israndy
2007 LTV Serenity
Well, the batteries in the house have been going dead since I got the Serenity in January. On the drive across country the batteries would not last the night (like close to 5 hours only). I read a LOT on the interwebs about people recovering their supposedly dead batteries using a desulfator like the one from Battery Minder. Well, it's been since February and I have only lost capacity, so I will be returning my Battery Desulfator.
Today I traded the Group 31 Car Quest batteries that were in it when I bought it on a pair of those famous Costco 2-GCS 6 volt Golf Cart batteries. The group 31's were 13"L by 6.7"W by 9.5H. The Costco's are only 10.3"L by 7"W by 10"H. Went from a 59 lb. battery to a 63 lb. The Group 31's should have about the same capacity, but I have read many good things about the golf cart style batteries, the lead plates have more vertical space to keep out of the sulfate that settles to the bottom. Also more space above the plates so it won't run dry during charge.
Biggest problem with the change was the taller battery. I feared it might not even fit under the gas line running to the generator. In later model years they re-routed that line. Fortunately it turned out not to be a problem, the Trojan's are an inch taller, might be a tighter fit. When I went to tie the batteries down I discovered another problem: the stud that ties the batteries down is almost exactly as tall as the new batteries... Originally the stud was welded to the battery tray and rises between the two batteries and then feeds thru a metal plate that is held to the top of the batteries by a washer and nut.
I was hoping to find a stud extension that would bolt to the top of the stud and provide additional thread, but it was so close to the top of the current batteries I would have had to use LOTS of washers to get back down to the level of the top of the batteries. Fortunately I found screw bosses at the hardware store, these hammer into a predrilled hole in wood and give a place to screw things down, for me I just bent off the tips and it was a washer and a nut in one.
I have heard of the Costco's going for as little as $63, but I paid $90, likely the people writing about them have had them for several years so we will probably never see $63 again. Still the Trojan T105's that are similar capacity are almost twice as much. I have not gotten exact capacity. Several posters mention a 225 amp hour capacity but also mention a red and white enclosure, while mine is black.
I knew I needed new batteries as I use the Xantrex LinkLITE Battery Monitor. When I took the old batteries out I took the opportunity to screw mount the monitor's shunt to the underside of the floor above the battery compartment. Since I didn't need two cables to connect the two batteries in parallel anymore I reused one to connect the shunt in the series circuit. Much safer than the twist tie I was using to hold the shunt in place.
-Randy
Today I traded the Group 31 Car Quest batteries that were in it when I bought it on a pair of those famous Costco 2-GCS 6 volt Golf Cart batteries. The group 31's were 13"L by 6.7"W by 9.5H. The Costco's are only 10.3"L by 7"W by 10"H. Went from a 59 lb. battery to a 63 lb. The Group 31's should have about the same capacity, but I have read many good things about the golf cart style batteries, the lead plates have more vertical space to keep out of the sulfate that settles to the bottom. Also more space above the plates so it won't run dry during charge.
Biggest problem with the change was the taller battery. I feared it might not even fit under the gas line running to the generator. In later model years they re-routed that line. Fortunately it turned out not to be a problem, the Trojan's are an inch taller, might be a tighter fit. When I went to tie the batteries down I discovered another problem: the stud that ties the batteries down is almost exactly as tall as the new batteries... Originally the stud was welded to the battery tray and rises between the two batteries and then feeds thru a metal plate that is held to the top of the batteries by a washer and nut.
I was hoping to find a stud extension that would bolt to the top of the stud and provide additional thread, but it was so close to the top of the current batteries I would have had to use LOTS of washers to get back down to the level of the top of the batteries. Fortunately I found screw bosses at the hardware store, these hammer into a predrilled hole in wood and give a place to screw things down, for me I just bent off the tips and it was a washer and a nut in one.
I have heard of the Costco's going for as little as $63, but I paid $90, likely the people writing about them have had them for several years so we will probably never see $63 again. Still the Trojan T105's that are similar capacity are almost twice as much. I have not gotten exact capacity. Several posters mention a 225 amp hour capacity but also mention a red and white enclosure, while mine is black.
I knew I needed new batteries as I use the Xantrex LinkLITE Battery Monitor. When I took the old batteries out I took the opportunity to screw mount the monitor's shunt to the underside of the floor above the battery compartment. Since I didn't need two cables to connect the two batteries in parallel anymore I reused one to connect the shunt in the series circuit. Much safer than the twist tie I was using to hold the shunt in place.
-Randy