House Battery Dead, Need Advise.

[shadow]

I've had good luck with batteries from Costco. They sell their own brand but they also sell Interstate batteries. It's hard to beat Costco warranty too.
Another thing to consider is buying two 6 volt gold cart batteries and connecting them in series. If done right, it's perfectly safe.
A regular, lead acid battery can't be placed indoors and must have proper ventilation. You can purchase a sealed lead acid battery (SLA) or a AGM battery (also sealed) that will not require ventilation. 
There are also lithium batteries available but they cost a LOT more. 

Also, keep in mind that most RVs have a Propane Leak detector that always stays energized when the battery is connected. Those leak detectors are power hungry and can drain a fully charged battery in several days or less, depending on battery condition.

The house battery is under the hood, so I don`t have room for two six volt battery`s, and I don`t have a propene leak detector,
though I was thinking of installing one at some point.

I thought about getting a battery at Costco, but I`m not a member.
I have a Napa parts store here in town, are any of there battery`s any good ?.

I live in a small farm town, so me selection is very limited unless a travel about an hour and a half
to get to other stores.

 

[John61CT]

2-3 hours is not far to drive for a good batt, paying shipping would double the cost.

I personally would not buy any batt for deep cycling use from an auto store, nor Wally's.

Cosco's brand is made by JCI, not so great, same with most of Interstate, but better than the above.

Buy a Costco 'gift card' you should be able to redeem it without joining.

Did you try calling Trojan for your nearest dealer? Or Crown, US Battery, Superior, all very good for FLA.

 

[John61CT]

Also, consider making room for the batt(s) you want, not limiting yourself to one that fits a particular spot.

Town like that a little fab work shouldn't cost much.

 

[shadow]

Ok, if I go to Costco, what exactly am I looking for ?.
I`m not trying to sound stupid, I just want to get it right.

Nothing bigger than a group 24 will fit under the hood.

 

[John61CT]

A flooded group 24 (falsely) labelled deep cycle then. Bring a scale, heavier is better.

Sometimes good enough's gotta be enough.

 

[Weight]

Yes. having a battery you need now, can reduce choices. I don't know about Costco. I have never been there. Napa has many different suppliers for their relabeled batteries. Last I checked they used East Penn with doubled the price. If you can find a Duracell label, they are the best at their price point. Sear's Diehard are made by East Penn, again priced double, but found on sale sometimes. Sam's Club or Batteries Plus Bulbs are worth driving an hour. If I had a choice between Napa and Costco, I would pick the lowest price for equivalent battery. Find a friend with a card for Costco. All size numbers are the same shape, get the heaviest. No Walmart in your town? The exchange / return policy is the deciding factor with marine batteries.

 

[highdesertranger]

Shadow with all the work you are doing on your RV couldn't you do a battery relocation? then you could use two 6v. highdesertranger

 

[rm.w/aview]

I agree, and also agree with John... a two hour drive is nothing for good batteries, (unless you can't move without the battery). I received a reply from Crown Batteries within MINUTES of my request and suggest their website to find a distributor close enough. Take measurements, group 24 is 1 3/4 " shorter than group 27 & 31, other dimensions are within hundreds of an inch the same. Once again, give thought to battery relocation.

 

[John61CT]

Sear's Diehard are made by East Penn

Have you seen evidence of that?
The old Platinum was made by Odyssey (Enersys), most excellent maker, but I think since that was discontinued all lines are Johnson Control, nothing special.

I agree I would make room for GC2s.

Even GC12, anything for golf cart or industrial deep cyycling would be better, rated 800-1000 cycles.

But for an auto starter form factor Crown, Trojan or US Battery are the only ones that come close to actually performing to their rating, I think 350 cycles is best case.

 

[Weight]

I have a list someplace lost in the internet. But, Sears on the west coast could be different batteries as shipping from factories become factor. The east side Sears also have all the side items for battery care that are supplied by East Penn. East Penn is not shy about telling you the side labels they supply.
But any store label can change without any notice. That is why I only recommend Duracell. East Penn has licensed the label and has their name and address on each battery. A bit less money than Deka.

 

[John61CT]

I've heard that east/west thing about Sam's and Cosco, but not for years, and never wrt DieHard.

Pretty sure they're all JCI and may be fine for starting but IMO irrelevant for deep cycle usage.

Other than any of the discontinued Platinums still out there. . .

And yes those flooded Duracell GCs are by far best value for money out there, worth chopping metal to get them to fit somewhere.

 

[deadwood]

I would agree with Bob that getting the best "cheapest" battery is a good way to go. It will do what you need for now but also give you a chance to learn how to really maintain it to get the best performance and longevity out of it. I think this is a topic topic that many new people to RV's have to learn. I would also be looking at a battery monitor similar to the Trimetric or something like it that can give you good information on that state of charge of your battery. Knowing how many amps are coming in and out is valuable info.

If you go with an AGM then you won't be able to check battery chemistry so using a battery meter becomes even more valuable. The other thing you get to learn on a "cheap but ok" battery is the best way to charge it so that you know for certain it is getting fully charged and that you learn how to make sure that you do not use up more then 50% of available Ah's.

 

[John61CT]

I 100% agree but most people, even with much bigger more expensive banks, would consider the $200 overkill.

People buying starter batts, going to last only a few years at best used for deep cycling, even more so.

If investing in a BM, then getting a decent bank designed for deep cycling is even more worth it, at least you have a chance of getting 7+ years out of it.

And it really doesn't have to cost much more.

 

[Weight]

Everyone using battery for any thing other than a starter battery, should have a multi-meter to at least check voltage. Then learn a bit about how to interpret the readings. Some-of-us do not have that much money to spend on fancy bells and whistles.

 

[John61CT]

And realize the voltage-SoC chart is different for every batt type, even specific models, and assumes measuring after at least one day of rest no load no charge. Same with SG via hydrometer.

Recent heavy discharge will bring V way lower than light ones, reverse goes for charging.

So OK for guesstimating, good enough for most, but not high accuracy.

For me, worth reducing my prepared-elsewhere meals budget for a while.

But yes as I mentioned likely way overkill for this OP context.

 

[Katherine]

How many budget of changing the RV batteries? Because there are several types of batteries in the market, and we have just changed into the LiFePO4 batteries right now.