house battery placement

Lance · 05-01-2018, 01:12 PM

I have a 2005 E 350 RB 30 and will be putting propane tank where it normally goes behind drivers door. That's where the big AGM battery is now. I'm switching to propane frig and will down size battery to a group 24 size. Where is the battery located on RB 30 vans with propane systems? Under the couch seems to be the only handy place. Which means it needs to be a sealed battery or be vented.

mikracer · 05-01-2018, 02:58 PM

Mine was inside, under the gaucho. I would get a group 31 which will have about 100ah.

Lance · 05-01-2018, 03:33 PM

Thanks for the input, I assume you have a sealed battery? I'll check out that bigger battery, sounds good. Lance

hogasm · 05-01-2018, 04:28 PM

Or go AGM battery

Bbasso · 05-01-2018, 04:37 PM

Going to a propane fridge? Why?

BrianW · 05-01-2018, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bbasso

Going to a propane fridge? Why?

That’s what I was wondering too. Propane refrigerators are a PITA in my experience.

Will you have other propane appliances, or is that the only reason you are installing propane?

Lance · 05-01-2018, 06:01 PM

My old 91 SMB had a 12 volt frig and single solar panel that didn't do the job for long encampments. I had a camper w/ propane frig so I put that in and solved my frig needs. We winter in Baja and sometimes don't start van for 2 weeks. Anyhow I got a 05 SMB last Dec with small 12 Volt frig that got me by this winter. It's too small and I'm remodeling cabinets and have a 2 year old propane frig, so I thought that would my route. I trust propane frigs, though my 12 volt frig worked decently this year. So I thought I'd go propane. Today I had a change of heart a bit. I realized a 12 volt frig would fit into my cabinet scheme better than propane, not needing venting. My next question is will my 2 solar panels that produce 10 amps max and my 18" AGM battery be enough for a bigger frig, like 18"x24"?

Lance · 05-01-2018, 06:03 PM

I'll be installing propane cooktop, also.

Bbasso · 05-01-2018, 07:13 PM

When trying to figure out solar input and user draw it's all a mathematical game. You got to crunch the numbers on all of the individual parts.

My 200 watts of solar can produce up to 15 amps, my refrigerator (Engel 45) has not been unplugged for 3 years... I have many other appliances running from my house batteries too but at the end of each day the SOC is usually 95% or higher.