'
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07-28-2012, 09:07 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thane
Two were replaced under warranty, one died at 35 months. The trailer puts about 16.5 volts across it for charging when weak.
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That voltage seems kind of high, I thought 14.5 was the desulfication mode and 13.6 was normal. You may be boiling away you acid.. Check your converter output spec's.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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07-28-2012, 12:39 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Denison, Texas
Trailer: 2015 21'; 2011 19' sold; 4Runner; ph ninezero3 327-27ninefour
Posts: 5,136
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Thane, I don't know what you mean about 16.5 and weak. We have been told that 16.5 is dangerously high. Normal when using the trailer is 13.6 as far as we find.
I don't know what low is and when someone needs to start charging with a charger though. Maybe someone can comment on that.
__________________
Cathy. Floating Cloud
"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.... "
Emerson
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07-28-2012, 01:13 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
here is a chart, notice the range from 11.90 to 12.6, with 13.6-14.0 the highest for bulk or desulfication.
Here is a link for some reading also http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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07-28-2012, 04:06 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Denison, Texas
Trailer: 2015 21'; 2011 19' sold; 4Runner; ph ninezero3 327-27ninefour
Posts: 5,136
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Jim, thanks for the info. It is often stated that the batteries should not be allowed to fall below 80%. Just to clarify, the chart tells the state of the batteries but the accompanying article says to charge when below 80, not down at 40, as someone might think looking at the chart.
What I have also seen elsewhere is that the batteries should be down quite a bit before charging. If only down 5%, for instance, it would actually be harmful to charge at that point. In other words, topping off when unnecessary can shorten the life of the batteries.
I don't remember the scientific explanation for that but I think the layman's explanation might have been that they will get a lot of crud on them if you charge too soon!
__________________
Cathy. Floating Cloud
"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.... "
Emerson
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07-28-2012, 04:35 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Not sure how one would ensure one wasn't charging prematurely, unless you disconnect the battery every time you tow or plug in at camp.
baglo
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What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
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07-28-2012, 06:47 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Trailer: 2006 17b Goucho
Posts: 306
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Thanks for the Costco tip. RV and marine batteries aren't shown on their website so I'll go to the store next week to see what they have.
The battery fault was confusing. It was our second day boondocking but the battery charge was high as I charged the battery while making breakfast. With the fantastic fan and lights on, everything was fine but when the water pump was turned on the battery went dead with seconds.
I checked the battery and it was showing 9+V so I started the Honda generator and measured over 16V during the first minute or two of the charge cycle. I let it charge for an hour or so and then checked the battery voltage and specifc gravity with the generator off and all cells showed good charge.
I then turned on everything except the pump and everything was fine. I then turned off eveything and turned on the water pump and one light and within seconds the battery was dead and the propane detector low voltage warning was sounding off. The light was very dim.
I recharged the battery and repeated the process.
The battery charge is now 13.5 or so with the trailer plugged into a wall socket at home. Maybe the battery fault reduced amp flow and increased the applied voltage from the charger during the first few minutes of the charge cycle.
I checked amp flow and wire harness temperature during these events to make sure I didn't have a trailer problem. The amp rate was reasonable and the wires didn't get hot so it an internal battery problem, not a trailer problem. This was a relief as I had changed the trailer wiring quite a bit and was concerned that maybe I introduced a fault.
Thanks for the info on the other posts.
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07-28-2012, 07:59 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Denison, Texas
Trailer: 2015 21'; 2011 19' sold; 4Runner; ph ninezero3 327-27ninefour
Posts: 5,136
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Baglo, if you are plugging in at camp then you shouldn't need to worry about doing any extra charging. I believe that info is referring to the use of a 3-stage charger.
When a generator is introduced, however, I have no idea what that situation should entail.
You, Thane, and others who plug in at home might want to have a good look at the article Jim mentioned or other similar ones. Off of the top of my head, I seem to recall that you can cause the batteries to go dry unless you disconnect the converter or do something else to prevent that. We can have no such situation as we are in storage with no electric available and our readings are at fully charged. I expect we will only be charging in winter but many people have a habit of charging at home, which can do damage I think.
Of course, these people write these articles as if we all go around constantly testing our batteries. I note that one instruction said not to test for hours after being completely disconnected, maybe 6 hours. It is all interesting to read. Just not sure what it all means.
__________________
Cathy. Floating Cloud
"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.... "
Emerson
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07-28-2012, 10:00 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: ,, Oklahoma
Trailer: 17
Posts: 840
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Thane, I didn't understand what the cause was for your three batteries. Are you saying it turned out to be water pump? Thanks.
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07-29-2012, 12:03 AM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Trailer: 2006 17b Goucho
Posts: 306
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
I dunno why my trailer eats batteries. I went through 3 batteries in six years and was interested in what sort of 12V batteries other folks are using.
The latest battery fault was just odd. I think it has an internal fault that only manifests with the high load provided by the water pump. The water pump is fine and I don't think it is the cause of my woes. Maybe I just had bad luck with the first two batteries. The third lasted 5 months past warranty.
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07-29-2012, 11:45 AM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: ,, Oklahoma
Trailer: 17
Posts: 840
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Ok I see, yes, very strange indeed then when you think about Al and his original battery from '07. Another idea is ask on other more popular rv forums. Might get more feedback there. Good luck.
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07-30-2012, 12:06 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Water pumps normally pull 5-7 amps per hour but you normally do not run them more than an hour per 24 hour period. Do you have less and other battery saving devices installed?
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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07-30-2012, 03:55 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Parksville, British Columbia
Trailer: '07 17B
Posts: 151
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
Is your battery well fastened & not bumping around? Being jarred can shorten it's life as well. Here's a good site to answer most of your battery questions. Note that going just by the current/voltage charge is dependent on the ambient temperature.
http://www.batteryfaq.org/
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07-31-2012, 07:32 AM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Trailer: 2006 17b Goucho
Posts: 306
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Re: 12 Volt Battery Choice
I don't remember the amps pulled with the water pump, it wasn't much. The 12V refer also drains the battery within minutes.
The battery sits pretty snug in the stock battery box on the rear bumper. I have extra battery straps but perhaps a rubber shim on two sides would snug it up more.
We use the trailer a moderate amount and take reasonable care, so maybe a longer than 30 month warranty battery is the best I can do.
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