6v series vs 12 v coach batteries

[Knit]

Originally Posted by GallenH

I too don't quite understand this. The specs for a 2016 indicate that the fridge is "electric/propane." Could the previous owners have replaced a 2 or 3-way with a compressor.

Owners manual for 2016 Simplicity says “The refrigerator is an electric compressor model that runs on 12 volt DC power. When shore power is available, the inverter charger provides enough power to run the fridge without discharging the batteries”

[booster]

Originally Posted by Knit

Owners manual for 2016 Simplicity says “The refrigerator is an electric compressor model that runs on 12 volt DC power. When shore power is available, the inverter charger provides enough power to run the fridge without discharging the batteries”

I think it is also a 5.0 cf model, so would take more power than most of us use. Depending on quality of the install, it could easily be 50ah per day.

[Jon in AZ]

It sounds like this model was intended for mostly on-grid use. That would also explain the small battery. Plenty of people do travel that way, camping with hookups every night. My mother did exactly that in all her 30+ years of solo RVing.

If booster is right about the large fridge I’m wondering if even two batteries will be enough for more than one night off-grid unless you also have robust recharging capability. Does it have a generator? Can the vehicle fully recharge the battery AND run the fridge while driving? Solar might be in your future.

How much off-grid camping do you anticipate?

Start by getting a handle on your typical daily power needs and how much is being put back in while driving with the fridge on.

[Brian B]

Make sure your inverter is turned off. I had similar experience with 2017 210 but did not realize the fridge would run on battery without the inverter and the inverter consumes a lot of power

[engnrsrule]

I have a 2006 RT that had its standard battery one 12v at 90 Ah, but it listed an option (upgrade) to two 6v at 235 Ah, and I recently made this change. Also added the Victron battery monitor and have had no more issues. The undercarriage compartment was sized just big enough for the two 6v golf cart batteries.

My fridge is 3 way, but the propane stopped working due to a bad board. During that time it would suck my 12v 90 Ah battery dead in a matter of hours. My model now is rolling-12v, stopped-propane, and 110 whenever we are hooked up.

[honeyboy]

Wave the checkbook. Get 2 100AH Battleborn lithium and put a few hundred watts of solar on the roof. Poof. Energy anxiety gone. It’s not quite that simple but there is LOTS of info out there showing you how to do it. Not the economy solution but, what not invest? You have a nice newer RT. You would not regret it. And, only 1/3 the weight of those nasty wet cells.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by honeyboy

Wave the checkbook. Get 2 100AH Battleborn lithium and put a few hundred watts of solar on the roof. Poof. Energy anxiety gone.

Yes. And "poof", you replace it with cold-weather charging and storage anxiety.
It certainly isn't that simple.

[engnrsrule]

Honeyboy has good advice in general, but do your own homework. I thought solar might be my answer to being able to boondock a week or more, but you have to look at ALL your systems and your utilization models. In my case, 10 gal of black water capacity is my critical path. The battery and inverter upgrades I have done are useful without breaking the bank. Having two or more weeks of electrical reserve is money wasted if I need to drive to a dump station every 3-4 days anyway.

[karon]

I have a 2006 Adventurous, it had a 12v battery that cooked over and did not last long. In 2013 I installed two 6v batteries, after 34K miles they are still 6.3v, I check the water monthly, in the winter I remove them fully charged and store them in the warm basement in the spring i check the water and charge and reinstall, they are Interstate, i will buy them again.

[Jim86301]

We use two 12 volt Trojan SCS150 Deep-Cycle Flooded/Wet Lead-Acid Batteries in parallel although I agree that six volt batteries in series are a better choice. The limiting factor for us is the design of the battery box; six volt Trojans would not fit so we went with the 12 volt batteries. Each battery is rated at 100 AH. Our rig came with a Norcold DE0751BB; 120 volts AC and 12/24 volt DC refrigerator which draws 2.6 amps on 12 volts. Assuming a 50% duty-cycle and a maximum 50% discharge, the batteries should run the refrigerator for approximately three days (100/(50%*24*2.6)) Our only other loads are the propane detector and the occasional use of LED lights, furnace and water pump. I figured our total power usage to be about 37 AH/day so the batteries should last a little under three days. With the 100 watt solar panel we have our experience is that we never run out of battery power no matter if camped for several days.
Jim

[btripper]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

It sounds like this model was intended for mostly on-grid use. That would also explain the small battery. Plenty of people do travel that way, camping with hookups every night. My mother did exactly that in all her 30+ years of solo RVing.

If booster is right about the large fridge I’m wondering if even two batteries will be enough for more than one night off-grid unless you also have robust recharging capability. Does it have a generator? Can the vehicle fully recharge the battery AND run the fridge while driving? Solar might be in your future.

How much off-grid camping do you anticipate?

Start by getting a handle on your typical daily power needs and how much is being put back in while driving with the fridge on.

Thank you for the reply. The RV is still in winter storage, but when we get it out we will have a look at all the power draws on it. We do have solar, so we are thinking that will help when we do boondock. It seems now we will have some extra time to get things figured out as the season is most likely going to be delayed.

Once again thank you for taking the time to respond

[NFRicaS]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFry

Two 6 volt deep cycle (golf cart) batteries are considered the ideal configuration, betterthan two 12 volt batteries in parallel because the series connection of the 6 volt batteries maintains superior balance of the individual cells. Typically they are 232amp-hour golf cart batteries which give a useable 115 amp hours of 12 volt power at the recommended 50% recommended maximum depth of discharge. Flooded or AGM? Flooded batteries are cheaper and will last several years with care and attention to watering the cells. AGM batteries do not need water and do not emit corrosive fumes but they are more expensive initially and tend to be more easily degraded by misuse.

Can you tell me what you mean by “misuse”?? I have a new AGM....only use it to start the generator, but how do I charge it? (Dumb question, sorry) I keep the red pin (connector) unplugged, but would like to charge... Will it charge as I’m driving? Thanks IA...

[honeyboy]

Originally Posted by avanti

Yes. And "poof", you replace it with cold-weather charging and storage anxiety.
It certainly isn't that simple.

I forget not everyone doesn’t live in freezing temps. All systems have trade offs.

[honeyboy]

This is wise advice. Seems 10 gallon black tanks are the rate limiting step in boondocking. If I’m by myself, I can get up to 5 days before I need to dump the tanks. More like 3 if my wife is with me.

[Macodiva]

I would say test your battery. I believe places like auto zone will test it for free.
I have no bother running my electric fridge overnight with 1 12v battery.
Hope you find your answer.

[JohnnyFry]

Misuse would be frequently discharging the battery below 50% capacity, leaving the battery in a discharged state for long periods (several days or weeks), overcharging on a regular basis.

Your PleasureWay should be equipped with an isolator or seperator which will allow it to be charged when driving. Depending on what type converter or charger/inverter you have, these should charge the battery when you are hooked up to shore power or running the generator. I am not sure what the "Red Pin connector" is all about.

[RossWilliams]

Originally Posted by btripper

we recently purchased a 2016 Roadtrek. The 12v battery will not keep the fridge running all night. It is the original battery and probably has not been well maintained. My question is... would I be better off to replace the 12 v with 2 6V batteries. Any thoughts on this, as well as battery type would be appreciated

If the battery has been repeatedly run down to the point where the refrigerator stops running then its been abused and is likely a goner. So you are likely right that it hasn't been well maintained.

My refrigerator uses 3 amps at 12 volts. I have an Etrek with eight 6 volt AGM's, but you shouldn't need a large battery bank to keep a refrigerator running overnight. My 240 watt solar panel will keep mine running indefinitely.

I would go with the 6 volt batteries in series. The general advice is to avoid putting batteries in parallel whenever possible.

There is no reliable way to accurately monitor your battery capacity while using it. The best you can get is an estimate and that is good enough if you don't need to stretch your capacity to its absolute limit. If you are pushing things to their limit you are likely better off investing in better batteries rather than a better battery monitor.

Edit: The absolute limit for an AGM deep cycle battery is generally 80% discharged. Below that you may do permanent damage. My understanding is that the 50% discharge limit applies to flooded lead acid batteries. For either one, discharging them less than 50% will lengthen their life by allowing more discharge/charge cycles. But it probably isn't cost effective to have a huge battery bank you don't really need, even if it will last longer. So its usually suggested that you size your AGM battery bank to meet your normal needs at 50% discharged. If you go below that occasionally its not a big deal.

[NFRicaS]

Originally Posted by JohnnyFry

Misuse would be frequently discharging the battery below 50% capacity, leaving the battery in a discharged state for long periods (several days or weeks), overcharging on a regular basis.

Your PleasureWay should be equipped with an isolator or seperator which will allow it to be charged when driving. Depending on what type converter or charger/inverter you have, these should charge the battery when you are hooked up to shore power or running the generator. I am not sure what the "Red Pin connector" is all about.

When I bought the RV, they didn’t tell me to pull the red pin to disconnect the coach battery to keep it from being drained, even though nothing was turned on...well, it ran down...ever since I found it (after calling Pleasure Way for help) I have kept it pulled...but since I now have a new AGM, I would like to charge it on occasion, (just to keep it “alive”) and wondered if I should just plug it in only while driving, (?) as I always park in campgrounds using my 30 amp plug, thus never using the coach battery...

[btripper]

Many thanks. Will be getting the DR out of winter storage in a couple of weeks and will start the analysis then. This forum and the responses to my question have been great. Glad I joined the community!

[Jim86301]

You should always have your coach battery connected to the system (red battery switch on) when using the converter (shore power); it acts like a large capacitor and regulates the output of the converter.
Jim