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Beaver Patriot house batteries

RAINEYTXX
Explorer
Explorer
Need some help here. Our 2008 Beaver Patriot Thunder has out lived it's 4-6v Lifeline batteries. Time for a replacement. The Lifelines are a huge capacity (400 a/h) each.

We boondock 6 to 8 hrs overnight or drive 8 hours without generator. Overnight we use aqua hot for heat and water heating, residential refer, TV and sound system. What would you reccomend for a lower cost alternative given the application provided above?

I appreciate your thoughts on this and if possible an approximate cost estimation.

Thank you
2012 DRV Mobile Suites Atlanta 43'
2012 F-450
2016 Audi Q5
2011 Audi A8L
2004 Audi A4 6 speed sport package
30 REPLIES 30

RAINEYTXX
Explorer
Explorer
Follow-up: Decided to go with the smaller batteries for cost and application reasons, we don't have a lot of time when we aren't plugged in (full timers) and also have an Onan 10k generator so this transition was mostly for the cooler overnights where heat (aqua hot) was needed and we didn't need to run the ac's. Installation was a snap, they are not quite as tall but fit the footprint of the battery compartment just fine. Made a test run of the batteries after installation for a little while before plugging back in and had enough power to run the residential refer for a bit and the inverter didn't trip off in 5 minutes like it had been because of the low battery voltage that showed up within minutes of going on inverter panel due to the age of the old batteries. Those old Lifeline's we quite heavy, even the Insterstates were about 63 pounds each. So, after changing my inverter settings, i was good to go after plugged in and charging overnight and they are now float charging at 13.4 volts.

Hoping the capacity will work for us and these set of batteries takes us a couple years without any troubles.

GC2-HD-AGM Interstate
Battery specs/ea
475 Reserve Capacity (RC)@25 Amps

210 Amp Hours (AH)@20 Hr
2012 DRV Mobile Suites Atlanta 43'
2012 F-450
2016 Audi Q5
2011 Audi A8L
2004 Audi A4 6 speed sport package

pianotuna
Nomad II
Nomad II
dougrainer,

There are several firms that produce a L-16 jar. For example Universal and Trojan.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

dougrainer
Nomad
Nomad
The OP should have stated that he has AGM batteries because the compartment is NOT ventilated by design. He should have also stated that HIS battery compartment is designed for TALL AGM batteries, not regular size RV batteries. EACH battery weighs 119 pounds. He has 4- 6 volt Lifeline AGM's and unless he can find another brand AGM that fits his size in the compartment, he is stuck with Lifeline as the battery he needs. He could go smaller like regular RV AGM's , but he will lose the capacity of the larger Lifeline's AGM. Doug

jorbill2or
Explorer II
Explorer II
pianotuna wrote:
jorbil2or,

Going to golf cart jars may not be a good solution. For the same load "real" usable capacity may be a lot less than what an L-16 will handle, particularly if a large capacity inverter is being used.

The OP needs to do an energy audit to determine what battery size will meet his needs. And he also needs to try to salvage his quite wonderful L-16 jars before he throws money at a solution.


I agree and sticking with them is best imo but the op still wanted less ... and asked where to find them. I gave info on where to look. What the op described in his original post wasnโ€™t a large draw .. depending on inverters etc. I thought the beavers came with just one, but who know what mods have been done in 10 years.
Bill

pianotuna
Nomad II
Nomad II
jorbil2or,

Going to golf cart jars may not be a good solution. For the same load "real" usable capacity may be a lot less than what an L-16 will handle, particularly if a large capacity inverter is being used.

The OP needs to do an energy audit to determine what battery size will meet his needs. And he also needs to try to salvage his quite wonderful L-16 jars before he throws money at a solution.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

jorbill2or
Explorer II
Explorer II
RAINEYTXX wrote:
Smitty, I have 1600 amp hours available, 4 batts. I agree on having insurance, but we battery most for 8hrs or less.

Was hoping to maybe find an in between AGM 6v battery and work with that.you mentioned 230 a/h..that sound like a good alternative. Just have to measure to see about doing 4. Where would I find These?


Actually if you have 4 - 6 volt batteries and ea has 400 amps you only have 800 amps .. when you series tie 2 them together as 12 volt you double the volts but not the amps

Std golf cart batteries .. about 1/2 the amps you now have are avail at golf cart shops or battery suppliers in your area are good choices ... some googling in your area will reveal some options. You can of course amazon them but the shipping would be very high
Bill

jplante4
Explorer
Explorer
Try here.
Jerry & Jeanne
1996 Safari Sahara 3530 - 'White Tiger'
CAT 3126/Allison 6 speed/Magnum Chassis
2014 Equinox AWD / Blue Ox

RAINEYTXX
Explorer
Explorer
Smitty, I have 1600 amp hours available, 4 batts. I agree on having insurance, but we battery most for 8hrs or less.

Was hoping to maybe find an in between AGM 6v battery and work with that.you mentioned 230 a/h..that sound like a good alternative. Just have to measure to see about doing 4. Where would I find These?
2012 DRV Mobile Suites Atlanta 43'
2012 F-450
2016 Audi Q5
2011 Audi A8L
2004 Audi A4 6 speed sport package

Smitty77
Explorer
Explorer
If the compartment is not ventilated, stay with AGM's. Or, modify it to vent.

If you modify it to vent, the Trojan or Crown Wet Cells will save you some money, and also provide you with a good quality battery. They make L16 in wet. As I recall the Trojan wet L16 is yielding 440A, so you jump from 800AH bank to 880AH bank. (Don't recall the Crown L16 AH rating.)

If you wanted to sacrifice a some AHs, then the mentioned Trojan T125, or it's bigger brother the T145, would fit in the same floor space as the L16's. The T145 are 260AH, so you'd drop down to 520AH's.

How old are your Lifeline L16's? If not too old, a call to Lifeline Tech Support would be appropriate. The mentioned Deep Recovery cycle might bring the bank back to life for a bit longer. Lifeline is a stand up company, and work well with mere mortal RV'er's who are not necessarily the most knowledgable about all this stuff. (I know, as they helped me tremendously while working some issues with my bank of X's L16's.)

Final comment. I'm in the camp that believe having some extra capacity in the house bank is a form of insurance.

Best to you,
Smitty

pianotuna
Nomad II
Nomad II
I had the filler kit and squeeze bulb. The plastic was friable and broke in several many places within a year. I was furious. As I had 7 jars at the time it cost a heck of a lot more than $50.

jplante4 wrote:
pianotuna wrote:
It is SUCH fun to top up the battery bank while laying in the snow. NOT!

2oldman wrote:
Lower cost usually gets you into wet batteries, which require watering.


Or for $50 you could get THIS.

Squeeze bulb sold separately. How stupid is that?
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

jplante4
Explorer
Explorer
RAINEYTXX wrote:
BTW, the compartment the batteries are in is not ventilated other than gasket leaks around the door


It looks like Beaver has setup this coach for AGMs as RLS7201 suggested. Compartments for wet cell batteries should be vented. So you have a choice; find a way to vent the compartment and use the cheaper wet cells or stay with AGMs.

All things considered, the extra cost of the AGMs may be well worth it.
Jerry & Jeanne
1996 Safari Sahara 3530 - 'White Tiger'
CAT 3126/Allison 6 speed/Magnum Chassis
2014 Equinox AWD / Blue Ox

RAINEYTXX
Explorer
Explorer
BTW, the compartment the batteries are in is not ventilated other than gasket leaks around the door
2012 DRV Mobile Suites Atlanta 43'
2012 F-450
2016 Audi Q5
2011 Audi A8L
2004 Audi A4 6 speed sport package

RAINEYTXX
Explorer
Explorer
jplante4 wrote:
pianotuna wrote:
It is SUCH fun to top up the battery bank while laying in the snow. NOT!

2oldman wrote:
Lower cost usually gets you into wet batteries, which require watering.


Or for $50 you could get THIS.

Squeeze bulb sold separately. How stupid is that?


I currently have (4) Lifeline model GPL-L16T.AGM. I can top off wet cells but I wonder if that outgassing will cause corrosion in the compartment and to other metal objects in the area.

I'd live to be able to go to my Interstate retailer, order battery model type xx of yy amp hrs. I'm thinking the Same AGM probably be the best suited. In addition if I buy locally if I have a problem warranty assistance as much as easier
Your thoughts...?
2012 DRV Mobile Suites Atlanta 43'
2012 F-450
2016 Audi Q5
2011 Audi A8L
2004 Audi A4 6 speed sport package

jplante4
Explorer
Explorer
dupe.
Jerry & Jeanne
1996 Safari Sahara 3530 - 'White Tiger'
CAT 3126/Allison 6 speed/Magnum Chassis
2014 Equinox AWD / Blue Ox