Help with House Battery

[wantoworkless]

I was having problems with my charging system and batteries. After troubleshooting, turned out my house batteries were bad along with the electrical port to connect to shore power. Both were replaced but had to do so quickly as I was heading out. I had 2 6v Intimidator AGM batteries (8AGC2M) installed that came with the Van.

Some basic specs of this battery are:
Amp Hour Capacity @ 20 hr rate: 190 a/h
Reserve Capacity @ 25 amp discharge rate: 409 mins

The shop that replaced the batteries put in Crown CR-220 lead acid batteries.

Basic specs are:
Amp Hour capacity @ 20 hr rate: 220
Reserve capacity @25 amp discharge: 412


If I understand the specs (which i likely don't), then the new batteries should be better than my old ones. However, i have noticed more drain on the batteries after even light usage than I ever did on the old ones. I don't have a battery meter, only the idiot lights, so that has its own set of issues.

My question to you all is should i turn these in and go back to AGM batteries? Is there a particular benefit to AGM's over the traditional batteries? If i stick with the current batteries, do changes need to be made to the settings of my charging system? I have an inverter/charger and solar charger installed.

Thanks for any help.

[rowiebowie]

The only disadvantage of you new batteries is they will require periodic checking of the water levels, whereas the AGM are maintenance free. Always use distilled water and fill to the appropriate level at least several times a year depending upon your use.

Your new batteries should perform equal or slightly better because they have a bit of additional capacity (220 vs 190ah). And yes, you need to check your charger settings so see if they recommend a different charge profile. You may, or may not, have a separate setting between the two depending upon how flexible your charger is.

Your next move is to get a voltage meter you can plug into a 12v outlet in the coach to monitor your batteries. Plenty of cheap ones on Amazon & Ebay https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 or check your monitor panel for voltage.

Next, seek out sources of parasitic drain. Do you turn off your inverter when not used and the battery disconnect when in storage?

[Bud]

"Always use distilled water and fill to the appropriate level"

After a full charge

Bud

[markopolo]

Originally Posted by wantoworkless

.............. My question to you all is should i turn these in and go back to AGM batteries? ................

If by turn in you mean that there would be credit due on the Crown batteries & you'd be paying the difference in price & some labor then I'd probably do that.

Nothing wrong with having wet cell batteries if you don't mind the maintenance including equalizing to prevent stratification etc. AGM's are just easier. A pair of AGM's might perform a bit better as they get older if powering high current devices like a microwave oven as one of their features is lower internal resistance.

If your charging system isn't good then you'll likely be replacing batteries more often and won't get the performance you'd otherwise expect.

[RossWilliams]

As I understand it, flooded lead acid batteries are often at a slightly lower voltage than AGM when charged to the same depth. Since the idiot lights are set to voltage, you may just be seeing that difference. So I would second the suggestion you get a voltage meter and find out the specs for the Crown batteries.

[Allen Arin]

Might these suggestions help you out
1-limit the number of batteries the more batteries equal more connections,each connections increases the resistance,and resistance can cause uneven charging

2-rotate your batteries if you have a large bank of batteries then rotate the batteries within the bank periodically

3-use large batteries interconnect cobles i suggest a 4/0 size cable for 12 v and 24v systems and 2/0 for 48v systems

4use only distilled water

[hbn7hj]

You want opinions, I got opinions.
Install a battery monitor. I use Bogart Trimetric but there are others.
Stick with flooded lead acid batteries and check the water level.
Install a battery monitor.
Install a battery monitor.

[wantoworkless]

Thank you all. I appreciate the suggestions. I have been traveling for the last 30 days or so with the batteries and they performed great. No issues at all, but would prefer not to have the maintenance. Definitely looking at installing a battery monitor.