Batteries bad again

Razor · 03-05-2006, 10:24 AM

I have a 2003 33V Suncrusier and am on my second set of coach batteries. This second set is now bad. I want to replace the 12v batteries with 6v but before I do I am going to repalce the MagnaTek 7400 series converter/charger with an Inteli-Power unit with a Charge Wizard. Can anyone tell me if the 9100 series will swap right in or will I need to do some mods?

Which of the 9100 series do you recommend?

Can I fit 4 Trojan T105s and the chassie battery in the same box under the step without any mods?

Thanks for the help.

Razor · 03-05-2006, 10:24 AM

I have a 2003 33V Suncrusier and am on my second set of coach batteries. This second set is now bad. I want to replace the 12v batteries with 6v but before I do I am going to repalce the MagnaTek 7400 series converter/charger with an Inteli-Power unit with a Charge Wizard. Can anyone tell me if the 9100 series will swap right in or will I need to do some mods?

Which of the 9100 series do you recommend?

Can I fit 4 Trojan T105s and the chassie battery in the same box under the step without any mods?

Thanks for the help.

TheRVGuy · 03-05-2006, 01:52 PM

Hi Razor,

You should have a pretty straight forward swap and will find a great improvement in battery performance/life. I would suggest that you go to the 9200 series as it has the charge wizard integrated into the unit, i.e. no additional harware to place.

In our coach we didn't have the space for 4, 6 volt along with the engine battery. A simple relocation of the engine battery did allow all 4, 6volt to be placed there though. It required fabricating a mounting plate/bracket that I mounted between the front chassis member and the fiberglass front cap. It all seemed to work out well after getting it all done.

FYI, you might want to look at the Interstate Workaholic batteries in that you can get 275 amp/hr ratings in the same footprint and they have held up VERY well for us.

Hope this helps ya'.

Mike & Lisa

DancinCampers · 03-05-2006, 02:01 PM

Hi Razor,

I just looked under my steps & it doesn't look like a lot of extra space to me.

FWIW, The original owner bought mine in Jan of '04 and had the dealer replace all 3 batteries with Optima's. We bought the coach in Nov 04. There is no corrision at all on either the batteries or hardware. I have only had the coach batteries go dead once (I left all the basement lights on while I had it stored by the house), & the chassis battery went low once where I had to use the boost to start the engine (we were at Quartzsite for 2 weeks & I was having problems with the slides creeping in, so I was constantly re-extending them).

I don't know if I've been lucky or what, but never any other problems.

"007" · 03-05-2006, 03:25 PM

Razor, do you have a 12v battery charger and have you put a full charge to them, maybe all you need, will save you some $$$$. Disconnect cables from batts when charging.

"007"

Lucky13 · 03-05-2006, 06:04 PM

Razor,
Yes you can fit 4 T105's plus your coach battery under the steps...at least I think you can. I did it on my 2003 Adventurer 35U and I'm assuming you have the same space and configuration as I had. It was one of the best mods I ever made on my motor home.
I had the 22.5" tires and thus three steps. One of the steps folded up kind-of into the bottom of the battery box, it had a rise in the metal floor to allow the step to completely fold into position. This may be hard to visualize and I wish I could send you a photo but I no longer have that MH.
In order for the battery next to the outside and towards the rear to fit I had to cut away a 10" piece of that metal rise using a grinder. I also had to build a wooden platform for the coach battery to sit on so it could rest at the same height as the rise, (i.e. one end of the batt. resting on the metal rise and the other end setting on the wooden platform). But they all fit very nicely with little room to spare. There was a picture of the T105 batteries on this forum where someone else did this project about 20 months ago. Once I saw that I knew I could do it and started making the change.
I had to go to a welding shop and have a few cables made but that was no big deal and little expense.
I'm now trying to decide if I can do the same modification to my current coach, the T105's are great. I'm pretty sure you can do it and I know you won't be sorry.
Jim

Razor · 03-05-2006, 07:08 PM

Thanks for the great replies.

Mike, do you know if the Inteli-Power 9200 will fit in the same spot as the MagneTek 7400? The easier the swap the better for me. Also, do you know the model number, or BCI Group Size of the Interstate batteries that you used? Their website shows several different 6v Workaholics. Do you know the cost difference between the Trojans and the Interstates?

Dan, good job with your batteries. I hope my next set lasts. Maybe it's me...

007, I haven't tried charging the house batteries on a charger. I've taken a couple of trips where I've driven for several hours and then had electircal hookups so the batteries have been given a full charge I think. I think the problem is the MagneTek. I checked the water and the cells were good but they were boiling.

Lucky13, thanks for the info. I saw an old post and picture from '03 where Fred B. had put 4 T105s in his 35U. He left the chassis battery up front and changed his cables. I think I saw that you can leave the cables where they are if you move the chassis battery in between the 4 105s. I look for more pictures and posts.

Thanks,
Razor

TheRVGuy · 03-05-2006, 07:19 PM

Razor,

My Magnetek was located under the cabinets, below the stove, on the floor. The PDI unit was an easy swap with plenty of space for ventilation etc. I upgraded to an 80 amp unit because I wanted to be able to really load the bulk charge rate on short order if necessary when using the genset. The only real disadvantage to using that high of a converter/charger was that it did raise the max amps that the charger would need from about 3-4 with the Magnetek to about 5-9 with the PDI. If you have a 50 amp service it will not affect anything. The only time you would notice it would be on a 30A service.

In hind sight (always soooo good ya know) I would have gone no bigger than 60A.

While I don't have the specific part number from Interstate, I would be glad to go back in my records and post it for you tomorrow.

As to the costs, we operate a Mobile RV Service and as such we typically purchase at cost and Trojan is not a very friendly company to get commerical accounts with so I really can't speak to the cost deltas.

I'll post tomorrow for you OK?

Best regards,
Mike & Lisa

TheRVGuy · 03-05-2006, 07:24 PM

Razor,

Forgot one thought for you. By your choice of replacement equipment, the PDI unit, I would guess that you have already found the key difference of most converters and their charging capacity. If not, a simple recap for you is that most converters do NOT produce adequate charge voltage to properly gas a flooded cell battery (14.1-14.4VDC). The 13.6-13.8 that Magnetek and others (including PDI without the Charge Wizard) use is only adequate to maintain batteries and in fact immediately starts the sulfation process that is so hard on the battery.

Sorry for the long winded comment, just wanted to pass along if you hadn't already found this information.

Mike & Lisa

TheRVGuy · 03-05-2006, 07:29 PM

Razor,

Found it faster than I thought I might. The Interstate part is U2500HC @275 amp/hr.

This link should get you there
http://www.ibsa.com/www_2001/content..._deepcycle.asp

Let me know if I can be of any further assistance.

Mike & Lisa

Razor · 03-05-2006, 08:07 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TheRVGuy:

By your choice of replacement equipment, the PDI unit, I would guess that you have already found the key difference of most converters and their charging capacity. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mike--Thanks a lot for the info. I don't know much at all about electrical systems and am going with the PDI because of what I've read on this forum. Seems to be the unit that lots of folks recommend. I only have 30 amp service so would you recommend that I go no higher than 60A in the PDI or should it be smaller? Is there a way that I could estimate how long I'd have to run the gen set to recharge the batteries versus starting the engine?

We like to camp in the state parks but they don't have hookups. Momma and our two little boys need the furnace to last all night long.