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Old 05-07-2018, 09:49 PM   #61
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Originally Posted by Bobbie54 View Post
They only have group 24 and 27 in 12 volt batteries, rated at 100 and 120 reserve ? which the guy claimed meant how many minutes it would run. (Which does not make sense to me.)
The Reserve Capacity is for how many minutes the battery can deliver a current of 25 amps. If that is the only rating on the batteries that you are comparing, a bigger number is better. But if that is the only rating, it's probably not a good deep-cycle battery. Again, the stock Interstate battery in an Escape has only a Reserve Capacity rating.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobbie54 View Post
Well, Les Schwab was not very helpful.
...
They could order a maintenance free one that is listed at 180. He knows no weights and couldn't find them. Could give me sizes. He told me what the 6V was but I forget that. (Still no weights.)
This place seems entirely worthless to me. Unless their batteries are a very good deal, and you can do their job for them to find the right one and know what it is, I would suggest Googling "rv battery Whidbey Island" and going where ever that leads... but I realize that will be off of the island.

Unless the "maintenance free" model is actually an AGM battery, and you think that this design is worth the cost premium, stay away from it.
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Old 05-07-2018, 09:58 PM   #62
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
The Reserve Capacity is for how many minutes the battery can deliver a current of 25 amps. If that is the only rating on the batteries that you are comparing, a bigger number is better. But if that is the only rating, it's probably not a good deep-cycle battery. Again, the stock Interstate battery in an Escape has only a Reserve Capacity rating.
So what rating am I looking for? I've given up on Les Schwab and will be looking at Napa and am probably going for a single larger 12V.
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Old 05-07-2018, 10:05 PM   #63
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I'd get this one ( actually I did, last summer ). The Trojan web site is a wealth of information and one reason I buy Trojan.

27TMX | Trojan Battery Company
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Old 05-07-2018, 10:14 PM   #64
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Go here for a list of Washington dealers or you can enter your postal code for the nearest dealer.

Trojan Battery - Dealers
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Old 05-07-2018, 10:18 PM   #65
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Found one and will see if they have it.
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Old 05-07-2018, 10:18 PM   #66
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A Trojan is a proper RV deep cycle battery, one with high amp hours and a long duty cycle. Don't waste your time at Les Schwab or any other place that doesn't know the difference between an automotive or boat motor battery and one suitable for a trailer.
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Old 05-08-2018, 10:02 AM   #67
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Thanks for all the great replies to this thread.
Next time I need a battery, I'll be much better prepared.

I don't have a battery monitor.
Is it something I need?
Can I add one?
What brand is best ?
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Old 05-08-2018, 10:10 AM   #68
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Originally Posted by rbryan4 View Post
A Trojan is a proper RV deep cycle battery, one with high amp hours and a long duty cycle. Don't waste your time at Les Schwab or any other place that doesn't know the difference between an automotive or boat motor battery and one suitable for a trailer.
I'll check the hardware store that says they carry the brand and see if they have it or can get it. What do I need to know to see if it will fit? Case is a group 27 so that part should be fine but in terms of battery mount? I assume replacing two with one is just a matter of using the far ends of the wiring and skipping the pigtail between them.
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Old 05-08-2018, 02:58 PM   #69
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Originally Posted by rbryan4 View Post
A Trojan is a proper RV deep cycle battery, one with high amp hours and a long duty cycle. Don't waste your time at Les Schwab or any other place that doesn't know the difference between an automotive or boat motor battery and one suitable for a trailer.
Local store listed on Trojan's site now has Centennial batteries, rated only 125 reserve capacity for the 27. Napa lists https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP8270 with 150 reserve and https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP8301 with 175. We have a local Napa store. MSDS says the battery (second one anyway) is made by East Penn.
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Old 05-08-2018, 03:37 PM   #70
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Originally Posted by Bobbie54 View Post
So what rating am I looking for?
... am probably going for a single larger 12V.
If you buy a cheap battery that has only a Reserve Capacity rating (and not an amp-hours for 20 hours rating), then for comparison the current stock Escape battery is an Interstate SRM-27 (Group 27 size) with a 160 minute @ 25 amps RC rating. Interstate's bigger Group 29 battery (SRM-29) - which was previously available from Escape as the large 12 V battery option - has a Reserve Capacity rating of 210 minutes @ 25 amps.

The Trojan 27TMX mentioned earlier has both types of rating, and the Reserve Capacity is listed as 175 minutes @ 25 amps.

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Originally Posted by Bobbie54 View Post
I've given up on Les Schwab and will be looking at Napa and am probably going for a single larger 12V.
NAPA is, like Les Schwab, an automotive supplier... although they do general parts, not tires&batteries. Again like Les Schwab, they sell house-brand batteries and have very few deep-cycle models. They list only one 12 volt deep-cycle (not dual-purpose starting & deep-cycle for RV and marine) battery online, and it is enormous:
Battery - Golf Cart Group GC12 NAPA Batteries - BAT 8141
  • 155 AH @ 20 hours
  • 292 minutes @ 25 amps Reserve Capacity
  • GC12 size
  • 90 pounds
  • US$260

They do have some 12-volt AGM batteries which might be suitable (AGM is better for dual-purpose starting&deep-cycle service than flooded), but AGM batteries are expensive; here's their Group 27:
Battery - Specialty Rechargable Sealed - Universal NAPA Batteries - BAT ES27
  • 100 AH @ 20 hours
  • 175 minutes @ 25 amps Reserve Capacity
  • Group 27 size
  • 63 pounds
  • US$280
I think if I were spending that much I would want a reputable brand.
I suppose somewhere in there they have Group 27 and/or 29 dual-purpose flooded batteries as well. I predict that the guy behind the counter won't have a clue about them. Here's the Group 31 (biggest common 12-volt size, and the size that I would want for this purpose):
Battery - Marine & RV Deep Cycle - Universal Group 31 NAPA Batteries - BAT 8231
  • AH @ 20 hours not listed
  • Reserve Capacity not listed
  • Group 31 size
  • 59 pounds
  • US$150
For a generic dual-purpose flooded battery with no proper ratings Walmart or whatever is close seems as good a bet.
Given the complete junk which NAPA sold me as the "best" house-branded brake pads for my Sienna, I am suspect of the quality of NAPA's house brands.
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Old 05-08-2018, 04:39 PM   #71
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The reserve capacity of the similarly sized Napa battery is the same as the Trojan, which isn't available here. Their search engine sucks; I did find the golf cart battery after some searching but the second one I linked to appears to be equivalent at least on paper to the Trojan. It's listed as deep cycle though the description says it can also be used for starting.
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Old 05-08-2018, 04:45 PM   #72
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I just figured out Trojan makes Centennial batteries and will check out those again. Lead-Acid Battery Manufacturers and Brand Names List 2018

They are also maintenance free and were not terribly expensive. http://www.centennialbatteries.com/p..._rvmarine.html But lower reserve capacity than the one at NAPA.
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Old 05-08-2018, 04:55 PM   #73
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Originally Posted by Bobbie54 View Post
I just figured out Trojan makes Centennial batteries and will check out those again. Lead-Acid Battery Manufacturers and Brand Names List 2018

They are also maintenance free and were not terribly expensive. centennialbatteries.com -products But lower reserve capacity than the one at NAPA.
Watch that term "rvmarine". I think that indicates it is also a starting battery, rather than a true deep cycle battery.
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