Best batteries for 29' Excella 1000

Anniedog · 09-23-2007, 09:21 AM

I think I may have "cooked" my batteries, Delco maintenance free Type 27. I left trailer plugged in most of a year. Now there is very little juice in them unless I am also hooked to shore power. I asked a question in RV Forum but the advice is all over the map...so I figured I'd be better off asking other Airstream folks since you already KNOW of the size limitations I have in fitting two new ones into my compartments.
So, what is best batt?
Should I have left trailer plugged in with Converter slow charging them? Again, I get a zillion answers from the RV Forum and end up more confused than when I started.
Thanks.

lewster · 09-23-2007, 09:30 AM

Hi Anniedog,

You asked for 'the best' so here goes!

Lifeline Marine Batteries - AGM Marine Battery & AGM RV Battery makes the 'best' AGM batteries out there. They are built to military spec and are used in our military aircraft. If you have 2 group 27's, They make the same size in AGMs. They are quite expensive, but have a 5 year guarantee and will generally last longer than that when kept properly charged. I have AGMs in every vehicle and RV I own and they have never let me down!

And speaking of charging, you probably need a new converter/charger as well. WFCO makes a nice unit and the new Parallax Temp-Assure unit is very good also. Both have 3 stage charging, which benefite ANY battery, but especially AGMs. Contact Randy (68 Overlander) at BestConverter - Inteli-Power, WFCO, Parallax, Xantrex, Samlex, Electrical Supplies for the details on the converters.

Let s know if you have any other questions or concerns.

davidz71 · 09-24-2007, 08:33 PM

Anniedog,
If the batteries were Delco Voyager Maintenance free batteries and they only lasted a year then you surely must have cooked them. I had two of the Voyager grp 27 batteries charged occasionally by a Magnetek charger but usually by a 1 amp BatteryMinder. They were going strong after 4 years and I have heard of some going upwards of 10 years.

On the other hand, if they were not deep cycle Voyager batteries then it does not surprise me in the slightest. I have an Intellipower 55 amp converter/charger in my trailer and the Walmart Everstart battery has been going strong for 3 1/2 years until last week. I left both Fantastic Vent fans on medium and went to work in the morning. My wife decided to clean out the garage on her day off and unplugged the power cord. Solar panel system was turned off at the time. The fans were running when I got home at 5:30 p.m. and when I checked battery voltage it was down to 10.5 volts. During the weekend boondocking, battery voltage in the early a.m. before solar kicked in was 10.5 volts. I turned solar on at 6 a.m. before heading to the deer stand and the solar was kicking out 14.43 volts when I got back in around 10:30 a.m. I left Sunday around 12 noon but had to go back to the trailer about 8:30 p.m. to retrieve an item I left. Neither fan was running, not charging amps showing (obviously) and voltage was showing 13.02. Ever since the deep discharge, the Everstart has not handled the discharge as it should. I priced a Trojan 27 TMH 115 amp hr. today at $163 and will probably pick it up this Friday.

The Intellipower as well as the WFCO are both good converter/chargers and you can't go wrong with either one. The newer Intellipowers have a built in Charge Wizzard but you can still get the other model with the plug-in Charge Wizzard. Either will do the trick. Randy at Best Converter can probably hook you up.

ROBERTSUNRUS · 09-24-2007, 09:45 PM

Hi, I have another opinion. Unless you are boondock critical or solar cell obsessed, just go to Costco and buy their deep cycle batteries. I just bought two this last weekend for $62.00 each. [24 group] The Costco deep cycle batteries are warrantied for 12 months replacement and 30 months prorated. Since you stated that your trailer was plugged in for almost a year, I'm guessing that you are not boondock critical or solar cell obsessed. Both of my batteries went bad about six months ago, but since I was not going to use my trailer until October, I waited. No use burning up warranty time while sitting. [not meaning to offend or hurt anyones feelings; I'm full hook up critical/obsessed.]

Bambi_Bandit · 09-24-2007, 09:56 PM

I used the Die Hard Platinum Marine AGMs. They had a higher amp hour rating than the Optimas, AGM construction and 3 year warranty.

Another reason I went with Die Hards? If they go out, I no matter where I am traveling, the chances of finding a Sears store is pretty good both in small towns and large, and the chances of them having the group size in stock, pretty darn good.

Kevin

Anniedog · 09-25-2007, 05:18 AM

Thanks for the advice folks. I am going to try to save my batteries this week-end and if all is lost then I guess I'll go shopping. We have not used our trailer for a year (unusual) and that may be part of the problem. And, the more I think about it, we do not do much boondocking anymore actually so a big expense for batteries would not make much sense. We'll see what develops.
Our biggest challenge now is tossing out our couch and replacing it with two recliners. Couch has been reupholstered but still needs more "padding" so we figured the heck with it....we'll just go with recliners. Ha!!