nancyjerry
on the road
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hi,
we are going into the woods for 4 months - no hook ups,no solar. Have Monaco Dynasty 2001,40' DP with 3 stage charger and Onan Generator.
We need new house batteries. Does spending alot of $ on a more expensve set that charges quicker, really save us on how much diesel it takes to charge using diesel at $4.25 gal?
Make sense?
Thank you,Nancy
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2oldman
Winchester WA
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What kind of batteries 'charge quicker'?
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harold1946
Surprise Arizona
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AGMs will accept a much higher charge rate and will "charge quicker". They are also the most expensive to purchase.
If recharge time is the only thing being considered I would say no they would not be worth the investment.
Running the genny for charging only for 3-1/2 hrs. only amounts to about 1-3/4 gallons of fuel.
* This post was
edited 05/07/12 04:22pm by harold1946 *
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driveby
Vancouver BC Canada
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genny use is generally considered to consume between .5 and 1 gallon per hour. or $2.12 to $4.25 per hour money wise using the OP rates.
at best one might save an hour and to be generous 2 hours per day of genny use that would be 2.12x120 days = $254.40 in fuel use or best case save $508.80. Could be worth your time. Get some quotes on batteries (however many you'd need 2-4 I assume) and see the difference in price between Lead Acid and AGM.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Hi,
If the batteries will last "overnight" I'd be quite tempted to use them for this four month trip.
Why? Because unless a battery is fully charged to 100% at least once every 5 to 7 days the lifespan may be shortened. It may take 24 hours of run time to fully charge a battery bank. At 1/2 gallon per hour that's quite a bit of money--$48 bucks more or less.
So buy the new batteries *after* your trip--and then you won't have to do the $48 generator run once a week. Four months of 50% to 90% with one day of 50% to 100% will "eat" about 1/4 of the new battery banks cycle life.
If the old battery bank is truly "done in" get a couple of reconditioned batteries and abuse them to your hearts content.
Or, add sufficient solar to meet your daily energy demands and put the saved costs of running the generator into your pocket.
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts Unisolar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries, 2500 MSW watt inverter.
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Ivylog
Blairsville, Ga. USA
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My 2000Watt inverter/charger will only charge 60amps max (not the rated 100) and I have 800 amp hours of AGMs. I'd buy another charger and split your battery bank.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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Faster charging means less power. Probably the OPPOSITE way you'd want to go for what you're wanting to do.
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smkettner
Southern California
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Ivylog wrote:My 2000Watt inverter/charger will only charge 60amps max (not the rated 100) and I have 800 amp hours of AGMs. I'd buy another charger and split your battery bank.
Assuming the OP has the same I would be looking at why it is programed for only 60 amps. I assume 4 to 8 batteries and should easily be able to go 100a if the wire is good.
I would skip the AGM unless money is easy. If so I recommend Lifeline.
Best value is something like Costco or Sam's club 6v GC2 wired in pairs.
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MNtundraRet
Bloomington, MN
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nancyjerry wrote:hi,
we are going into the woods for 4 months - no hook ups,no solar. Have Monaco Dynasty 2001,40' DP with 3 stage charger and Onan Generator.
We need new house batteries. Does spending alot of $ on a more expensve set that charges quicker, really save us on how much diesel it takes to charge using diesel at $4.25 gal?
Make sense?
Thank you,Nancy
problem posting this morning! Message did not post.
* This post was
edited 05/08/12 06:24am by MNtundraRet *
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Doug and Cassi Glass
Clifton Forge, VA
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A little Honda or Yamaha 2000 watt gen inverter will cut your fuel use down to about a gal of gasoline every five hours.
There is NO way I would head out for four months knowing I had bad batteries.
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