Which battery for a bus?

[chabanais]

Shame on me for not checking sooner... my battery was 9 (12/07) years old (Sears Die Hard Group 35) and it worked perfectly until the other night whereupon it died.

I bought this battery:

http://www.sears.com/diehard-advanced-gold-agm-battery-group-size-65/p-02850765000P

Group EP-65 which was only a tiny bit larger than my last one. 775 CCA and almost $200 including tax.

Thank goodness it failed at a gas station.

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"I spud therefore I yam."

[jtauxe]

[airschooled]

That looks correct for an early bay. The chassis ground lug changed some time around 72 or 73; early bays ground to the rear.

Robbie
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Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
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[chabanais]

[SGKent]

[cnp]

For the '68 t2, I've been using the equivalent of a group 48. The exact item is a Deka 640 RMF, which gives me 4 to 6 years of service. I understand that the Group 42 is the original, but I found that the 640 RMF works quite well and outlasts others.

[Hikelite]

Wow that's a weird coincidence that you revived this thread.

I just bought a new battery for my 68 today. It is a group 41 though.
I bought what my mechanic said to get.
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~Kevin

My 1968 Campmobile

[markd89]

I had poor results with the Bosch sold by Pep Boys so would recommend anything but that.

I replaced it with the largest battery that would fit from Walmart H - 8 and have been very happy. It barely fit and may not fit in a stock bus. I removed the carbon cannister when I switched to diesel. Walmart told me when I bought it that if it didn't fit, I could bring it back.

Pep Boys tested the returned battery at 770 CA and said it was fine. Their tester uses thin wires (maybe 8 GA) and I'm not sure how that could really pass 770 amps like the Pep Boys guy claimed.

I was politely insistent on returning it -- after all, it tests poorly in my test machine: the bus and so now have a credit at Pep Boys for $130ish.

YMMV

Mark
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78 TDI Sunroof Bus
Los Angeles

[WhirledTraveller]

[rjsummer]

The original battery from VW for the 1978 bus had the terminals recessed so the the top of the battery terminals were just below flush with the top of the battery. There was also a cover over the top of the battery, part number 281915411G. The specs of the battery were...

-54 Ampere-hours for the USA market, 63 for the Canadian market.
-reserve capacity 115
-CCA 650
-positive terminal at the rear of the vehicle, ground at the front.

[bigbore]

[jack-o-van]

This thread is old but still seems like the most recent r.e. bus batteries. Thanks for all the discussion.

Likely I'll get a group 24 from Costco for my '71 Bay Window Westy.

Couple of questions for you all:

1. I've got a corner of my old battery showing through a rust-hole underneath. The welded-down nut for the bolt-down seems intact but I don't have the holder. So I'm planning to buttress the battery compartment floor there with a steel sheet larger than the defect and probably add a plastic battery holder as well. I used a marine box when I added a house battery on the left and it worked well to hold down but the cover wouldn't fit with the overhead clearance. Not sure how I'll secure it down to the rusty metal on the right. I'm planning a fuller restoration soon so will do a "quick and dirty" now. The battery acid mat also seems like a good idea. Any other suggestions on this?

2. r.e. Optima or AGM batteries: since I've got a sealed lead-acid house battery also, I'm thinking I should match that tech as I want the charging characteristics to match the starting battery. Maybe this doesn't matter much with charging from the stock VR, but if you use a trickle/float charger the float voltage is dependent on the battery tech. I'm also toying with the idea of adding a solar panel up top of my Westy pop-top fiberglass, and all the solar charge controllers I've seen have optimizing settings for the battery type. Nobody has discussed matching tech for two batteries here that I have seen - any thoughts about that?

As for aeromech, he's always spot-on! But to further go where bigbore threatened (and how appropriate is THAT name for a discussion like this?!), the only variable for me - at least until I was married - was the size of the hole I was getting into, not the bore (or stroke) of what I pounded into it, as I'm pretty much stuck with what I've got!

- Jack
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[jack-o-van]

FYI:

here's some battery size charts I gleaned for you all, in case you know how big the hole is that you want to get it in to:

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[airschooled]

No idea about your rust issues… I do know that some new battery trays have battery hold down supports/threads on the left side tray as well. The only way to go, in my opinion.

Mixing tech isn't the worst thing you can do with a dual battery system, especially if they're decoupled during stationary use. Alternators are dumb devices that will put out current when asked for. Once you're stopped, solar or shore power take over charging the house battery only, because it should be decoupled from the (full) starter battery now.

My suggestion would be to set your programmable devices to match your more expensive house battery, since the starter battery won't really have much to do. Those running a single battery need to be conscious of extracting every electron efficiently. If you have extra to spare, you can get away with less efficiency.

Robbie
_________________
Learn how your vintage VW works. And why it doesn't!
One-on-one tech help for your Volkswagen:
www.airschooled.com

[bigbore]

ya I am still here listening
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where its cold and snowy

[rsbadura]

Hello Jack,

[Bnanwel]

Get a marine battery box. Add to stainless steel footman straps for the nylon hold down strap and a marine dual purpose battery (27 series-ish). You will have no problem with further: “spilled acid”, worries of inadvertently shorting the terminals, and no problem checking the water in the decidedly non-maintenance free lead acid battery(maintenance free battery being the dumbest misnomer of all time)! FWIW, I have seen boat upside down with the batteries still in the box hanging from the once deck now ceiling.
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‘72 Karmann Ghia Conv.
‘73 Karmann Ghia Coupe
‘74 Karmann Ghia Coupe
‘70 Deluxe
‘72 Deluxe

[pittwagen]

The correct battery for your bus is a Group 41. My current 79 has that battery as did my former 77 and 76 vans and I believe the 74 I had from new also had a Group 41 battery but that was a very long time ago. Other batterys may fit but will the stock hold down clamp work?

I run a Group 31 AGM battery for my BN4, Nova Kool electric fridge and a few 12V outlets and lights all via a 6 fuse panel. It is mounted under the back seat in a marine battery box with custom mounts. It is charged by the 70 amp alternator and a 110V power converter when plugged in. Power is switched by an 80 amp relay. I have had no issues with the electrical system.

I recently replaced the battery tray with an Autocraft unit. It is very well made and the battery fit properly with the stock clamp and bolt. I also replaced the right rear lower corner with an Klokkerholm piece. The two did not fit together particularly well. Unfortunately that was all I could get so I made it work.

My experience with Klokkerholm panels is that they are poorly made and very frustrating to install. I do not know if Autocraft makes the corner panel. I could not find one when I did the repair a few months ago. FYI.