Aspire house batteries

[Matt D]

Ray, your post is very helpful.

Regarding the ability of the Transfer Switch to absorb a surge, it will.. once.

The Transfer Switch is kinda like a muzzle loader. Good for one shot.

The EMS-HW50C is good for (IIRC) 6 surges and far more electrical issues than the Transfer Switch can handle.

I agree, having a good surge protector upstream on your Transfer Switch is common sense.

-Matt

[voltdoc]

Originally Posted by 757driver

Nice upgrade, you will love the extra capacity this will give you. Three new cables and you will be all set to go. Make sure the tie for the two 6v batteries is the same gauge as what is there already and that the parallel connections are the same size or larger (larger is always better).

To clarify on the series tie between the six volt batteries, Entegra supplies a 1/0 cable that should be replaced with 3/0 at a minimum IMO. So 4 new cables will be needed. I mentioned that in my upgrade post and Ray found the same 1/0 tie cable on his 2017 Aspire.

Make the positive to positive and negative to negative cables as close to the same length as possible and likewise for the two series tie cables. Also, be sure to connect the positive and negative coach cables at opposite corners of the bank (see my post above for a diagram).

[rorr1821]

Originally Posted by royals1212

Ray when you made your cables did you just crimp them or did you crimp and solder?

No I do not solder. I have made many cables in my time and have never felt a need to solder. If you properly strip off sufficient insulation and take care not to cut through into the wire you will fine that the wire will just fit into the terminal. Then using a crimp tool you will have solid connection. I have seen people make up cables and not take the extra step to insure the wire is all the way into the terminal. General speaking a 3/0 or 4/0 terminal will take about an 1" + of bare wire if properly seated. It is important in my opinion to use shrink tubing on terminal connections or if not available a good grade of electrical tape as a substitute.

If you take an ohm meter and test the connection you will see no resistance if properly done. With all of this being said I see no down side to solder and for some it may be just peace of mind.

Ray

[royals1212]

Thanks Ray, I subscribe to your method. I have seen one aircraft manual saying to solder after the crimp was installed. Flux insert crimp break out blow torch and solder. Oh yea do not burn insulation. Cables built on bench not in airplane.

[757driver]

Originally Posted by voltdoc

To clarify on the series tie between the six volt batteries, Entegra supplies a 1/0 cable that should be replaced with 3/0 at a minimum IMO. So 4 new cables will be needed. I mentioned that in my upgrade post and Ray found the same 1/0 tie cable on his 2017 Aspire.

Make the positive to positive and negative to negative cables as close to the same length as possible and likewise for the two series tie cables. Also, be sure to connect the positive and negative coach cables at opposite corners of the bank (see my post above for a diagram).

Ahhh. I did not realize that Entegra went to a 1/0 tie between the two L-16 batteries. A weak choke point for sure. For the cost of a few dollars per coach a bad cheap decision.

[photraveller]

Little late to the Crown Battery discussion. I wouldn't mix and match the Discover and Crown's.

However, when time to replace, I would not hesitate to use the Crowns in the Discovers place.

Crown makes great batteries in my opinion. Smaller manufacturer than many of the "big boys", but you get get more support, and many times a better product for less money.

Full disclosure: I have done business with Crown, but I've also done business with many of the other manufacturers as well.

Steve

[Gary.Jones]

Ray

I am a bit slow today..... but I dont understand this sentence. Was there a typo on it, or what does "none side" mean?

"... the only cable that should be attached to the none load side of the shunt is the negative cable coming from the battery bank."

I still have to install the BMK that I bought 6 months ago and want not to make mistakes.

Gary

[voltdoc]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Ray

I am a bit slow today..... but I dont understand this sentence. Was there a typo on it, or what does "none side" mean?

"... the only cable that should be attached to the none load side of the shunt is the negative cable coming from the battery bank."

I still have to install the BMK that I bought 6 months ago and want not to make mistakes.

Gary

Gary, the only thing that should be attached to the battery side of the shunt is the battery. All ground cables that were on the battery negative must be moved to the house side of the shunt.

Nothing will blow up, but anything connected to the battery side of the shunt will not be included in the current in/out measurements of the battery monitor.

[rorr1821]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Ray

I am a bit slow today..... but I dont understand this sentence. Was there a typo on it, or what does "none side" mean?

"... the only cable that should be attached to the none load side of the shunt is the negative cable coming from the battery bank."

I still have to install the BMK that I bought 6 months ago and want not to make mistakes.

Gary

Gary it should have been non-load side of the shunt. As described by Voltdoc (Rob). If your coach was built like mind the most difficult part of the BMK install will be disconnecting the ground wire from the frame which connects to negative post. Then replacing it with a longer cable so it can be connected to the load side of the shunt and the frame. I found the cable connecting my inverter to the negative post was twice the length needed but was the perfect length to go from the frame stud to the shunt. So I was able to recycle that cable and make a new shorter cable for inverter connection to the neg post.

Ray

[dave&ginny]

My Aspire is a 15 and I've had it for 2 years but it sat on the dealer lot for a year. How long should the original batteries last?

I have a friend in the battery business and he said I could get 2 of the DC400-6 L16 batteries (FullRiver) for $425 each.

To my knowledge my batteries are still working fine. Am I running on borrowed time and should jump on this while I can?

[Matt D]

Dave, if you are seeing obvious signs of poor battery performance, I'd research the health of your batteries further. Have someone perform a proper load test with the correct equipment.

If however, they are still providing adequate service, why change them out prematurely?

Our last coach had an array of (6) 6V batteries. We didn't begin to notice a slip in performance until they were almost 5 years old.

I also believe the necessity of buying batteries as soon as they begin to fade is also related to how much you need them.

In our case, we truly boondock only a few times per year. We simply don't lean on the batteries much. We are either plugged in to 50A, or running the generator for 98% of our time.

In our case, buying batteries early is not a financially wise move.

-Matt

[dave&ginny]

Thanks Matt! I'll have him check the batteries out and see.

We noticed this past month on a trip where we slept in a truck stop that the batteries went dead toward the morning and we had to start the generator. So then we put the auto start on, and it would start a couple of times each night.

[MRUSA14]

Originally Posted by dave&ginny

We noticed this past month on a trip where we slept in a truck stop that the batteries went dead toward the morning and we had to start the generator. So then we put the auto start on, and it would start a couple of times each night.

That kind of screws up your sleep! One thing you might do to help the batteries is to turn off the fridge (from the breaker) when going to bed. It won't lose much of its cool overnight and you can put it on again when you start the generator in the morning. Just don't forget.

[Matt D]

Dave, that is a good sign your batteries may be on the decline. A test will reveal the state of battery health.

What I pay particular attention to is a substantial change from the previous behavior.

In our case, we were used to being virtually unlimited in boondocking with our old coach. We had almost 800AH, and always wound up running the generator, or driving, prior to AGS activation.

Then, we began seeing AGS triggering sooner than we had become used to. A simple test revealed the batteries were headed down hill.

If you are going for replacement, and desire the L-16 AGM battery size, I would suggest using just 2 if you rarely boondock, or going with 4 if you do boondock.

My point is, (2) L-16s isn't much, about 390-420AH depending upon brand. At best, expect around 4-5 hours prior to AGS.

-Matt