Time and space-sensitive Aux Battery questions......

[Orphama]

the rundown:
New Samba Member
New to electric & battery work, but learn fast
New Vanagon Owner ("Ruby" — '87 GL Westy)
Installing aux battery system for trip to Michigan UP (from PDX), and general camping for years to come/

So...

Ive been lightly scouring the various threads about this process and have decided on the BlueSeas ACR Isolator and 12-point Fuse box for various accessories now and in the future. Ive also decided on the location for the battery which will be in the common under-the-back-bench spot; passenger side.

I've decided to use two 6V batteries, wired in series to make 12V, and hopefully to boost the Amp Hours to 180-200+ (rather safe than sorry...)

My main question at the moment is WHAT BRAND & MODEL OF BATTERY IS RECOMMENDED I USE FOR THIS — #ByTheCulture. I'll ask some guy at a battery store or Napa if I have to but.......

Anyways, I did go to my local Batteries+ store to scope some options at least and they all seem rather large in respect to the space I will be putting them in..

Am I just a noob? Or are their bigger/smaller 6V batteries to use? dependent on brand? Are golf cart batteries any smaller? ...I am largely getting my inspiration from this ( http://vanvswild.com/blog/2016/2/25/getting-off-the-grid ) website and blog post. Dont know the guy (or girl) but it is really thorough and well explained—besides of course, their exact choice of battery.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I'd like to have this project done in the next few weeks.


Bless,
Orphama

————————
"a well stocked mind is safe from boredom"

[vwjetboat]

why not two 12v in parallel ? makes no sense to waste the space for two 6 volt batteries when there are plenty of high amp hr 12 volts.. i have a couple of used 12 volt scooter batteries.. they weigh 55 lbs each and so far.. i cant kill one.. altho new they were in the $250 dollar range .. each..

[Abscate]

What are your electrical needs for general camping?

That is where you start.

You wont get a safe large power installation in two weeks of learning curve, correct wiring is craftsmanship , not just duplicating you tubes.

Don Casey’s book on wiring sailboats is a good reference start

95% of the wiring shown here is bad, and half of that is manifestly unsafe.
_________________
.ssS!

[shagginwagon83]

Yeah just get one 110ah deep cycle battery for less than $100. Get another if needed. Wire them in parallel
_________________
Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[vwjetboat]

for an example.. one of these used scooter batteries.. ran a 32 inch lcd off a 750 watt harbor freight converter.. for 8 hours.. before the converter started beeping that battery was below 12volt needed... so if you really want power ..that will last.. spend big bucks on the battery..

p/s: scooter battery is same size as boat deep cycle

[davevickery]

What are you planning to run that uses that much power?

[Orphama]

[Orphama]

[LemonCove]

[vanis13]

[Vanagon Nut]

[nemobuscaptain]

[Orphama]

[Steve M.]

I've been using two of the Interstate GC2 6v golf cart batteries. I think I installed them 2 yrs. ago? Maybe 3 yrs? These have the interstate white lower and green top. 232aH.
They changed something in the design where they have a new part number and went to a green case and black top and being called "Extreme Cycle" Golf Cart Batteries. The specs have downgraded to 225ah though.

The RV forums all say good things about them.

Most of the time the vehicle has been in storage with the batteries connected to the "Battery Tender" charger.
I've started actively using them everyday since last Aug. and now this week they are draining down below 10v within a few hours on a 2.4ah load

The 100aH Renogy Folding Solar kit brings them up within a few hours to full charge, but they are not working like new.
The load on them is a Engle MT45 (2.4ah), radio when used, USB charger when used, 10" O2 Cool Fan through a 400w Invertor (all night) and the Laptop until it slid out the rear hatch...(sigh)
I measured the load a few daze ago after full charge during the day and the Engle was the only load at 2.4aH until 10v cutoff on the Blueseas ACR.
So new batteries are on the list after the next paycheck!

Would I buy them again? Yes, but local availability is going to dictate that!
I might go with a single 12v for the rest of the summer.

https://www.interstatebatteries.com/recreation-vehicles/golf-cart-batteries/extreme-cycle
_________________
This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[Vanagon Nut]

[SSWesty]

If you want high quality 6 volt batteries you could consider Trojan marine batteries. Stepping down from there you could go with Costco or Sam's club 6v golf cart batteries. Two 6 volt marine or golf cart batteries are a very good option if you are looking for a demanding power load. In general stick with marine wiring, connectors and parts if you want better quality.

If you are good with math you can calculate your amperage needs by using AMPS = Watts / Volts. Or just add up amperage draw per hour. Example I run a 1 amp light at night when camping. In the summer it's probably on for about 2 hours a night. So I know I need 2 amps of power for that a day. If it's cool I may run my propex heater which takes about 1.5 amps per hour. It can warm up the van in 20 minutes so it is only on for a short time in the evening and morning. So I budget 1 hour per day for my heater so that is 1.5 amps. So with my light and heater I am up to 3.5 amps of power per day. If I sit somewhere for 3 days I'll use 10.5 amps of power. Once I start the motor the battery will start recharging depending on how far I drive or the engine runs. The alternator is rated for 90 amps however it's old so let's be conservative and call it 60 real world amps. With simple math it would take 10 minutes of the motor running to get my 10.5 amps back. Batteries don't exactly charge with a straight 1:1 curve but in general the engine doesn't need to run long to crank out 10.5 amps. So I just have a 40 amp battery under the drivers seat. Another rule of thumb to follow is you don't want to drain a lead acid battery below a 50% charge. For me that means I have 20 workable amps from my battery. So if I double my battery usage(10.5 +10.5 = 21 amps) on a 3 day stay I am within my 20 amp workable range give or take an amp.

Forget about running the stock fridge on DC with batteries, the efficiency isn't there. You would need about 150-200 amp per day to make that happen and it would probably only work with outside temperatures below 70 degrees. You'd be looking at 4 golf cart batteries to pull that off for 1 day.

If you are going to sit for days on end solar would be a good option to explore.

The fridge will run an easy 7 days on propane with cooking 2 simple meals a day. It will go more than 2 weeks with no cooking.

Good luck on your project!

[Abscate]