charger7022

i have 6 6v batteries i got off my neigbor that are like new he used them in his floor scrubber machines . they are deka pro masters 8c6v and it says the rateing it 330 at 20 amp hours. i was thinking about puting 4 of these in my 5th wheel. 2 banks with 2 6v each run in series with a marine switch that will allow me to run bank 1 bank 2 or bank 1and 2 in parallel. should i be concerned about the gauge of wire going to my converter and the converter for that matter? is this way to much battery? sometimes when i go fishing ill dry cam for about a week and in a smaller camper we just get by with 2 group 31 12v's watching what we do and not over useing. im thinking with the bigger 5th wheel im gonna need more battery power to go a week without worry. my biggest question is is this to much battery and will my 5ver handle it?? thanks

Santaclaus

The simple answer is no. It will take longer to run them down and longer to recharge them. Your RV won't use any more power at any given time from those batteries in a wood from any other batteries.

1-2-3

Power isn't pushed to something, it's drawn. If that were the case, you'd have to have wires in you house like what is out on the poles. I would be concerned more about hauling all that weight around.

Jeff in TD

Two of those may give you a week's worth of power, unless you are running a TV a lot on an inverter, or it is really cold and you are running the furnace all the time.

I'd love to have a pair of Trojan L16's (420 amp hour) but those buggers are heavy, and expensive.

Make sure you've got plenty of steel support under those things, especially if you mount 4.

Don T

I have a section of black abs pipe under the front of my fiver for a longer dump hose and have been thinking of making a stainless drawer so I could install four six volt batteries and would not have to worry about gassing.I have a gell cell now and it will last only a few days. I have some stainless and will see if I can find someone to make this up.I don`t see why I can`t run some angle from both sides of the frame and use the frame to mount the battery . I will do this this winter and have at least four six volt batteries in it for next season. I hate having a big fiver and no power to run the pump or lights after a few days

johnh

if you don't want them throw them my way

supr

I think you would be OK, as long as you have adequate support, ventitation, and clearance for the posts, so they do not contact anything. Many people go to 4 6V batteries in series/parrallel. It will take a while to charge these back up. Harbor Feight has had 45W solar panels for about $150, I think. This will also help with the 12V power and give you more things you could run.
If you run just lights and water pump, I think you could go a week, depending on usage. Use a multimeter to monitor voltage.
Your 5er will not need bigger wires, as you will not be drawing more current. You will just have a bigger storage pool available.
A small 1000W generator might also be an option, to run a battery charger.

charger7022

cool guys thanks for all the info. right now the battery is in the front storge compartment below the pin is there enough vent in there for these batteries? cause i was gonna build a tray in there for them. i camped last night running just a few lights, the water pump and the furnace it only got down to maybe 55 so not to cold but i wasent running the fridge or hot water tank and in the morning the on group 27 12v i have in there was pretty dead. so i definatly want more power.

FiverBob

You will love having four of those suckers in your trailer. Your question about wiring is a good one. Three points to consider:
1) You need a smart charger to properly handle four deep cycle batteries. You can destroy them or never max them without it.
2) Your question about the size of wiring is valid and important. The rule of thumb is keep all wiring short and use #4 with two 6v deep cycles and #2 with four. You will need to have these made up custom for the proper length. They are still and bulky, but worth it. Don't even try it with Mickey Mouse cables.
3) Be sure to put a catastrophe fuse in the hot lead coming out of the batteries. Mine is a 300a. I have only blown it once. You have a huge amount of current available with that setup and one short can ruin your day.

I would not try and put them on separate circuits - - not worth it.

Have fun - - you will love the amount of time these will give you.

Bob

charger7022

so the charger that is built into my 5ver is no good for charging these? which smart charger should i get any suggestions?? thanks for the info and maybe i wont put them on separate circuits. i am also trying to design a custom slide tray for them if anyone has any pics or ideas.. thanks again

Jeff in TD

What converter/charger do you have now? In later RV's most of the decent ones come with an intelligent charger... Basically they are computer controlled multi-stage chargers that provide a much faster charge when comparing units of the same amp rating, while not over charging the batteries or driving off water by keeping the voltage too high once the batteries are charged.

FiverBob's suggestion about installing a catastrophic failure fuse is a good one. If you ever got into a wreck, or the battery cable got pinched or whatever...

From what you are describing, I think the group 27's you have in there now are trashed. You should get a whole lot more use out of them.

As far as how much venting you need, how well sealed or vented is this compartment?

As for building a box, I think I'd make a base out of say 11 ga plate or better, depending upon how much support and how much of a span between supports there will be below it. I'd probably put some sort of provision for hold down straps, and maybe use some angle iron or whatever to hold each battery in place.

If you decide to replace the converter/charger, you could go with an inverter/charger that would provide 110ac from your battery bank. Good ones are expensive.

An alternative would be a good converter/charger. Progressive Dynamics makes some 80 amp chargers. The "Charge Wizard" computer pendant can be added to the 9100 series for intelligent multi-stage charging. The 9200 series has the intelligent charging features built in. You can add a remote pendant to the 9200 series to make it handy to see it's status and change modes (Storage, boost/desulfide, normal).

If you went with the 80 amp job, you would likely have to upgrade the factory battery cables from the battery box to the power distribution center and to the converter/charger.

Then if you wanted, you could run a small cig lighter inverter to run your TV or whatever.

If you do upgrade cables, snag some split convoluted plastic wiring loom. Running that over the positive cables looks professional, and gives an extra layer of protection against shorts.

An intelligent charger will basically push more amps for faster charging when the batteries are deeply discharged, and can tolerate the current without damage or excessive gassing. It will taper the charge rate down as the battery charge comes up, and eventually drop into float mode where it won't drive off water once the batteries are fully charged.

They can also be set to storage mode, where it changes the timing and voltage stages to protect the batteries from sulfide formation while not driving off water. Intelligent chargers also usually have an equalizing/desulfiding charge mode, where it will drive higher than normal voltage briefly...

I don't run the microwave off the batteries, so my setup is a couple decent batteries, a 9100 series inverter/charger with the charge wizard, and a small higher quality inverter which runs the 20" flat panel TV/DVD combo.

Soon I hope to add a couple hundred watts of solar. If I had lots of cash, I'd also be building a big battery box and getting 4 HC16L batteries... but I don't get to use the RV enough for that kind of investment at this point.

charger7022

http://progressivedyn.com/prod_detai..._pd9280_2.html this is what i found its the 9200 and at 200 bucks not to expensive. now how easy is this thing to install. ive built offroad jeeps and put motors in cars but im not to to up on the whole camper electronics. my 5ver is a 1998 damon hornet 33' im going to have to look for my converter thats in there now i have no idea where it would be. maybe behind the fuse box or could it be built in?

and about the cig lighter converter i have one of those and there is a port behind the tv is the wiring to that port good enough to run the tv??? i didnt even think about tv while dry camping but would be nice. thanks again for all the info everyone.

FiverBob

Normally the converter is in the front compartment under the chin right behind your batteries. You want to keep those wires as short as possible. Changing it is a cinch. Just remember new wires - - those old wires will not handle the higher potential current.

Don T

Guys I took the agm battery back and got a refund from Wall e world. I then bought 2 6 volt batteries to go in my fiver. They are Pow-R-surge, Diamond plate technology 1200, US 2200 XC Xtreme capacty. The numbers are 232 amp hrs,20hr rate minutes @ 75 amps 122 and 474 minutes @ 25amps . I will install the two 6 volt batteries and get a good Battery tender and use my 2000 wat honda gen to charge the batteries when they need a charging. I do a lot of camping that has no power and want to install a total of four six volt batteries and have a solar panel to charge them during the day.[I] will run another wire for the tv and run that off a separate inverter so I don`t increase the load on the wires going to the inverter that came with my fiver. I`am open to ideas as in two years we plan on taking a trip across Canada and winter in the US. I need to have stable dependable power for this trip. Thanks Don T

Jeff in TD

On some brands, the converter is built into the compartment below the power distribution box.

On mine, the converter is separate, mounted under the kitchen cabinets. The battery cable runs to the power distribution box, then on to the converter.

Changing it out will be easy, but as noted above you will want to upgrade the cables. It likely came stock with a 35 or 45 amp converter.

I think that is a good choice in a converter/charger for your battery bank. You might want to add a remote pendant.

If I had tons of money, one of the Xantrex Prosine 2.0's would be sweet, but you are looking at $1200 or so... For me, though, the only advantage would be being able to run the microwave without starting the generator. If I were retired and full timing it might be worth it, but for a recreational camper I'll generally just use the stove.

Anyhow, use some good cable ends with a wide contact area with the battery terminal, and I like to shrink tube around the joint. Make sure the battery post and terminal are brushed shiney clean, and keep them tight.

With as heavy as those batteries are, when you are building your box I'd be looking to make it so you can check/add water, and remove the battery cables for cleaning without having to move the batteries, if possible. Have a good collection of zip ties, grommets, and split loom big enough to fit over your upsized cables. Make sure nothing can chaffe with road vibration, or cause a major short and fire if you were to have an accident or something.

A big fuse right next to the battery bank is really a good suggestion (as FiverBob's suggestions always are).

Flat screen TV's generally don't use much power.

I don't go camping to sit in the camper and watch TV, but it is nice to have if you run into a day with really crummy weather. Watching some zombie movie is better than sitting there contemplating your navel.

Mine runs a TV just fine off of the 12v socket by the TV stand. I doubt it would run a big tube type TV, but a small flat screen DVD combo is plenty for my camper.

Let us know how the project turns out.

P.S. It isn't a bad idea to get one of the single outlet surge protectors to put between where your converter plugs in to 110 and the outlet, or wire one in...