Marine/Starting Batt. in Tow Vehicle
cherr...@hotmail.com
Starting battery ? This is the same type of battery that most department
stores sell as a deep cycle battery. It would seem to me that you could
make up a heavy gauge cable to tap into the battery. I would also have a
pair of golf cart batteries on the pop-up. One would have to check the
voltage
to make sure that there would be enough reserve to start the tow vehicle.
Or you could build / buy a Low Voltage Disconnect (Home Power
Magazine has plans).
See this link for comments for using a deep cycle battery as a starting
battery:
http://www.redbeardyachtsystems.com/Marine%20Battery%20Facts.htm
Dave
----- Posted via NewsOne.Net: Free (anonymous) Usenet News via the Web -----
http://newsone.net/ -- Free reading and anonymous posting to 60,000+ groups
NewsOne.Net prohibits users from posting spam. If this or other posts
made through NewsOne.Net violate posting guidelines, email ab...@newsone.net
Ken Peddicord Sr.
it.
The tow vehicle battery is designed for high out put over a short time as in
starting an engine, the deep cycle batteries are for mass storage over a
long time such as lights, fans, furnace and appliances. My 2 trojan 105
batteries, charged by a solar panel, will charge my car battery and I see no
reason why yours won't as long as they have enough volts left to do so. You
may want to pull your trailer connector to keep from draining your car
battery when not running your engine.
Ken & Gerry
01 Chalet
99 Windstar
Dino
batteries...
BATTERIES (the HEART of the system):
Let's look at car batteries. A car battery is designed to give you ALL
KINDS OF POWER for about 5 to 15 SECONDS in order to start you car.
Once the car is started, the alternator (usually at least 60 AMPS)
charges your battery back to full power.
In a deep cycle environment (RVs and Golf Carts), the batteries are
designed COMPLETELY different! These batteries are designed to give
you less power (100 amps as opposed to 800 amps) over a LONGER PERIOD
OF TIME. A Golf Cart has the duty to haul your butt around the course
ALL DAY before getting recharged! What happens to your car battery
after 3 minutes of cranking? Is this getting clearer now? If you use
a standard car battery in your RV, it will go dead ALOT faster!
Marine Batteries are a hybrid of sorts. While having the
characteristics of a deep cycle battery, they are also designed
to START a boat. They are NOT true deep cycle batteries...but
a better choice over a car battery.
I HIGHLY recommend the Trojan T-125/105 batteries! These batteries are
true deep cycle batteries. They are 6 volts, so you will need to buy
them in pairs to make 12 volts. They are heavy and NOT for eveyone,
but IS the best set up for RVs. If you need a 12v battery, ASK FOR,
and GET the Trojan 27-TMH! Not the TM or TMX...the TMH!
SIZE DOES MATTER:
All batteries have cells which holds the acid and plates. Each cell
produces 2 volts! A 6 volt battery will have 3 cells and a 12v, 6.
You will notice that a 6 volt battery is about the same size as a 12v.
The plates inside a 6 volt are LARGER which gives you MORE capacity.
It also makes the battery HEAVIER. Two 6 volts together have MORE
capacity that 1 12 volt. Can we agree? If you have to run a 12 volt
battery (because of space, etc) than get the largest DEEP CYCLE battery
you can. A GROUP 31 is larger than a GROUP 27 which is larger than a
GROUP 24. The larger the battery, the higher the capacity.
CONCLUSION:
What do I run? I have a GROUP 27 Marine/Deep Cycle battery. My
consumption is low and I've gone 14+ days with no recharge. If my
needs were higher, I'd go with TWO Trojan T-125 6v DEEP CYCLE batteries.
I do not/would not run a solar panel! Too much money for very little gain!
I'd spend the money on a small Honda Generator (these too have their
drawbacks!).
Dino
Tom
>The plates inside a 6 volt are LARGER which gives you MORE capacity.
>It also makes the battery HEAVIER. Two 6 volts together have MORE
>capacity that 1 12 volt. Can we agree?
Technically, no. 6 volt batteries can be bought in a myriad of sizes
and shapes. Two puny motorcycle 6 volt batteries have less capacity
than a group 24 car battery. For purposes of this discussion, and for
all practical purposes, two 6 volt batteries of the type you describe
DO have more capacity than one 12 volt.
My TT has room for two, my pop-up has room for two. My fifth-wheel has
room for ONE. Go figure.
Tom
Dino
I know my D-cells will kick my AAA-cells butts!
Dino
Dino
(barely sometimes) and provide lights when docked. It has to serve
double duty. Its NOT a good starting battery and not a good deep cycle
battery. But it does simplify the boaters needs.
A boat isn't used as much as a car and therefore I believe that you
would experience starting problems with your tow vehicle. You would
basically wear out the battery because you start your vehicle so
often.
In all my years working with RVs, boats, solar equipment, etc, I have
NEVER seen anyone running a Marine battery as there sole tow vehicle
battery. I'm sure people have though. Most set ups are a dual
battery configuration. This is recommended!
It would be horrible if you couldn't start your tow vehicle because
the wife wanted to get one more chapter in before lights out! :-)
Some set ups with dual batteries still go dead because people don't
want to invest in a simple battery isolator.
Dino
>Dino,
>
>Thanks for the FAQ on batteries. My question was more with
>regard to people with experience using a Marine/Starting battery
>for their tow vehicle. Fully understanding that this is a hybrid type
>battery and discussing using the battery in such a manner. There
>are advantages to using this type of battery that could allow extended
>dry camping beyond the storage capacity of what ever battery one
>decides to carry on the camper. One could even envision not having
>a battery on the camper at all and only using the tow vehicle battery
>for short stays or frequent recharging during sightseeing activities.
>From the apparent lack of responses I was either not clear or no one
>posting here has tried this.
>
>Thanks, Dave
cherr...@hotmail.com
<di...@deltanet.com> writes:
>A Marine battery, as I pointed out, is a hybrid that will start a boat
>(barely sometimes) and provide lights when docked. It has to serve
>double duty. Its NOT a good starting battery and not a good deep cycle
>battery. But it does simplify the boaters needs.
>
would sometimes "barely" function at its intended purpose. Anything
designed for dual purposes is not going to function as well as a single
function product. The question is how much the trade off affects the
intended application.
>A boat isn't used as much as a car and therefore I believe that you
>would experience starting problems with your tow vehicle. You would
>basically wear out the battery because you start your vehicle so
>often.
>
How would the battery wear out ? Do you have ANY supporting references ?
>In all my years working with RVs, boats, solar equipment, etc, I have
>NEVER seen anyone running a Marine battery as there sole tow vehicle
>battery. I'm sure people have though. Most set ups are a dual
>battery configuration. This is recommended!
>
Then you would have a conflicting opinion with Arizona Wind and Sun
who state they regularly use deep cycle batteries in starting applications.
Dual batteries would be great but you will rarely find a light truck with
enough room under the hood to mount a Group 27 battery.
>It would be horrible if you couldn't start your tow vehicle because
>the wife wanted to get one more chapter in before lights out! :-)
>
I don't know if I would use the word "horrible" in the event I had to ask
someone at a public campground for a jump. If you decided to carry
a battery on the camper, chances are that you would be able to
start off of that. I would hardly think that a few hours with a 1.5 Amp
bulb would be the primary cause for draining the battery. More like
several nights of running the furnace and not checking the battery
voltage.
Car/Truck starting batteries are sized to start the vehicle in the dead of
winter where the battery efficiency is very poor. This would allow one to
make use of the extra capacity during the camping season. In the northern
US batteries generally never die in the summer. Their lack of power is
normally only noticed in the dark afternoon of a sub-zero winter day.
I typically treat batteries as preventive maintenance items. I replace
them in the fall after 4 years of service. The dollar loss from a year or
two of service is small compared to having to jump the wife's car in the
cold and dark after work.
Dino
>I find it hard to believe that a popular type of battery sold for boating
>would sometimes "barely" function at its intended purpose. Anything
>designed for dual purposes is not going to function as well as a single
>function product. The question is how much the trade off affects the
>intended application.
Believe what you want. I've seen many boats that crank slow due to
having a battery that pulls double duty. Some just don't have the
cranking power. They will start, but barely sometimes.
>How would the battery wear out ? Do you have ANY supporting references ?
Yep, I do. Any time you pull the maximum out of anything, it wears
out faster. By reading your question, I feel it is an attack.
>Then you would have a conflicting opinion with Arizona Wind and Sun
>who state they regularly use deep cycle batteries in starting applications.
>Dual batteries would be great but you will rarely find a light truck with
>enough room under the hood to mount a Group 27 battery.
They have their "opinions" based on their experiences; and I have mine.
>I don't know if I would use the word "horrible" in the event I had to ask
>someone at a public campground for a jump. If you decided to carry
>a battery on the camper, chances are that you would be able to
>start off of that. I would hardly think that a few hours with a 1.5 Amp
>bulb would be the primary cause for draining the battery. More like
>several nights of running the furnace and not checking the battery
>voltage.
Potatoe - Po ta toe... Maybe it was a bad example (and attempt at humor).
>Car/Truck starting batteries are sized to start the vehicle in the dead of
>winter where the battery efficiency is very poor. This would allow one to
>make use of the extra capacity during the camping season. In the northern
>US batteries generally never die in the summer. Their lack of power is
>normally only noticed in the dark afternoon of a sub-zero winter day.
>I typically treat batteries as preventive maintenance items. I replace
>them in the fall after 4 years of service. The dollar loss from a year or
>two of service is small compared to having to jump the wife's car in the
>cold and dark after work.
OK.
>Dave
Dino
cherr...@hotmail.com
<di...@deltanet.com> writes:
>
>Believe what you want. I've seen many boats that crank slow due to
>having a battery that pulls double duty. Some just don't have the
>cranking power. They will start, but barely sometimes.
>
batteries sitting around. Are they getting fully recharged
with longer engine run times. I don't disagree with your
observations just the conclusion.
>>How would the battery wear out ? Do you have ANY supporting references ?
>
>Yep, I do. Any time you pull the maximum out of anything, it wears
>out faster. By reading your question, I feel it is an attack.
>
I don't see how this would be "pulling the maximum" out of the battery.
Many marine/starting batteries can have similar CCA rating as starting
batteries. In fact a marine/starting battery has more in common with
a starting battery than a deep cycle battery. Personally I would rather
see supporting documents from people in the industry. Like a plot of
lifetime vs. starts similar to Concord's plots of lifetime vs. DOD.
Sorry if the use of capitals made my reply seem like an attack. I felt the
same way when you used them in earlier replies. Your earlier statements
like "Is this getting clearer now?" and "as I pointed out" can come across
rather harsh. These statement generally add little to the information
content and make the reader feel he is being talked down to.
Greg Ingvaldson
> vehicle battery with a Marine/ Starting battery
> ? This is the same type of battery that most
> department stores sell as a deep cycle
> battery.
Dave,
I've tried something similar. I bought an Exide Deep Cycle / Marine
Starting battery last fall, and installed it in my snowplow truck. It
worked fine all winter, starting in the coldest weather and coping with
the 100 amp ( a guess) bursts of the hydraulic pump. My summer plan is
to install it in my so far non-electric pop-up. Year round use and
charging should be better than sitting unused, no? I think the 'deep
cycle' battery is better adapted to occasional starting use than a
starting battery is adapted to prolonged 'deep cycle' use. FAQ's, heated
discussions, arguments? - no thanks, I'm going camping.
Greg