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Need house battery for generator, which one?

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serrano4657

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Need house battery for generator, which one?
« on: April 17, 2023, 06:41:58 pm »
I have a 2006 Phoenix Cruiser 2551 26 footer.
My house battery finally died. The old one was a group 31 dual battery agm. These batteries are expensive. Can I use a group 27 dual battery instead to save some money?
Can use you a deep cycle battery instead of dual battery to start generator?  Any help would be great. Thanks.

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Rick John

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Re: Need house battery for generator, which one?
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2023, 08:06:00 pm »
I put a pair of deep cycle batteries in my 2010 2551 about 4 years ago, they seem to be fine.  I think they were the Group 27 size, from Costco.
Rick John (and Erika)
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RV based in Tualatin, OR.

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donc13

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Re: Need house battery for generator, which one?
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2023, 07:41:24 am »
I have a 2006 Phoenix Cruiser 2551 26 footer.
My house battery finally died. The old one was a group 31 dual battery agm. These batteries are expensive. Can I use a group 27 dual battery instead to save some money?
Can use you a deep cycle battery instead of dual battery to start generator?  Any help would be great. Thanks.

Yes, you should use deep cycle batteries.  The smaller Group 27 batteries should be fine, they don't have as much total capacity as the Group 31 batteries so when running off them, they will need to be recharged more often.
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CalCruiser

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Re: Need house battery for generator, which one?
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2023, 09:59:14 am »
Pre-2005 PC’s have a single group 31. Starting the generator is not a  problem.

Deep cycle means the battery can handle being used up and recharged over and over without degrading the usable capacity. When comparing different brands online look for the highest  CCA and reserve minutes,  then buy the heaviest battery, not the most expensive one with the longest warranty. More weight = more lead = more capacity. Check NAPA auto parts and Walmart first.
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donc13

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Re: Need house battery for generator, which one?
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2023, 02:51:28 pm »
Pre-2005 PC’s have a single group 31. Starting the generator is not a  problem.

Deep cycle means the battery can handle being used up and recharged over and over without degrading the usable capacity. When comparing different brands online look for the highest  CCA and reserve minutes,  then buy the heaviest battery, not the most expensive one with the longest warranty. More weight = more lead = more capacity. Check NAPA auto parts and Walmart first.

For the house battery(ies) CCA and reserve amps have little meaning.  They deal with vehicle starting capability.  Also, vehicle engine starting batteries are designed to almost always fully charged.  Using them as deep cycle batteries will quickly ruin them.

Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged down to about 11 volts and then recharged many, many times.  That is why they are used in electric carts, like golf carts and RVs.

Deep cycle batteries are rated in amp hours.  AGM batteries are far better than wet cell batteries where you need to keep checking water level in the cells.

If you use 6v deep cycle batteries, you need 2, they must be put in series to get 12v the amp hours will not change.  If you use 2 12v deep cycle batteries, they must be wired in parallel and the amp hours will double.

Yes I use expensive 6v AGM deep cycle batteries from Lifeline batteries, they are expensive ($600+ for both) but are 5 years old and still hold a full charge.  NO corrosion in those 5 years.

« Last Edit: April 18, 2023, 03:03:06 pm by donc13 »
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serrano4657

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Re: Need house battery for generator, which one?
« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2023, 11:22:29 am »
So you don't need a dual battery to start generator? You can use a deep cycle battery over and over to start generator and run lights at night when generator is off. My battery works off of solar.

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CalCruiser

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Re: Need house battery for generator, which one?
« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2023, 08:57:51 pm »
So you don't need a dual battery to start generator? You can use a deep cycle battery over and over to start generator and run lights at night when generator is off. My battery works off of solar.

Yes, but either remove the unused battery cables, or wrap the clamps well with electrical tape or sleeving and zip tie them so they can’t short out by contacting  each other, the battery posts, or anything metal .

Using the inverter will  drain the battery faster. You can conserve battery power by starting the truck engine and using the alternator output to  start the generator or actuate the slideout.

Obviously a single 12v group 31 deep cycle lead acid battery is less than ideal, but if your solar panels don’t fully recharge it during the day you can run the generator to charge it while also running the air conditioner and microwave when you get back to camp in the evening.
« Last Edit: April 23, 2023, 02:34:54 pm by CalCruiser »
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