Battery for camper "aussie batteries- combo deal"

[ToyPrado]

Or pay a mate who is electrically gifted ie, can strip wires , the appropriate number of slabs to build it for you as a backyard project.

Great idea- my mate is a designer at BOEING and design the wing edges for the 787 dreamliner. He has just done his swan outback.
Actually a roast pork on the webber would just about seal the deal

 

[chris_stoffa]

If he is anything like my ex Qantas retired engineer B in Law you will end up with an all singing all dancing unit that will power the Hindenberg - feed him beer and good food and he will reverse engineer anything for kicks

 

[Chatty]

lol, mechanically minded but eletrically challenged.

It is easier for me to go and pick up a shift as a chef and pay for it to be done than spend twice as many hours trying to do it my self, and probsably set the camper on fire and electrocute the kids gineau pigs!

Didn't realise you were into catering too - if you lived in Adelaide we could send some shifts your way (www.ahcatering.com.au)
Guinea Pigs taste better slow roasted over an open fire than electrocuted

 

[Chatty]

Great idea- my mate is a designer at BOEING and design the wing edges for the 787 dreamliner. He has just done his swan outback.
Actually a roast pork on the webber would just about seal the deal

Isn't that the plane that kept having electrical fires with the battery setup? Just saying...

 

[ToyPrado]

Didn't realise you were into catering too - if you lived in Adelaide we could send some shifts your way (www.ahcatering.com.au)
Guinea Pigs taste better slow roasted over an open fire than electrocuted

working as catering manager currently, also run a catering business on the side, plus contact work

 

[Batts88]

The information I have always relied on with AGM includes:
As with all gelled and sealed units, AGM batteries are sensitive to overcharging. These batteries can be charged to 2.40V/cell (and higher) without problem; however, the float charge should be reduced to between 2.25 and 2.30V/cell - 13.5 - 13.8V per battery - (summer temperatures may require lower voltages). Automotive charging systems for flooded lead acid often have a fixed float voltage setting of 14.40V (2.40V/cell), and a direct replacement with a sealed unit could spell trouble by exposing the battery to undue overcharge on a long drive.

And from another site:
Myth: You can use your regular battery charger on AGM or gel cell batteries.
False. These batteries like to be charged slow and low. Many AGM/gel cell battery chargers have microprocessors that collect information from the battery and adjust the current and voltage accordingly. Some have different settings for charging flooded, gel and AGM batteries. Overcharging can kill these batteries. Also, alternators are not chargers. Don’t rely on an alternator to do the work of a charger. If a battery is discharged to the point that it cannot start the vehicle, use a charger as soon as possible to make sure the battery gets fully charged.

My battery bloke has always told me that if I wanted to use an AGM as a second battery I would have to:
a) move it out of the engine compartment because heat kills AGM real fast, and
b) only ever connect it to a suitable DC-DC charger with an AGM (or gel cell) setting, because the standard alternator would over charge it and could possibly lead to explosion
Which is why I've always stuck with the flooded deep-cycle in the engine compartment, and the AGM unit as a portable outside of the vehicle option.

a) If you do some research you will find there are AGM batteries that will work fine under your bonnet.

d) I think you'll find that only ever connect to a DC-DC charger and not your alternator is wrong as well mine hasn't blown up yet and there are plenty of others out there not having any trouble plus if it was that crucial you should be warned about it before purchasing one has anyone else on here ever been warned about not using an alternator. Got my AGM from Auto Barn they said no problem also asked Batterypro in Mackay when originally pricing AGM's late last yr they also said no problem charging of an alternator and they should know batteries are their business. I've had a starter battery blow in a car as soon as I tried to start it just a faulty battery that happens sometimes I didn't point a finger at the alternator because it was there. I found this if you just read the paragraph below the pic of the CTEC charger it will explain why people recommend chargers these days http://caravanandmotorhomebooks.com/dc-dc-charging/

 

[Chatty]

I've read lots of forums, I've talked to lots of people and for every "AGM will be fine under the bonnet" comment I have another "Never put an AGM under the bonnet" story.
Trying to make some sense of it, AGMs are sensitive to heat, but if charge rate is reduced as temperature rises you may well get away without damage. It may be that the people who have not experienced problems either have systems with inherently low charge rates or that do reduce charge as heat risers.
My battery bloke totally recommended against putting an AGM in the engine bay - and I reckon he has most probably seen a lot more battery problems then I ever will. Plus, why would he recommend a low margin battery to me when he could have sold me a high margin AGM unless there was a good reason?

The question on this forum was about batteries in a camper, so the heat thing is largely irrelevant. However, if you have a battery mounted remotely from the charge source like it will be in a camper, then you really need a charge controller of some sort to avoid problems.
Could you get away with a direct connection from the starter battery to the camper battery? Maybe, maybe not - but I have learned over the years that you can avoid a lot of issues by doing the job properly to start with.

 

[chris_stoffa]

Could you get away with a direct connection from the starter battery to the camper battery? Maybe, maybe not - but I have learned over the years that you can avoid a lot of issues by doing the job properly to start with.

When I did my system I rang Piranha and spoke to the Grey Haired Guy ( dont know his name , know he runs the company ) and asked if i could link my 2 x 75 A/hr camper batteries with my 110 a/hr deep cycle Lead Acid Auxillary battery of the dual battery system via the 8mm cable.

The reply was "absolutely, it will do that perfectly"

So a direct connection from the Aux battery would probably be no different to from the Starter battery .

 

[Chatty]

Ok, whatever. It goes against everything I have ever been told by the battery experts I know, but whatever.
I guess I should disconnect the battery charger in the caravan and just direct wire to the vehicle, because that charger is obviously doing nothing.

 

[chris_stoffa]

Its worked perfectly well now for about two years and a heap of trips. I often wonder what the actual / real facts are with batteries although I get lost in A/hrs, charging rates annd all that other stuff........ my brain just glazes over.

The only time the camper batteries see a 240volt -12volt charger is if I am in a caravan park .......... any other time its either the little solar panel at home or the alternator doing the charging on the move.

 

[Chatty]

I guess one of the things that cracks me up is some people will spend $50 on a charger to look after their AA batteries worth $1.50 each, but will then spend $100, $200 or more on batteries for their camper (or as an aux battery) and say "Nah, don't need a charger to look after that battery, just wire it straight up".
The other thing I always have in the back of my mind is that a simple setup might work in my vehicle today, but if a mate borrows my van or my camping battery it may well not be suitable for his vehicle. Or for my next vehicle if I ever get rid of the Paj. For a fairly minimal investment (especially compared to the coast of the batteries) I have a bulletproof setup.

 

[Albynsw]

Not all AGM batteries are rated for under bonnet use
I was told by a supplier it has to do with the type of plastic the casings are made from as well as some casings do not handle the heat

 

[Batts88]

Quite often batteries are positioned next to the exhaust manifold so they cop extra heat from that which is the main problem and it can affect any type of battery. Creating a barrier between the 2 will often fix the problem and adding some heat reflective material I done that on a previous a petrol GQ.

 

[Batts88]

Ok, whatever. It goes against everything I have ever been told by the battery experts I know, but whatever.
I guess I should disconnect the battery charger in the caravan and just direct wire to the vehicle, because that charger is obviously doing nothing.

You know there's usually more than one way to achieve the same result your battery expert may only like to recommend using a charger because he believes it's the most efficient way to set things up on a "modern vehicle". For decades before chargers became popular people successfully charged their aux batt or batteries in their camper or caravan by just running wires off the starter battery and now after all these years you believe that this is suddenly not possible or can't be done safely or efficiently just because 1 person told you that. Did you happen to read the link I posted as to why chargers are recommended these days one of the reasons is that some modern vehicles alternators are not as efficiently at charging batteries these days they don't supply enough volts that's why people are recommending chargers not because all of the reasons your coming up with. I ran 2 batteries in a caravan set up the same as Chris mentioned above without any trouble and so do lots of other people for some reason you have been convinced there is only one way to charge aux batteries time to look outside the square.

 

[JonKabir]

I've read lots of forums, I've talked to lots of people and for every "AGM will be fine under the bonnet" comment I have another "Never put an AGM under the bonnet" story.
Trying to make some sense of it, AGMs are sensitive to heat, but if charge rate is reduced as temperature rises you may well get away without damage. It may be that the people who have not experienced problems either have systems with inherently low charge rates or that do reduce charge as heat risers.
My automotive battery chargers bloke totally recommended against putting an AGM in the engine bay - and I reckon he has most probably seen a lot more battery problems then I ever will. Plus, why would he recommend a low margin battery to me when he could have sold me a high margin AGM unless there was a good reason?

The question on this forum was about batteries in a camper, so the heat thing is largely irrelevant. However, if you have a battery mounted remotely from the charge source like it will be in a camper, then you really need a charge controller of some sort to avoid problems.
Could you get away with a direct connection from the starter battery to the camper battery? Maybe, maybe not - but I have learned over the years that you can avoid a lot of issues by doing the job properly to start with.

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