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Globie64 · 04-12-2012, 09:34 AM

Okay, so I'm going to get an AGM battery to replace the one I have now, which is a sealed lead-acid thing. Anyone have a preferred manufacturer?

dfratini · 04-12-2012, 10:16 AM

Before adding a second battery you should consider both replacing all your bulbs with LED bulbs and at least getting a portable solar panel. I have done both in my 20' Safari and can go for at least a week in warmer [no furnace] weather without needing to fire up my Honda 2000 generator.

Globie64 · 04-12-2012, 09:01 PM

I would love to have a pv setup to charge my battery(s). I'm being counciled by Lewster on replacing the Univolt, and I want something that will allow for solar charging when I can afford to add the panels. At the moment, I want a safe battery set up since I don't have good separation between the battery compartment and the interior, and I want to replace the Univolt before I have some kind of breakdown on the road. I am exploring LED replacements- I am an architect and I specialize in lighting design, so the lighting quality is important to me and I'm kinda obsessive anyway. The one bulb I purchased is 4000 kelvin, sorta white, while I'd rather have 3000 kelvin (more like incandescent or warm white). LED technology and availability seems to change weekly.. I use LEDs more and more in residential applications, but I want reliable ones especially considering the cost. Feedback from the Airstream community is a huge help.

dfratini · 04-13-2012, 10:19 AM

I have had great luck with bulbs from Star Lights Inc. There quality and customer service is great. I replaced all of my internal bulbs at this point. They also have a wide range of light temperatures. As for my solar i went with Goal Zero. Have used it a couple of times and it has fairly high efficiency even in very low light levels. I have the portable 30 folding panel and it kept my batteries topped off for an entire weekend including running of the furnace.

Globie64 · 04-13-2012, 06:59 PM

Thanks. I'd like to find a good solar charger that could keep up my battery, to keep it up to run the fridge igniter, the water pump and perhaps charge my laptop to watch videos. I really want to be able to use minimal campsites, rather than full hookups, and our trailer has pretty minimal power and fuel requirements. I had looked at doing the full solar-monty, but I can't afford it at this point, and want to figure out how little power we really to keep it comfortable.

dfratini · 04-14-2012, 10:29 AM

Goal Zero has a great line of portable back ups with their own AC/DC converter; I have the "Big Power" kit Large Solar Kits - Goal Zero. I use this to charge devices. If you want to watch TV this will work also. RUn pretty much everything in the camper except the AC & the toaster!

Lumatic · 04-14-2012, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Globie64

Okay, so I'm going to get an AGM battery to replace the one I have now, which is a sealed lead-acid thing. Anyone have a preferred manufacturer?

There are a lot of people who go for Lifeline, which is American. Universal. which is Chinese, is a little cheaper. Randy at Best Converter sells them. He is also a good source of information on Inverters and electrical.

kos221 · 04-15-2012, 12:13 PM

Ok it looks like I will be doing this project over a couple of weekends. Here is the first part. I gutted all of the old plastic battery box. This leaves a width of 16 1/2 inches. My new wooden battery box sits about 4 inches higher than the old box this gives me about 3 inches of additional depth resulting in a total depth of 12 inches. This allows the two new batteries to sit side-by-side 90° from the original battery orientation. As you can see in the pictures I used pieces of a 2 x 4 to elevate the battery box and support it. It is a very tight fit, but it is the only way to get enough depth to put the batteries in the original location. First I put the new battery box in place. I then installed the batteries in the wooden crate / box. I had to put the batteries in from the inside of the trailer and can no longer remove them from the outside access panel. Those batteries are pretty heavy and it is a little difficult to get them placed. Hopefully when they eventually need to be replaced they will weigh less ha ha.

Globie64 · 04-15-2012, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lumatic

There are a lot of people who go for Lifeline, which is American. Universal. which is Chinese, is a little cheaper. Randy at Best Converter sells them. He is also a good source of information on Inverters and electrical.

Great, thanks!

kos221 · 04-16-2012, 07:23 AM

Globie 64,
I purchased two Lifeline GPL-4CT 6 Volt Deep Cycle AGM Batteries from Batteries - Golf Cart - Marine - Deep Cycle - Motorcycle - RV - Powerstride they offer free shipping on all orders over $50. They arrived in about a week. That was the lowest price for that battery that I could find. If you need them overnight, they can do that too, for an additional $875.00 or so. needless to say, I went with the regular free shipping. Hope that helps you when shopping for your batteries.
Karl

kos221 · 10-20-2012, 08:41 AM

Demondeacon3 how is your solar project going? I am thinking about solar panels myself. Prices have dropped quite a bit. How did you arrange the panels on the roof? I was thinking about the grape solar 100 watt panels and putting them sideways on the front part of the roof. Anyway, just seeing how things were progressing. I am pretty satisfied with my 2 AGM batteries. They easily let me dry camp over a weekend and I don't have to be too careful about power usage, but solar would sure be nice.

demondeacon3 · 10-22-2012, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kos221

Demondeacon3 how is your solar project going? I am thinking about solar panels myself. Prices have dropped quite a bit. How did you arrange the panels on the roof? I was thinking about the grape solar 100 watt panels and putting them sideways on the front part of the roof. Anyway, just seeing how things were progressing. I am pretty satisfied with my 2 AGM batteries. They easily let me dry camp over a weekend and I don't have to be too careful about power usage, but solar would sure be nice.

Sorry, I haven't updated to this thread lately. It was fast and furious trying to get the solar installed and then I've been busy using them.

I ended up with 2 AM Solar 150 watt panels on top. I ran them inline with the trailer between the front and mid roof vents - they just barely fit.

I think I was a bit aggressive on the size, as I ran for 4+ weeks this summer without depleting the batteries any where near 50% of their capacity.

Globie64 · 10-23-2012, 10:11 PM

Hey

we got an Iota converter (and some re rewiring) and the lifeline battery. It all seems to be working well, and I hope to add PV panels at some future date. I bought the batteries at Arc Battery in Sausalito, CA, and the guy there was helpful. The most help came from Lewster here on the forum.