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Old 12-12-2019, 10:40 AM   #1
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All out Flooded Battery Upgrade?

I'm considering a battery upgrade from the dealer installed 12v battery to dual 6v. It looks like the Trojan T-series in Group GC2 would be an easy project because the dual battery box is readily available. However, I see that if I used a Group 902 size, I can get much more capacity in about the same footprint. I just don't see any battery boxes for the 902 size (in my ignorance, it's probably a special application size where a battery box isn't usually used or something).

The main reason for wanting more capacity is increased power usage in winter camping (furnace fan, and TV/dvd in the darker early evening). We'll spend up to about 4-5 days in one place, and it would be nice to not stress about following the sun with the suitcase solar.

So, does anyone have a lead on a dual battery box for two group 902 batteries?

Thanks.
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Old 12-12-2019, 11:56 AM   #2
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Battery boxes

[QUOTE=

So, does anyone have a lead on a dual battery box for two group 902 batteries?

Thanks.[/QUOTE]
My search started here, I did add a frame under the box,
https://allbatterysalesandservice.com/battery/battery-boxes

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Old 12-13-2019, 11:54 AM   #3
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Good luck. When I was considering upgrading to a pair of Lifeline GPL-6CT batteries (a taller GC2 sized battery) I had no luck. I have to admit I didn't call every battery box manufacturer, but I talked with quite a few.

While considerably more expensive, I went to a pair of Battleborn 100 amp hour lithium 12V batteries in the GC2 format that fit my existing battery box. I'd never go back to wet batteries...
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Old 12-13-2019, 03:07 PM   #4
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Jon are your batteries inside the trailer or mounted outside?
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Old 12-13-2019, 03:55 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Rzrbrn View Post
Jon are your batteries inside the trailer or mounted outside?
Inside. In the same battery box & location used by Escape for their 21's. I did have to modify the box to add heavier wiring. Some info on the change here.
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Old 12-13-2019, 04:01 PM   #6
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Thanks Jon, My Big Foot has a small outside battery compartment. I know most folks have the Lithium batteries inside. I don't have enough room inside, or rather, prefer to use the storage room for other things.
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Old 12-13-2019, 04:29 PM   #7
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I met a guy parked here in La Posa West that has a bit of solar - 4000 watts on a trailer larger than my Escape 21. He has lithium batteries (20KW worth) in the trailer & an electric heater to warm them when the temperature goes below 32°F. The heater only draws 50 watts, so if you really wanted to go to lithium, adding battery heaters might be a possibility. Of course he has a lot more power to play with. Along with completely running his 40' motorhome, he has a Chevy Volt plugged into it!
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Old 12-13-2019, 04:45 PM   #8
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Alex,

I've had flooded batteries for many years and finally got away from them. The last batch was (4) Trojan t-105s in my Oliver. They require a lot of attention and the terminals are constantly trying to corrode. Maybe consider AGMs, if you don't want to go all the way with lithiums, as Jon did.
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Old 12-14-2019, 02:37 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye View Post
I met a guy parked here in La Posa West that has a bit of solar - 4000 watts on a trailer larger than my Escape 21. He has lithium batteries (20KW worth) in the trailer & an electric heater to warm them when the temperature goes below 32°F. The heater only draws 50 watts, so if you really wanted to go to lithium, adding battery heaters might be a possibility. Of course he has a lot more power to play with. Along with completely running his 40' motorhome, he has a Chevy Volt plugged into it!

50W electric heater, that is a ridiculously small amount of heat, like 170 BTUs/hour. maybe enough for an easy-bake oven.
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Old 12-14-2019, 08:23 AM   #10
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50W electric heater, that is a ridiculously small amount of heat, like 170 BTUs/hour. maybe enough for an easy-bake oven.
That heater is just to keep the batteries warm.....
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Old 12-14-2019, 08:08 PM   #11
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Thank you all for the thoughtful replies. I'll continue to mull the tradeoffs over our next trip (around the olympic peninsula). I see how the lithium can be a great advantage, but the cost is substantial, and I'm not quite ready to tackle a DIY upgrade on the power converter (and pull larger wiring to the batteries). I got out the tape measure after posting the original question, and now see that a couple AGM batteries inside the "basement" might be more feasible.
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Old 12-14-2019, 08:13 PM   #12
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Battle born makes heating pads for some of their LiFePo4 batteries.

Here is for the BB10012: https://battlebornbatteries.com/shop...d-for-bb10012/

Here is for the GC2 size battery: https://battlebornbatteries.com/shop...pad-for-bbgc2/

They aren't cheap ($220 each) and it looks like you need one pad per battery. They also specify they are for their own batteries only.

They are 30 Watts and the website says they will run for 40 hours from a full battery charge. So I guess if using them you better use a good power source to recharge the batteries.
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Old 12-15-2019, 11:21 PM   #13
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indeed, 30 watts for 40 hours is 1200 watt*hours, which is 100AH at 12V.
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Old 12-18-2019, 11:50 AM   #14
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Avoid Sam's Club Duracell 6V AGM GC2s. I bought 2 because the price was attractive. The warranty is one year...no coverage beyond. They both failed by the 18 month mark.
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Old 12-19-2019, 09:21 AM   #15
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Snowball – can’t help you for the 902s. But as Jon mentioned Crown, Trojan and others offer GC2H batteries which are a little taller than standard GC2s and fit in some (most?) of the dual 6v battery boxes. They add capacity and are a better maximization of space than the GC2/T-105s IMO, just not as much as the 902s.

Moeller marine makes a nice box that I got. I’m just finishing the install/upgrade this week from the single 12v. I’m running two Crown CR260s with two 160w solar panels.

Haven’t used any of that yet, but our Quartzsite trip next month should be a good test.
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Old 12-19-2019, 02:50 PM   #16
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Summitt Racing has a good selection of battery boxes, don't know if any would work for your needs though.
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Old 01-02-2020, 06:36 PM   #17
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Update on my thoughts.

My original assumption was that I can get more cycles from the flooded battery (vs AGM), and this turns out to be true.

The following chart shows that with 60% discharge we get about 1500 cycles on the flooded battery.
https://www.trojanbattery.com/produc...ine-flooded-2/

For the AGM solar battery we get about 1400 cycles
https://www.trojanbattery.com/solar-agm-2/

So the difference in cycles is only about 7%.

I'm not really interested in reconfiguring the trailer tongue to fit two big flooded batteries. But I could fit two big AGM batteries in the pass through storage compartment at the front. I'm not quite comfortable with putting flooded batteries in the pass through. Since the TV is a pickup truck, storage space isn't critical yet.

So despite my original question, I'm now thinking two big AGMs in the pass through. I could put some of the tools in the exterior battery's place.

I'm just not quite ready to spend $$ for the lithium, and I think an upgraded converter/charger is warranted with the lithium, and then probably have to pull wire, etc.

In any case, the camper is all winterized and covered up until April. We'll see what other options come up before then...

Thanks again for the input and considerations. I'll post when I decide and install.
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Old 01-02-2020, 11:36 PM   #18
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IMHO, those numbers are close enough to be noise. and I don't think what applies to those high end solar batteries will apply to any arbitrary wet cell vs AGM, such as GC2 size etc.
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Old 01-03-2020, 10:40 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SnowballCamper View Post
So the difference in cycles is only about 7%.

I'm not really interested in reconfiguring the trailer tongue to fit two big flooded batteries. But I could fit two big AGM batteries in the pass through storage compartment at the front. I'm not quite comfortable with putting flooded batteries in the pass through. Since the TV is a pickup truck, storage space isn't critical yet.

So despite my original question, I'm now thinking two big AGMs in the pass through. I could put some of the tools in the exterior battery's place.
Another advantage of AGM's is no corroded connectors to clean and over time replace.

Enjoy,

Perry
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