Community Forums

Dave1194 · 05-06-2015, 08:24 AM

I don't boondock. I have removed the dead batteries and everything works fine. Are there any long term consequences if I don't replace the two six volt golf cart batteries?

TQ60 · 05-06-2015, 08:33 AM

They are the filter for the power from the converter.

If you do not need long battery time then go to any store and get a group 27 or group 31 of your choice and install it.

Best bang for the buck.

Tony Lee · 05-06-2015, 08:57 AM

Most cost effective solution for you and probably way more than half of the RVs whose closest approach to boondocking is half an hour in a CrackerBarrel parking lot on the road between home and a long-term stay in an RV park is to go to a big-box store and buy a couple of the cheapest starting batteries on the shelf.
When the fail, just buy a couple more.

Dave1194 · 05-07-2015, 05:10 AM

They are the filter for the power from the converter.

Please explain this. And for this purpose, wouldn't one 12 volt battery suffice?

Waiter21 · 05-07-2015, 05:26 AM

Your probably OK,

Filtering -= If you have an old Magnatek 6300 converter that was a 1/2 wave rectifier, You would probably have a lot of 60hz noise on the 12 volt DC lines. You could probably hear the buzzing if you had a radio or TV operating off of this noisy 12 volts. Also, some of your electronic stuff (Frig control, furnace control, water heater control) may not work if there is to much AC noise on the DC power lines.

I suspect your bounder has a single stage electronic converter, that should do a good job of producing clean 12 volts (no AC ripple or noise)

I would say as long as your appliances tvs etc all seem to work, save your money.

TQ60 · 05-07-2015, 08:22 AM

Any 12 volt battery will do and give you clean power as well as backup when shore goes dead.

Look for one with removable caps and avoid maintenance free as they are still a flooded battery and cost more.

Reason for removable caps are that you are running on shore power and your converter may be a bit high in voltage (or not) and being able to add water will allow you to properly maintain the battery and get longer life.

Nirmal starting or car batteries simply are not designed for continous use but will work fine for many years if voltage is correct and battery maintained.

Look for mom and pop independent battery suppliers like "Teds Battery" as they often have the non maintenance free style batteries for reasonabe cost.

Our local place sells 8D that are much better than those sold by Sams for way less money and they are fresh.

Check for a small place and see what they can offer to you.

Thor3650 · 05-07-2015, 08:35 AM

My RV house batteries went bad a month ago and the prices for deep cycle marine battereis at Camping world were $230 each. I checked with my local auto parts store (Kragen-Oreilly's) and they had the same deep cycle marine batteries with the same CCA and MCA as my original batteries and they were only 81.99 each. I thought that was a great deal.

Dave Fernandez · 05-07-2015, 10:10 AM

I have had 6 Costco 6 volt golf batteries in our Alpine for over three years and they are working great. I paid about $80.00 each at the time. They are made by Interstate and I will use them again when I replace them.

Tony Lee · 05-07-2015, 01:15 PM

There is a good case to be made for having a couple of batteries on board even if you never intend to boondock. When in transit, especially at night, house 12 volt power allows you to stop for a coffee break, or to run the furnace for a couple of hour if you are stranded somewhere, and provides a second source of power for starting the engine or the generator in an emergency.

Duoglide1 · 05-07-2015, 02:01 PM

Also comes in handy when the power to the park goes south in the middle of the night.

2005 Country Coach Inspire, C9 CAT

garbonz · 05-07-2015, 02:18 PM

For your specific application one cheap 12 v battery will work fine.

You may want to check the voltage coming out of the converter to make sure it is not overcharging. If it is over about 13.2 volts then you may not have the new battery long before it to goes dead.

garbonz · 05-07-2015, 02:21 PM

Also, with no battery, won't the frig not work on propane when you are not plugged in? You need a constant source of 12 volt for the frig to work.

Gary RVRoamer · 05-07-2015, 06:11 PM

Quote:

They are made by Interstate and I will use them again when I replace them

LOL. Interstate doesn't even have a battery factory - they are just another private label brand that buys their batteries from one of the Big Three +1 US Battery makers. Last I heard, Interstate gets their 6v's from US Battery. Other sizes come from Exide, East Penn Mg, or Johnson Controls. Those 4 companies manufacture nearly every common size battery in the USA.

wa8yxm · 05-07-2015, 06:21 PM

IF you never Bonodock then odds are (There are exceptions) you need not keep using six volt deep cycle pairs you can go to one Group 24 Marine/Deep cycle... HOWEVR

IF YOU HAVE SLIDE OUTS.. you may need two of those batteries to move the slides.. It may be too much for the converter.

And in that case...... Stick with GC2's most bang for your buck.