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Old 10-18-2019, 03:23 PM   #1
TurtleMan
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Default what is the best battery to have?

We just bought a vista cruiser 19csk 2020 it has one battery on the front. I am just wondering what is the best battery to have. I used to live on a sailboat and we used to have dry cell batteries but that was years ago and I just want to be able to go dry camping and not have to worry about the battery. Any advice is much appreciated.
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Old 10-18-2019, 08:49 PM   #2
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Best batteries are lithium, longest life least weight cost the most
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Old 10-18-2019, 09:20 PM   #3
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The best battery is the one that lasts long enough. You need to figure out how much battery capacity you need, and for how long. Generally speaking, if you don't run the furnace (the blower motor takes a lot of power) and don't run a TV for hours on end off an inverter you can get away with a single group 31 for a weekend.

While LiFePO4 are the best, they're quite pricey and most people still use lead acid because of the low cost. (I use AGM because I don't like having to add water and like being able to mount them on their side. I also have a > 300 watt solar power system.)

Here's some information that might help:
http://trailertraveler.net/calculate-rv-amp-usage/
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Old 10-19-2019, 11:35 AM   #4
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Default Lithium Batteries

Quote:
Originally Posted by Frutza View Post
Best batteries are lithium, longest life least weight cost the most

Lithium Batteries require a different kind of charger than what is in the RV. The normal charger will cause the Lithium Batts to EXPLODE.



Ask me how I know!


Just use the biggest Deep Cycle you can fit for a camper in most situations



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Old 10-19-2019, 12:56 PM   #5
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wow so how do you charge a lithium battery?
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Old 10-19-2019, 01:10 PM   #6
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Default Look Here

https://www.ehs.washington.edu/syste...ery-safety.pdf


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Old 10-19-2019, 03:54 PM   #7
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It looks like the LiFePO4 are designed to drop in and replace the acid batteries.
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Old 10-19-2019, 07:33 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TurtleMan View Post
It looks like the LiFePO4 are designed to drop in and replace the acid batteries.



I have not researched them beyond the cost. That was a show stopper for me that uses the coach maybe 10 times a year. i would almost bet that they have some kind of charger built into the pack.






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Old 10-20-2019, 08:58 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sudsy View Post
I have not researched them beyond the cost. That was a show stopper for me that uses the coach maybe 10 times a year. i would almost bet that they have some kind of charger built into the pack.

Sudsy
The drop-in replacement LiFePO4 have built-in BMS (Battery Management Systems) that keep the cells balanced, enforce the charge and discharge current limits, have buck/boost voltage converters for charging (although they're usually limited to only a small buck/boost level), and shut down the pack if they detect an error condition such as overheating. The better ones will also not allow the pack to charge if the cells are below a certain temperature as that will damage the cells - the other features above are common, but low temperature detection is not - Battle Born batteries have it, available on Amazon.

The fancy BMS system itself (you can buy them separately) cost several hundred dollars and building your own pack by buying the cells and BMS with all those features doesn't save much. The end result is very expensive, but has very good cycle life and safety.

One thing to keep in mind: Cycle life != discharge life.

A 100 amp hour LiFePO4 can supply 100 amps for an hour before going dead, same as a 100 amp hour lead-acid. (Caveat: It doesn't shorten the cycle life of the LiFePO4 to discharge it to 90%, while the lead acid should only be discharged to 50% to maintain good cycle life, so usable capacity is higher if you limit things in that way. Also the Lithium pack will maintain a mostly-constant voltage for most of that discharge cycle.)

If you buy a Lithium battery charger (readily available - google is your friend), you can use a slightly less fancy (and costly) BMS, although you still need one to keep the cells balanced and automatically shut off the pack if it goes over temperature, and then not charge below freezing. Lithium battery packs ABSOLUTELY MUST have cell balancing for both safety and good cycle life.

FWIW - I have 300Ah of lead acid AGM in the trailer, and twice that in Lithium packs that I've been using safely for years in another application that requires high cycle life. Just can't justify the expense for the trailer. (I wouldn't even need a different charger - my solar charge controller has settings appropriate for LiFePO4 built in.) The prices have been slowly going down, but aren't low enough yet.
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Old 10-20-2019, 02:24 PM   #10
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awesome thank you all for the great advice.
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Old 10-27-2019, 05:18 PM   #11
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Default Consider Solar

If you really want to extend your dry camping then consider a system fir charging the batteries. The one time cost of solar might be worth it for you if you plan on doing a lot of dry camping. You could also use a portable generator (gas or propane) to top off your battery or batteries (which you can hook up in series to increase time.) there are several different guides to choosing the best battery types including pros and cons as well as best applications.
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Old 08-08-2020, 08:32 PM   #12
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Default 2 batteries in parallel

I have a new to me 2004 BT Cruiser 5211, but think my question is generic.

The aux battery is as close to dead as you can get, won't hold a charge. I plan to replace it with same model, Interstate. There's room in the rack for another battery.

I'm thinking of putting in two new batteries while I'm at it. Seems like it's as straight forward as hooking them up in parallel. I assume they'll still charge normally, just more to charge. Likewise, a trickle charger for maintenance will work OK.

Anything I should be especially aware of ??

TIA, BillP
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Old 08-09-2020, 08:35 AM   #13
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most of us with 6v House battery banks will tell you that if you are moving from a 12v house battery to a 'multi' battery configuration, then go with two 6v batteries, wired in SERIES, for a 12v output, as these batteries, like the GC2, or more well designed for 'RV' type usage - a 'slow' draw on the batteries while you are enjoying your 12v systems while camping.
While it may initially 'sound' like two 12v batteries would be better, that's not how batteries work. Two 6v 'deep charge' GC2 'golf cart type' batteries, wired in Series, are superior to two 12v batteries.
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Old 08-09-2020, 08:41 AM   #14
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If you have room for two batteries, consider using two 6 volt golf cart batteries in series to make the 12 volts you need. Charging this series stack is the same as with any lead acid battery, so no need to change the present converter in your RV. I did this to my camp trailer years ago when i did a lot of longer dry camping for deer and elk hunting. The cart batteries are true deep cycle designs with the ability to consistently give at least 80% of rated capacity, unlike a normal automotive 'starting' or even the mixed use 'marine' batteries. Plus they are not that expensive and come in 225 and 250 amp-hour capacities.


A further benefit of cart batteries is the series stack for charging. Charging lead acid batteries in parallel is tricky - you need to have the same age and manufacturer of battery and in the same/similar condition, and you need longer "topping" charging times. While it is a good idea to have same brand and age cart batteries, the series stack is not as critical to charge imbalances as the parallel setup.


As to recharging while camping, my winter hunting camps were not very conducive to solar charging...so I carried a small generator for just charging. It was made by Subaru and gave up to 80 amps at 12 volts and ran on a very small 2 stroke engine using about a quart of fuel per complete recharge. It was not very quiet, but only needed to run for about an hour or two (and there were plenty of chain saws in the woods making more noise that this generator which I ran about once a week.)


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Old 08-09-2020, 11:37 PM   #15
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Thanks for the advice and education.
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Old 08-09-2020, 11:38 PM   #16
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Thanks for the education. It seemed logical to me that 2 x 12 would be better than 2x6. So much for logic.
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