Community Forums

The Dean · 01-16-2019, 03:55 PM

Hey Matt. I had the same experience with the chassis batteries. I thought they were AGMS but when I pulled them found they were flooded. Fortunately all cells were filled with fluid. As I mentioned above, I finally decided to replace them with DEKA "maintenance free" flooded batts which have a tape seal over the filler holes making it hard to service them anyway. They had the 950 CCA power Spartan suggested.

vito.a · 01-16-2019, 04:27 PM

I've had very good luck with a NAPA Group 31 commercial. This model has 1125CCA and they are maintenance free. Two of these will crank better than two huge 8D batteries. Most coaches can get by with one of these. The nice thing is they are readily available across the country.
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP7234

LWBAZ · 01-19-2019, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vito.a

I've had very good luck with a NAPA Group 31 commercial. This model has 1125CCA and they are maintenance free. Two of these will crank better than two huge 8D batteries. Most coaches can get by with one of these. The nice thing is they are readily available across the country.
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBP7234

Based on the photo on the NAPA web site, these batteries appear to be made for NAPA by East Penn Manufacturing Company in Lyon Station, Pennsylvania.

East Penn's house brand name is Deka, but they also make the "Duracell" batteries sold at Batteries Plus stores and some Sam's Club outlets. Solid company, been around a long time.

LWBAZ · 01-19-2019, 03:08 PM

In my opinion/experience, the best Group 31 chassis batteries on the market today are the 1150 CCA NorthStar NSB-AGM31's.

Not cheap and probably overkill for most motorhomes, but I can testify they will definitely spin a 605 Cummins more robustly than the 950 CCA Harris batteries which are standard equipment on Entegra diesel coaches.

Mwoodofd · 10-13-2019, 05:19 AM

My Chassis Batteries finally cranked their last time yesterday. Actually, they would not turn over the engine, so I used the battery boost for about a minute and it did crank up. These batteries are the Harris, 6 years in service, and almost 7 from the chassis built date. Think I am going to get the Duracell Group 32 from Sam's or Battery Plus this morning to give them a shot.

I replaced my House batteries late last year before heading to Quartzsite, and they were Duracell Flooded, and I have been pretty happy with them.

oneknight · 10-13-2019, 06:54 AM

Most, nearly all car/truck batteries are made by East Penn, in America.
They are sold in lots of stores, with lots of labels.
A notable exception is the "Discovery L16 AGM's", used as house batteries in entegra's since 2017, or maybe 2016.

You get an increased CCA by having more or larger plates.
Since the case size doesn't change (group 31 refers to specific dimensions) They get more plates in the battery by making them thinner. Thinner plates are more susceptible to being damaged and failing. I rarely buy the highest CCA rating in a particular size, plates are too thin.

The AGM vs Flodded thing became real obvious to me when I replaced the battery in my motorcycle with AGM.
The old battery went dead sitting. If more than a month went by without riding the bike, the battery would be dead. If it went dead too many times, it stayed dead, and I had to buy a new battery. I hardwired a battery tender, and "plugged the bike in" when I wasn't riding it.
I put an AGM battery in it 4 years ago. It's never gone dead, and I don't bother to plug it in anymore.

If your motorhome spends a lot of time in storage not plugged in, AGM's are a good choice for the chassis batteries.

lwmcguire · 10-13-2019, 07:02 AM

Maintenance free or AGM
Mine are 1900 cold cranking amps

photraveller · 10-13-2019, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneknight

Most, nearly all car/truck batteries are made by East Penn, in America.
....

I like East Penn a lot, but I think Johnson Controls (JCI), Exide, Crown Battery, and others would take exception to the "nearly all are made by East Penn".

I know it's been 6+ years since I retired, but Deka/East Penn was well below 50%, and I think under 30%. BTW, last I saw, JCI was over 50%.

That said, East Penn has the most impressive assembly "campus" that I've ever seen in the US. They ship over 110K batteries from that facility everyday. So in the east and Pennsylvania areas I could see them dominating.

Steve

jeffnjen · 10-14-2019, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LWBAZ

In my opinion/experience, the best Group 31 chassis batteries on the market today are the 1150 CCA NorthStar NSB-AGM31's.

Not cheap and probably overkill for most motorhomes, but I can testify they will definitely spin a 605 Cummins more robustly than the 950 CCA Harris batteries which are standard equipment on Entegra diesel coaches.

Any modifications to install these?...did you need to change anything..charging wise.
Thx Jeff

757driver · 10-15-2019, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffnjen

Any modifications to install these?...did you need to change anything..charging wise.
Thx Jeff

Jeff,

Seeing as how you would be replacing with the same size of battery the fit should be the same. There are no charge settings that can be changed for the chassis batteries.

Mwoodofd · 10-15-2019, 06:29 PM

I completed the install of the Duracell (extra) Group 31 from Sam's, they were $109 each. Getting the batteries disconnected, out and back in is not that difficult, but a few of the connections can be a struggle to get to because of the limited space to work in.

Took maybe a hour to put them in, including preparing the area cleaning up the compartment, then the cable ends with battery cleaner. Sure has no problems turning over the engine now, made a very noticeable difference.