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01-30-2020, 09:21 AM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Grand Forks, British Columbia
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21 & 2014 RAM EcoDiesel
Posts: 81
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Battery life
we have a 2018 21 with solar but not inverter and have done 160 nights so far, all bar maybe 15 boondocking. the original flooded batteries are now not holding charge, is that a reasonable life or not. I am not far from quartzite and will be going "way off" grid shortly so am looking to buy new batteries before we do that. was thinking of going agm, anyone recommend an AGM make and model that will fit the stock 21 box and perhaps where I could get them in quartzite. thanks in anticipation.
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Kevin & Sharon
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01-30-2020, 09:44 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Surrey B.C., British Columbia
Trailer: 2012 Escape 19
Posts: 150
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We have a 2012 19 with dual 6 volt batteries. The batteries are still the original ones supplied by Escape. I make sure they are topped up with distilled water. Now that they are getting old they seem to use more water. So far they have served us for 366 nights of camping. We depend on solar charging for 50% of the time while camping. Solar keeps the batteries charged during 6 months of storage. Sorry to hear your batteries are giving you trouble early.
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Brian
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01-30-2020, 10:10 AM
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#3
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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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Quote:
Originally Posted by canakiwi
we have a 2018 21 with solar but not inverter and have done 160 nights so far, all bar maybe 15 boondocking. the original flooded batteries are now not holding charge, is that a reasonable life or not. I am not far from quartzite and will be going "way off" grid shortly so am looking to buy new batteries before we do that. was thinking of going agm, anyone recommend an AGM make and model that will fit the stock 21 box and perhaps where I could get them in quartzite. thanks in anticipation.
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Have you maintained the battery electrolyte levels? Stock batteries should last longer than yours.
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Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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01-30-2020, 10:26 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Oswego, New York
Trailer: 2017 Escape 21C, 2018 Ford F150
Posts: 5,362
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Battery life is very dependent on how they are treated. If kept above 70%, electrolyte levels kept up, they can last a long time. My 6V batteries in my 17 were still doing fine after 7 years & 1090 nights in the trailer. On the other hand I've seen people kill a set in 2 years, and there are those that expect to replace them ever 4 years.
Unless you have dragged them down to close to 0% a couple of times, 160 nights is much shorter than expected. Check the age of the batteries - they may still be under the manufacturer's warrantee.
As to a replacement, until you find out how & why they died, I wouldn't go to the more expensive AGMs. In my case I switched to lithium, highly recommended, but expensive.
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01-30-2020, 10:35 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: North of Danbury, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21C
Posts: 3,033
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I’ve had 2 Walmart marine batteries ( ($80 new) last over 7 years and an Interstate deep cycle battery ( $120 ) last only 14 months .
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01-30-2020, 01:15 PM
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#6
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Member
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Grand Forks, British Columbia
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21 & 2014 RAM EcoDiesel
Posts: 81
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Have kept the fluid level up, check every couple months and they have never been drained below 55%. Will keep an eye on them next couple days. Danny recommended retailer in quartzite.
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01-30-2020, 07:31 PM
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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: 1,878
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As you see, experiences are all over the place. Battery chemistry and battery behavior in the real world is not predictable. There are just too many variables. That said, I would expect at least three years but anything above five years is exceptional. Many of the results are not due to diligent owners but rather due to chance.
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Paul and Janet Braun
2003 Toyota 4Runner V8 now 2012 Toyota Sequoia V8
Escape 19' 2010 now 2014 Escape 21'
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01-30-2020, 09:16 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Arvada, Colorado
Trailer: 2015 E'21 - 'Velocity'. Tow: Toyota Tacoma V6, 4X4, manual.
Posts: 1,680
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Quote:
Originally Posted by canakiwi
Have kept the fluid level up, check every couple months and they have never been drained below 55%. Will keep an eye on them next couple days. Danny recommended retailer in quartzite.
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You may want to confirm that the solar controller is delivering the correct charging voltage. Not totally accurate but easy enough - use your multimeter to measure the voltage on the battery terminals, towards afternoon on a sunny day when you can reasonably expect the batteries to be full. If the batteries are being properly charged then the reading should be between 13.8 and 14.5 V. There are a number of variables so this is just a general range, but if significantly above or below these numbers then something may be wrong with your charging hardware.
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Alan
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01-30-2020, 11:07 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Madison area, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2016 Escape 19 Chevy 2012 Express 3500 Van
Posts: 1,723
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I concur with fudge brownie...happenstance has some possibility, but as the others have said, deep, really deep discharge is very hard on batteries. And do check the OCV/CCV output from your panels. It is just one other possibility of a problem arena.
Anything bringing your batteries down to 12V is real tough on them. A 12V battery is a "nominal" designation....."in name only". A fresh, charged lead acid is more like 12.7V.
bon voyage
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01-31-2020, 12:20 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ventura County, California
Trailer: 2013 19 Escape
Posts: 7,203
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6 and 1/2 years on our Interstates , so bought them again . Pat
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02-07-2020, 01:15 PM
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#11
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Member
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Grand Forks, British Columbia
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21 & 2014 RAM EcoDiesel
Posts: 81
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Problem solved, deceased blootooth speaker battery has been forgotten and left"charging". Now all good, i once again blame my grey hair for robbing my memory
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Kevin & Sharon
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