Lifeline battery for 2015 Cornerstone?

[brobox]

Kathy, If you are headed to Entegra, have them load test your factory batteries. When we saw you there, mine tested bad and were replaced under warranty.

[lowejug]

in doing my research on batteries it seems everybody has there opinions on agm versus flooded.. agms are about 3 times the cost than flooded.. it seemed biggest reason people avoided the flooded was the mere fact they had to top off the water once in awhile.
many professional battery shops told me that checking the water on a flooded battery is only a once a year thing and at that the only reason for loss of water is abuse.. over charging which can't happen with a entegra or letting your batteries go way to low.

I personally found a bigger capacity flooded battery for one third the cost of a agm. many also said
that about 3 years is maximum life on any house battery which this theory also was the way I grew up with.. that after 3 years any battery just takes a beating and fizzles out.. so I chose the budget way but will replace them 3 times to the cost of one set of agms.. also it depends how much you boondock
I personally am at rv parks way more than sitting in the dirt... back in the day when I was sitting at motocross tracks every weekend is a different story...

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by lowejug

in doing my research on batteries it seems everybody has there opinions on agm versus flooded.. agms are about 3 times the cost than flooded.. it seemed biggest reason people avoided the flooded was the mere fact they had to top off the water once in awhile.
many professional battery shops told me that checking the water on a flooded battery is only a once a year thing and at that the only reason for loss of water is abuse.. over charging which can't happen with a entegra or letting your batteries go way to low.

I personally found a bigger capacity flooded battery for one third the cost of a agm. many also said
that about 3 years is maximum life on any house battery which this theory also was the way I grew up with.. that after 3 years any battery just takes a beating and fizzles out.. so I chose the budget way but will replace them 3 times to the cost of one set of agms.. also it depends how much you boondock
I personally am at rv parks way more than sitting in the dirt... back in the day when I was sitting at motocross tracks every weekend is a different story...

I personally top up the water every month or 6 weeks & always have to add some water. If I go 3 months, I might have to add a quart in a 4 battery bank. I don't find it to be much of a chore with a "Pro Fill" watering system. My OEM batteries lasted 5 years and my current set is going on 9 years old and still in good shape.

[brobox]

I had wet cells in the Travel Supreme. The factory reset the inverter/charger up on a factory visit and I reset with every new set of batteries. I had to add water every 30 days. I even wasted the money on recirculating battery caps, those were a joke. With the best battery maintenance, 3 years was about all I could get as well. The hot weather kills batteries in FL, including water levels. I never would have made a year, my batteries would have been fried.

[hogdriver]

To add to what Chuck said, my previous RV was a Aspire and the heat in places like Florida really shortens their life. Not only was I adding water every 2-3 weeks the corrosion was much greater to the battery tray and surrounding area than my Anthem's AGMs.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by hogdriver

To add to what Chuck said, my previous RV was a Aspire and the heat in places like Florida really shortens their life. Not only was I adding water every 2-3 weeks the corrosion was much greater to the battery tray and surrounding area than my Anthem's AGMs.

I forgot about the annual cleaning a painting of the battery tray on the TS. That was one of the #1 reasons for selecting the Anthem was to get away from wet cells while living in FL.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by lowejug

There are 8 house batteries in a anthem and cornerstone .. 23 ah x 8 = an extra 184 amp hours which equals to having a whole nother half a battery in the coach ,, so it's like now having 8 in a half
But according to mr d it's not noticeable... ??

It wasn't stated how many batteries were in the bank so I assumed that was the total change.
Right now I have 4 8D 12 volt batteries with room for two more, each battery is about 230 amp hours at 20 hour rate.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by brobox

I forgot about the annual cleaning a painting of the battery tray on the TS. That was one of the #1 reasons for selection the Anthem was to get away from wet cells while living in FL.

I also got away from painting the battery tray on the '02 DSDP by adding mineral oil to the wet cell batteries in 2004. The U-2200 OEM batteries lasted 10 years.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

I also got away from painting the battery tray on the '02 DSDP by adding mineral oil to the wet cell batteries in 2004. The U-2200 OEM batteries lasted 10 years.

Tried that to.....didn't do a thing in FL heat. I lived in CO for 20 years and never had battery problems of any kind until moving to FL.

At 3 years you can figure your 5 year car battery is going to short out in a parking lot somewhere away from the house. I think I am on my 6 or 7th such battery all in newer vehicles.

[757driver]

Originally Posted by BeHappy

First, thanks to all for replies so far.

757Driver (Don) thanks for the note to chg inverters bat type if we go w Lifeline bat.

We don't think our batt are performing up to par? i.e., former MH 8 AGM batt seemed to hold charge off shore better than CS. Both MH we purchased new from dealer inventory ..so both on dealer lots 6-7 mo. (We haven't trusted batt to boondock at all, and only brief times off shore power to-date at s&b mostly if unloading / loading supplies. FWIW, currently CS winterized indoor bldg not heated & 30 amp; during 'season' but 2-3 week intervals between trips we also have outdoor parking place w 50 amp at s& b. When travel stay sites w shore pwr on trips so far.)

Going to MotherShip in a couple months and doing our homework prior to that.

Lowejug we hadn't thought we would go to flooded? Though it looks like others have done this on 45' MH so food for thought. Thanks for your insights.

Thought I had read posts awhile back that Lifelines are built to military specs, thus, may be 'better'? So really reading and learning here from everyone.

Feel free to continue sharing, we are glad for the help thinking this through.

So great to know others so willing to share knowledge and help us - thanks to all

Safe Travels to All

Sitting on a dealers lot for 6-7 months (and probably being abused) may have done your batteries in. If you are still under warranty get in touch with Entegra CS and have your batteries load tested when you are there. You should be able to last from 10:00 pm to 08:00 am without the need to run the generator while unplugged. The settings that are in your inverters may also not be optimized for your battery type and size. I have seen all sorts of crazy incorrect settings. Send me a PM if you would like settings for your batteries.

[wmpbauer]

Best thing you can do for your batteries, whether they are two years old or brand spanking new, is to add Pulse Tech's PowerPulse technology. Double or triple life and possibly resurrect your 2-year old batteries.

http://www.pulsetech.net/Content/Our...echnology.aspx

No equalizing necessary.

Pat

[Jerry J]

I would compare Fullriver with Lifeline for AGM batteries. Opinions vary of course.

[Ron Postma]

wmpbauer: Did you install one on every battery? My coach has 6 Group 27 batteries in parallel.

[BeHappy]

Again, thanks go to everyone for sharing ideas, tips, and brands of batteries to consider. Very helpful as we continue thinking this through.

757Driver (Don) - thanks! PM sent.

Brobox (Chuck) - added Load Test for batteries to MotherShip service request.

Rubicon Trail (John) - can you send me a PM with what size Lifeline you chose?

Wmpbauer (Pat) - thanks, we will read more about Pulse Tech sys.

FWIW, we (as others) have EC 30 V3.02 R5, so planning to go see Grover at Onan, Elkhart to have software updated while in the area in a couple months too.

Brobox (Chuck) - as I recall, you chased a variety of 12v issues on the search for better battery performance (EC 30 flash update, ? &/or some wire on back of EC 30 moved/remove?; cabling scheme on house batteries? ; equalizing w PJ's system? ..(note: based on what we read threads here, we did NOT equalize re Batt warranty concerns); and replacement of Batt.

In the end, was it bad battery only, or do we need to visit all of your above problem search steps? (except not equalizing of course). Feel free to PM me if that is easier. Thanks, Chuck.

One other question for anyone, have you added ME BMK (monitor)? Who installed it?

Many thanks to everyone, feel free to add info & suggestions as we continue thinking through what we can / should do to improve batt performance. It is great having such a knowledgable group so willing to help

Safe Travel to All