New Aux Battery for 1995 EVC recomendations

[ADKJAH]

Looking for a replacement for my current AUX battery For a 1995 Eurovan Camper. It currently has this... http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-Maxx-Group-Size-29-Marine-Battery/20531539 from 6/2009

[thatvwbusguy]

Since you got almost six years out of the original battery for $99.00. I would put the exact same thing back in and not think about it again until 2020 (well maybe take a look at it once in a while and do basic maintenance stuff, but you get the idea...)
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Jay Brown
'85 Zetec Westfalia
Newmarket, NH


If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

[ADKJAH]

Thanks! Is there anything I should consider I would like to have a battery that holds a charge for as long as possible when camping. I will have. 100w solar to help keep it topped off.

[dobryan]

It is a marine battery so it should be fine for holding a charge. The deep cycle marine batteries are designed to do just what you are looking for.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[thatvwbusguy]

The last time I checked, the batteries sold at Walmart were made by Johnson Controls, which is one of the largest manufacturers of automotive batteries in the US.

Your van was set up to use a standard deep cycle battery, which is exactly what you have, so you can replace it like for like. Installing a more expensive battery type (AGM / SLA) is unnecessary and will only serve to make your wallet lighter in the long run.

Be sure the connections at the battery are clean and tight. If anything looks like it should be cleaned up, take the time to do maintenance before the new battery goes in.

If you want your battery to last as long as possible while you are camping, be sure to change all of your interior lights over to LED's and don't ever use an inverter to power anything unless absolutely necessary. Most inverters waste about 10-12% of the stored energy in the battery during the conversion process. Efficiency is the name of the game when you are camping with a small battery bank.
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Jay Brown
'85 Zetec Westfalia
Newmarket, NH


If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

[GypsyDriver]

I don't know how big the aux battery box is on the Eurovan, but I think I'm going with the UB12220 wheelchair battery for my Vanagon. It's 22AH and small enough that you can run 3 in parallel in the stock battery location for 66AH.

[thatvwbusguy]

The multiple UB12220's in parallel setup has presented a problem for a lot of people over the past few years. The issues usually arise when one battery in the bank develops a bad cell that impacts the performance of the other batteries as well.

I have helped about 10-15 people swap out from the 4 x UB12220 under the driver's seat to different systems in the past two years. Most of those battery banks died completely in the 2-2.5 year range after installation.

That is not to say that some people haven't had good luck with the group of UB12220's. Having a smart charger or solar panel to keep the batteries topped up and never storing them deeply discharged is a great way to extend the lifespan of any battery.

I would recommend going for a single 55Ah battery that will fit instead of a multi-pack of the 22Ah They usually go for about $125.00. You won't get quite as many amp hours, but recent experience indicates that they are probably less likely to have an early failure than a group of smaller batteries linked together in parallel.
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Jay Brown
'85 Zetec Westfalia
Newmarket, NH


If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

[MarkWard]

I had bad luck with the UB's as well. They looked cool though and did fit under the driver's seat. Without a way to easily isolate them for testing eventually what happened as described happened to me. One battery took out two others. Leaving me with only one useable battery. I replaced with one large battery and relocated it to a new location. I gave my custom buss bars to another member.
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[nocreditnodebt]

UB batteries are Asian made AGM. They do not have the low self discharge, nor high amp acceptance nor ability to hold higher voltages under loads as other higher quality AGM's.

They are likely capacity compromised by the time somebody on this side of the pacific purchases them and starts cycling them. They did have to come over on a slow boat, and they likely sat on the shelf for a number of months waiting to be purchased. Does anybody really believe that these sellers of these Asian AGM's is going to expend the effort and money to keep these batteries fully charged?

Multiple UB batteries in parallel can be problematic for many reasons due to the battery interconnects or just imbalanced wiring which makes some batteries work harder than others. not to mention the likely possibility of different age batteries at different states of charge being paralleled and hooked together.

Beware of battery labelling, and rebranding, and marketing. Dual purpose batteries have nowhere near the cycle life of a 'deep cycle' 12v battery, and these 12v deep cycle batteries have nowhere near the cycle life of batteries designed around cycling in the first place, like 6v Golfcart batteries.

That is not to say that a marine dual purpose battery cannot work, obviously they do, but a real deep cycle battery is constructed so completely differently as to make the marine/ dual purpose battery a complete joke upon the purchaser who sees the words 'deep cycle' and believes them.

All 12v batteries in the group 24/27/29/31 size, even if made by reputable companies like Trojan, USbattery, Crown, EastPenn Deka, have now where near the cycle life of a real deep cycle battery initially designed around cycling.

But even the best constructed battery treated badly is not going to last as well as the poorest battery treated well.

The expense and size limitations severely limit the actual implementation of true Deep cycle batteries, but if it is a 12v battery, it is a compromise in 99.9% of flooded batteries.

Keep that group 29 fully charged as much as possible and you will get an adequate lifespan and good enough bang for the buck, just do not believe it is a real deep cycle battery despite it saying so clearly on the sticker.

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/deep_cycle_battery

[ADKJAH]

Nocreditnodebt
What true deep battery would you suggest to replace my current battery? Thanks

[nocreditnodebt]

If you were interested in maximum cycle life, and cycling the battery heavily, and could recharge it fully after discharge, I would recommend a quality deep cycle or a pair of 6v GC batteries in series.

But since the Wallyworld group29 lasted you 6 years, and its capacity seemed to have met your needs, just get another one and call it a day.

The group29 of 6 years ago might have been made by USbattery though, not Johnson Controls.

It is actually a group 31. Wally world has made up a new group size and called it a 29.

I've got ~460 deep cycles /19 months, on a USbattery group 31, but it does not have much more life left in it.

Among the best 12v 'deep cycles' is the trojan scs 225, and it is about 165$ minimum.

If you can fit it, The trojan T-1275 is heavier duty.

These batteries want 14.8v absorption voltage to be held for an appropriate amount of time, about 2 hours to reach full charge.

[ADKJAH]

Thanks
I bought the camper in sept 2014 so I haven't been the only one that has taxed the existing battery

[GypsyDriver]

Hmmmm....these are good inputs on the UBs. I just about pulled the trigger on three of them this week (my isolator, relay, and fuse panel are mounted in the spot where the 4th battery would go).

I'm replacing a 35AH battery procured locally at Battery Source. I presume they were made in china. I went through 2 of those in 4 years and decided to look for another solution that fit in the stock location.

I monitor battery health pretty closely while in storage and in use. To maintain battery health, I keep my van plugged in all the time in the garage. I have a 12amp dual-battery smart charger permanently mounted in the van that keeps both batteries topped up.

I'll keep looking for a solution.

[lucksp]

Here's a solid looking deal for anyone needing a new Aux deep cycle:

https://slickdeals.net/f/14205197-save-22-50-on-in...ed%3Afalse