I am looking at upgrading my batteries in my coach, I think I have decided to use 4 6v U220's. I was going to go the solar route but it is SO EXPENSIVE!!!.
My Coach is a 2000 Itasca Sundancer 30ft. I have no idea what type of charger/converter I have, should this be something I need to replace also since I am will have 4 batteries?
Set up...
4 6v U220
2 15 watt solar panels
clamp on 800 watt inverter
4000 watt Onan
EU2000i Honda portable gen.
I just want to make sure I can charge my batteries and not be in the dark come night time, we are big movie watchers at night, nor worry about using too much power?
Thanks
2000 Itasca Sundancer 30ft C Class
92w solar / 2 6v U2200s
EU2000i
Trying to live the dream while we are young!!!
Young and in Love
Rob / Melany
I dont know if this is true or not, but I thought I read that LifeLine were made by Trojan. Or the other way around. And that Lifeline AGMs are OEM equipment in top of the line boats and many Motor Homes. And that the AGM type battery ware originally developed for jet air planes, and that's why there sealed and can be mounted upside down if you prefer. But they do cost more.
2001 27' Four Winds Class-C E-450 V-10.
Buick Park Ave Ultra, Ford Ranger PU, JD 500 backhoe.
1941 Farm All "A"
Cool Mike wrote: ...the AGM type battery ware originally developed for jet air planes, and that's why there sealed and can be mounted upside down if you prefer. But they do cost more.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of gel, AGM, and flooded lead acid deep cycle?
Generally, gel and AGM batteries have about 20% less capacity, cost about two times more, and have a shorter cycle life than comparable flooded lead acid batteries. However, Gel and AGM batteries do not need watering, are safer (no acid spilling out), can be placed in a variety of positions, have a slower self-discharge characteristic, and are more efficient in charging and discharging than flooded batteries (see table below). Gel batteries are more suitable for deep cycling applications whereas AGM batteries are more for light cycling and engine-starting applications.
(I reformatted the list below)
Flooded
Charge/Discharge Efficiency 89%
Self discharge rate (per month) 13%
Finish Voltage 15.3-16.0V
Float charge: 13.2-13.7V
Gel
Charge/Discharge Efficiency 98%
Self discharge rate (per month) 1-3%
Finish Voltage 14.1-14.4V
Float charge: 13.4-13.8V
One thing I'll add is that AGM and Gel batteries are more critical in requiring proper charging because they are sealed, if they are seriously overcharged, they are ruined (flooded batteries might just boiled off some water and need to be refilled - they are not necessarily ruined).
Shoals42, I dont want you to think were bypassing you, but your post came in while I was typing, and likely others. Your battery charger is part of your converter, if its stock, and it is the same year as mine, just a little longer yours probably has a small battery charger built in to you converter. I replaced mine, I think it had something like 6 to 12 Amps for battery charge, and I replaced the complete unit with an all electronic replacement unit with a charge wizard, that can put out up to 30 Amps to the batteries if required. I dont have names of the equipment in front of me, but it cost around $200. and I installed it in 1 hr.
When the truck engine is running it will charge much heaver, like maybe 60 to 80Amps depending on how dead your batteries are, plus the trucks battery. But running them down to only 50% is about the best for the life of the batteries.
If your plugged in, or running either generator, for 120V AC, you will still only get what your converter can produce, and that's not much for all of those batteries.
And 30 watt of solar wont make a vary big dent in your recharge requirements, you have a lot of batteries, but it should keep the 4 of them full when the unit is in storage.
For my truck battery, I have one of those Trick-L-charge (sp?) 5A units.
Im sure you will get opinions from others as well.
Mike.
Does anyone know which charger comes in a 2008 Jayco Greyhawk 31ss? We have a 400 watt Xantrex inverter. I'm not sure if it's part of the charging system or not.
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