Killed my House Battery

[HK33FAN]

After a nice two-day camping trip to Boca reservoir, I forgot to turn off my inverter and poof gos the battery. I went out to get my food from the fridge and everything was off, completely dead 0Volts dead.

Decided to go with two Duracell 230ah 6V golf cart batteries from Batteryspluss $115.00 Ea plus tax seamed like a good deal. The Biggest issues were dropping the battery frame 2.5" to make room for the new taller batteries. so I welded a 3"x9" plate to both sides of the tray and drilled new holes. The new batteries need to be supported from the front so I welded some 1x1 angle iron on to keep it all tight.

A New Lifeline battery was out of the question at $700

I decided to go with the 6V traction batteries because they are said to have better deep discharge cycle capability. and can go down to a 70% discharge 300 or more times before significant capacity reduction and or damage. If this is true I will have 160ah of usable power instead of 115ah at 50%. I don't plan on taking the batteries that low but it's nice knowing that there is another 45ah if needed.

[jredone]

I’ve used these exact batteries in three different builds. The Price and performance I’ve found outstanding.

Cheers

[regis101]

Nice batteries, I looked them up. The AGM’s I use are from there.
Are they easily accessible to check water levels ?

[86Scotty]

Originally Posted by regis101

Nice batteries, I looked them up. The AGM’s I use are from there.
Are they easily accessible to check water levels ?

Good catch Regis. They need to be. I have had great luck with 2 GC batteries vs. one bigger one as well but they do need to be watered occasionally.

[HK33FAN]

Maintenance is the big trade-off with using flooded batteries. I can remove, inspect and reinstall everything in about one hour. If done carefully you can clean the battery and fill the water without removing any cables. I have quite a few trips planned over the next 3 months so I will check the water in December. My intentions were to add the Flow-Rite auto fill hose kit. It lets you squirt water in through a small hose, without removing the batteries. I plan on adding it when I do my first service. The kit is $50 so if that will save 6-8 battery removels then its money well spent.

The Flow-Rite kit does have individual floats so it will not overfill the battery or push out any acid. The only downside I see is that you won't know which cells are taking more water.

https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Rite-RV2.../dp/B001FCAXT0

[regis101]

Kinda looks like you're using the spare tire cargo box? The batteries are in front of that? Hard for me to tell. Prolly need better glasses.

Perhaps a trap door thru the floor or the cargo box. My OCD would require a way to have access. Just my hang up

I tend to use AGM's for that very reason. More gamble but...

Did you notice any dry cells in the previous battery(ies) ?

[arctictraveller]

Originally Posted by HK33FAN

The Flow-Rite kit does have individual floats so it will not overfill the battery or push out any acid. The only downside I see is that you won't know which cells are taking more water. ]

I really prefer 6V lead acid for all the reasons you stated. As for know which cell uses more water, it really doesn't matter much because there is really nothing you can do about it. When one cell goes bad, the whole battery is shot. I use to replace my 6V's every couple years, but I had a Nanopulser (Our Approach | Nanopulser) for my boat, and installed it in the van. This device impresses a high frequency pulse on the plates and is suppose to greatly reduce sulfation. I don't know how well it works, but my bank of 12 6V's in the boat were still working fine after 6 years, and the two in the van show no sign of ageing after two years.

[HK33FAN]

Originally Posted by regis101

Kinda looks like you're using the spare tire cargo box? The batteries are in front of that? Hard for me to tell. Prolly need better glasses.

Perhaps a trap door thru the floor or the cargo box. My OCD would require a way to have access. Just my hang up

I tend to use AGM's for that very reason. More gamble but...

Did you notice any dry cells in the previous battery(ies) ?

Yes, there is a large storage box that was installed in place of the spare tire It was designed with a space in front of it to hold a 210ah lifeline battery just behind the rear axle. It would be feasible to cut an access panel into the box, I will have to take a look.

I think the AGM batteries and or the auto-fill water caps would be better/easier.

The old battery did not have any dry cells, It was only a 4D 130ah battery that was needed just for a few years, because of finances I had to skimp. It was on its last leg before the Boca trip, so the Cart Battery plan was allready in motion.

[regis101]

Copy. Noted.