buying a battery...same as truck or dedicated to tear?

Anything electric, AC or DC

Postby mexican tear » Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:41 pm

I have seen lots of little batteries in Walmart.

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Postby SteveH » Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:56 pm

Woody,

Yes, those are the ratings I was looking for, but what is the size code for the garden tractor battery?

Andrew,

Yes our alarm systems use those batteries as well, and here there are called "gell cells", and in ways would be a good choice because they can be used and charged in any position, up, down, or side ways. The biggest ones I've seen available around here are 7 Ah and don't think that would be big enough.
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Postby mexican tear » Thu Nov 25, 2004 5:44 pm

Another good battery is the Optima. I think it is kind of a cross between a gell cell and a wet cell. It comes in different types. I use the red one for starting and the yellow one, deep cycle. for the winch on my Jeep. I have had these batteries in the Jeep for almost 5 years. They are a good bargin because they last so long. They are completely sealed and do not produce any gas and can be used in any position.

I have seen them at Sam's and you can order them on line from any site that has something to do with Jeeps.

I think they are very rugged and would be good in a "bouncy" T or TTT.


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Postby Norm » Thu Nov 25, 2004 7:49 pm

I'm using 2 garden tractor batteries (in parallel) bought @ Walmart for $15 cnd each. So far they have been more than sufficient for a 3 night stay. I believe they are rated @ 200A.

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Postby Scooter » Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:49 pm

I'm leaning toward a conventional truck battery. The '52 Chevy is gonna need a new one soon anyway. If I'm not pleased with its performance in the teardrop I'll use it for the '52 and get a deep cycle for the tear.
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Postby SteveH » Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:55 pm

Norm,

You are doing sort of what I had in mind. You say the batteries are good enough for 2 nights....what all are you running on the batteries for two nights?
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Postby Scooter » Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:58 pm

Norm wrote:I'm using 2 garden tractor batteries (in parallel) bought @ Walmart for $15 cnd each. So far they have been more than sufficient for a 3 night stay. I believe they are rated @ 200A.

Norm
Can they be charged off the car while towing or is that too much juice?
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Postby tdthinker » Thu Nov 25, 2004 10:23 pm

If you had the space or was just building a tear I would put an alternator hooked to my wheel so it would charge while driving. You can hook it to a bunch of batteries at a time, it should just charge them slower but will do the job if you are going more than an hour or so. bye
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Postby Woody » Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:57 pm

SteveH,

If group 24 battery is a standard car battery size , then it would seem to me that the U1 is the smaller class used fo recreational equipment. I looked all over the battery I have in my tractor and found the # U1P-7, so it seems that it is a U1 series. I would still go with a marine deep cycle Group 24 battery. Regular car batteries are meant for sudden bursts of energy for starting and quick charge replacement ,whereas, deep cycle batteries can handle many cycles of deep discharge and recharge without shortening there life expectancy. That is why I went for the deep cycle. I did find this reference:

Starting, Marine, and Deep-Cycle Batteries

Starting (sometimes called SLI, for starting, lighting, ignition) batteries are commonly used to start and run engines. Engine starters need a very large starting current for a very short time. Starting batteries have a large number of thin plates for maximum surface area. The plates are composed of a Lead "sponge", similar in appearance to a very fine foam sponge. This gives a very large surface area, but if deep cycled, this sponge will quickly be consumed and fall to the bottom of the cells. Automotive batteries will generally fail after 30-150 deep cycles if deep cycled, while they may last for thousands of cycles in normal starting use (2-5% discharge).


Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged down as much as 80% time after time, and have much thicker plates. The major difference between a true deep cycle battery and others is that the plates are SOLID Lead plates - not sponge. Unfortunately, it is often impossible to tell what you are really buying in some of the discount stores or places that specialize in automotive batteries. The popular golf cart battery is generally a "semi" deep cycle - better than any starting battery, better than most marine, but not as good as a true deep cycle solid Lead plate, such the L-16 or industrial type. However, because the golf cart (T-105, US-2200, GC-4 etc) batteries are so common, they are usually quite economical for small to medium systems.


Many (most?) Marine batteries are usually actually a "hybrid", and fall between the starting and deep-cycle batteries, while a few (Rolls-Surrette and Concorde, for example) are true deep cycle. In the hybrid, the plates may be composed of Lead sponge, but it is coarser and heavier than that used in starting batteries. It is often hard to tell what you are getting in a "marine" battery, but most are a hybrid. "Hybrid" types should not be discharged more than 50%. Starting batteries are usually rated at "CCA", or cold cranking amps, or "MCA", Marine cranking amps - the same as "CA". Any battery with the capacity shown in CA or MCA may not be a true deep-cycle battery. It is sometimes hard to tell, as the terms marine and deep cycle are sometimes overused. CA and MCA ratings are at 32 degrees F, while CCA is at zero degree F. Unfortunately, the only positive way to tell with some batteries is to buy one and cut it open - not much of an option.

Hope this helps
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Postby Norm » Fri Nov 26, 2004 11:19 pm

SteveH, I run a car am/fm radio, a twin bulb RV light in the tear + an amber clearance lamp in the tear (so we don't blind ourselves if we need some light in the middle of the night). In the galley I have another twin bulb RV light. I have another amber clearance light above the door which I leave on from sunset until we retire each night.
I trickle charge the batteries the day before we leave to camp, and again when we return (usually 3 nights of camping). The batteries seem to charge up fairly quickly.
Scooter, I guess if I had the proper connector, the batteries could be charged by the car. So far I have not had a need to do this.

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Postby Norm » Mon Nov 29, 2004 6:44 pm

Geez, did I kill this thread? :shock:
I'ts been quiet for 2 days now ;)

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Postby Chuck Craven » Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:03 pm

[
Scooter[/quote]Can they be charged off the car while towing or is that too much juice?[/quote]

If you take a 12v light bulb and put it in series with the tail light circuit to the battery. You will be able to charge the battery off the car/truck parking light circuit. The max charge to the batteries will be the current rating of the light bulb. A tail light bulb is about 1 amp and a brake light is about 2 amps. You also can parallel several bulbs for more current charge. The only thing you have to do is not to draw more current than the tail light circuit is fused at. Of coarse you have to remember to turn on the parking lights, when traveling to charge the batteries.
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Postby Scooter » Tue Nov 30, 2004 10:15 pm

Norm wrote:I trickle charge the batteries the day before we leave to camp, and again when we return (usually 3 nights of camping). The batteries seem to charge up fairly quickly.
Scooter, I guess if I had the proper connector, the batteries could be charged by the car. So far I have not had a need to do this.

Norm
That's good to know. I don't have a frame of reference for how long a battery will last, so I'm trying to plan conservatively by being able to charge off the car while away from home and not taking a charger with me (or even buying one in the first place).
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