Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:37:45 -0600
Reply-To: Martin Jagersand <jag@CS.UALBERTA.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Martin Jagersand <jag@CS.UALBERTA.CA>
Subject: 2x 150Ah battery install in T4 Westy, Was Deep cycle on sale
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Hi again,
After some phone calls and measuring of batteries and battery compartments
I bought and spent the morning installing two Exide 6V, 150Ah (6h rate)
"renewable energy grade" (whatever that means...) into my '94 T4 Westy.
At a more normal 20h rate these should have about 190Ah.
(Capacity goes up with a longer discharge period)
Notes: These are golf cart size GC2. About 10" wide and 7" deep. Heights
vary a bit
with type of vent caps, terminals etc but height is in the range of 11"
In my T4 Westy the camping circuit batteries are in the back, under the
clothes
closet. There is space for two, but most Westys came with only one
installed.
I had 13x7x10.5" (LWH) of space. Had to saw off the additional screw
terminals on top of the
posts + grind off 2mm off the posts. Also had to modify the fancy twist off
vent cap
mechanism to not make it stick up so much. (see pic on:
http://www.exide.com/products/golf_car/exide_golf_car.html
I sawed off 3mm off the parallelogram bars on top and lowered the studs that
held
them correspondingly. Finally had to make sure screws on terminals were as
compact as
possible to not stick up.
After these modifications the batteries could be squeezed in with 0
clearance to top.
The first battery could be secured with OE holding bar turned backwards. In
the second
compartment there was no retaining mechanism, but since the battery filled
the box nearly
completely I could secure it carpenter style with a couple of wood shims to
squeeze
it firmly in place.
There appears to be two vent lines in the battery box. One on top and one on
bottom.
The panel to the camping compartment is sealed with weather stripping.
I also checked the charging current of the built Westy in charger. At
13.5Vit charged
with 8A. The charger seems to be a simple voltage regulated type that brings
the battery to
14V (just like most alternators). I suspect this is a tad high for a float,
so it may not
be a good idea to leave the Westy continuously plugged when e.g. in winter
storage.
Martin
On 7/25/07, Martin Jagersand <jag@cs.ualberta.ca> wrote:
>
>
>
> On 7/25/07, Martin Jagersand <jag@cs.ualberta.ca> wrote:
> >
> > There is a 15% off sale on some deep cycle batteries at Canadian tire.
> >
> > The camping battery in my '94 westy has been weak this season, and
> > a couple of weeks ago I suspect one of the cells gave up/shorted
> > (voltage
> > dropped from 12.6 charged to 10.5) Right now I have a standard lead acid
> > (in fact the old starting battery from my '82 Diesel)
> >
> > I was thinking to get a real deep cycle this time. The '94 westy takes
> > up to two batteries so I can get 1x12V or 2x6V.
> >
> > Canadian tire has the following offerings:
> >
> > A regular (consumer grade for your boat, rv etc) battery
> > 205 min reserve capacity => 205/60*25 = 85 Ah for $119 hence cost
> > $0.71/Ah
> >
> > Or an "Renewable energy grade" Excide 6V battery (Should presumably be
> > more
> > tolerant of cycling for instance for people who solar power their
> > cottage and cycle
> > the battery every night. But who knows, maybe it's just a relabeled golf
> > cart battery...)
> > 150Ah at 6h rate, $85, Hence cost for 2 batts $170 gives $0.88/Ah
>
>
> Compared the pictures on Canadian Tire and Exide web sites. The Canadian
> tire
> battery has the same shape and looks (except label) as this golf cart
> battery:
> http://www.exide.com/products/golf_car/exide_golf_car.html
>
> Third option is an AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat -- one of those supposedly new
> > better technologies)
> > 100Ah at a fishily long 100h discharge rate. $212, gives $0.47/Ah
> >
> > Which one would you buy?
> > Any other place I should look?
> > (particularly a place that might have a retail outlet in Edmonton?)
> >
> > The smaller 85Ah one is probably enough to run the fridge (compressor
> > type), lights etc for a nights
> > camping, but the shallower cycling of the 150Ah alternative might give
> > much better longevity?
> > Is the premium price of the AGM worth it?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Martin
> >
> > PS: If you want to see the choices go to http://www.canadiantire.ca/type "deep cycle" in the search field
> > --
> > Martin Jagersand
> > University of Alberta
> > http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~jag/ <http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/%7Ejag/>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Martin Jagersand
> University of Alberta
> http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~jag/ <http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/%7Ejag/>
>
--
Martin Jagersand
University of Alberta
http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~jag/
