House Battery options?

[Dreamacre]

I know it has probably been mentioned but I am needing to replace my house batteries.

The ones I have now will not even power the steps out when I open the door. When I am hooked to either house 20 amp or camping 50amp, no problem.
They are 6 years old.

I am thinking of going lead acid and probably going to Sam's club as the 2 starting batteries I got 2 years ago are doing fine.


Thanks for your input.

[Arch Hoagland]

Take pictures BEFORE you remove the old ones.

I would first check to see if they are being charged when plugged into shore power. Have you measured the voltage with a volt meter?

[bcbowers]

Dreamacre, you stated that the step isn't working. I'm pretty sure the front step is powered by the chassis bats. Your chassis bats may be too low for what ever reason. You really need a voltmeter to check the bats. Six year old house bats are getting close to the expected life expectancy but may not be your immediate problem.

[andy29847]

On my 2001, the steps are powered form the house batteries.

[andy29847]

I think you are asking for a recommendation for battery brand. Mine are made by Interstate Battery, are 7 years old, and are still working fine.

Keys to good battery life include:

Regular maintenance, i.e., watering. I highly recommend use of a battery watering system.

Good cables (are yours the original cables?). Here is a good thread regarding batteries, connections, and cables: https://www.irv2.com/forums/f104/the...te-524064.html

Good connections (Western RV really missed the ball with the way they hooked multiple cables to one battery post).

Good charging - verify your charging systems are working.

[whalepirot]

A pal who has a golf cart shop asserted that Costco batteries cost less b/c they have less lead in the plates. My six are are about 5 years old and I find the replacement charge controller, properly wired, kept them charged all year in SoKal.

I installed a golf cart style watering system; not cheap BTW, but far easier than a manual process. The cell caps have a shutoff valve when each is full; part of the cost vs standard caps.

I bought chassis batteries from Batteries Plus which are Penn Battery products and seem the best lead acid type.

[Alpine36]

Attachment 381607

Originally Posted by whalepirot

A pal who has a golf cart shop asserted that Costco batteries cost less b/c they have less lead in the plates. My six are are about 5 years old and I find the replacement charge controller, properly wired, kept them charged all year in SoKal.

I installed a golf cart style watering system; not cheap BTW, but far easier than a manual process. The cell caps have a shutoff valve when each is full; part of the cost vs standard caps.

I bought chassis batteries from Batteries Plus which are Penn Battery products and seem the best lead acid type.

I did quite a bit of research on replacement batteries for our 48v utility cart (neighborhood cruiser) and bought Interstate GC8's thru Costco. The price was less than half that of the same GC8 Trojan batteries. Trojan specs were nearly identical to the Interstates.
The weights were Trojan @ 63lbs, Interstate @ 61lbs. The Trojans were nearly ten years old and always maintained properly, driven nearly every day and charged regularly when reaching approximately 60% SOC. (amazingly about 12 miles of use)
So far I've been very pleased with the performance of the Interstates. Same range and performance as the Trojan batteries, we'll see if they live as long.
I probably would have stepped up to the Trojans, but their dealer network in the PNW is sorely lacking, making prices ridiculously expensive.
I won't hesitate to purchase Interstate GC2 FLA's thru Costco when the coach batteries time out. They were dirt cheap and in stock.

[paul65k]

Lithium......... Just sayin'

[Alpine36]

Originally Posted by paul65k

Lithium......... Just sayin'

48v Lithium battery pack for a golf cart is pushing $3k...

You would be proud of my cart though, it now has twin 24v solar panels on the roof wired in series. This year it has produced over 300 kWh. Dang near 30 bucks lol. Only about ten more years to break even.
But, it sure keeps the SOC up there, especially when the gkids live in it nearly all summer. I figure it just may buy a few more years of battery life.

But yeah, lithium so are tough to beat in the coach, and getting cheaper every year.

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by Alpine36

48v Lithium battery pack for a golf cart is pushing $3k...

Yeah but just imagine how much faster it would be with all that weight out

[Dreamacre]

Would a bad cable cause this issue?

I checked the battery compartment and discovered one cable had corroded and disconnected. I happened to have another a bit longer, but replaced cable, plugged back in and now are charging.

I was meaning to replace them all when I got new batteries, but may move that up a bit.

Thanks for all your reply's.

[Arch Hoagland]

I think you just discovered the problem!