It was touch and go for the acquisition of new house batteries because I didn’t want to get them until I got a battery watering system. The Pro-Fill RV edition dual 6V battery watering system from Camping World came quickly, but the Pro-Fill handy pump, which makes the system work, was back ordered. It finally arrived yesterday. With today being the last moderately nice day for the next little bit, I decided to try to get my new batteries in.
I had already done my market research and decided on two Trojan-145s, with 260 amp hours (about 156 usable amp hours), a significant increase from my old pair at 150 amp hours (about 90 usable amp hours). The week before Christmas, I called all the local dealers and was quoted over $200 per battery, plus a hefty disposal fee for my old batteries from all but one company, Battery Outlet, who told me $199.99 with no disposal fee.
So I called Battery Outlet this morning to confirm that they still had T-145s in stock. Yes, two. I had them set aside and then went outside to remove my old pair. With the way Miranda is parked, the closest I can get my truck to the rig is about 35 feet. Don’t ask me how I did it, but I picked up those heavy suckers and marched them to the truck!
I took off just after lunch to the bowels of Chesapeake, finding Battery Outlet without any trouble at all. There, I asked if they had any equivalent batteries for less money and their inventory said they did, but it was mistaken. They decided to price match the other set and I got my batteries for $169.99 each! I just did a Google check for “trojan 145 price” and it looks like I got a good deal not just for Hampton Roads, but in general. Woohoo!
The new batteries are bigger but didn’t feel any heavier than the old ones. I got one to the rig with minimal grunting, but the second one felt about twice as heavy. I am going to be sore tomorrow! But I wasn’t done lifting yet since I wanted to install the Pro-Fill system with the batteries outside of the compartment. So dropped the batteries on the ground (gently!), then lifted them into the compartment in two steps, using my E-Z Foldz stool as a resting point (as a side note, if you don’t have an E-Z Foldz stool, you’re missing out.).
Here are the batteries with their caps removed and the Pro-Fill caps installed:
I ran out of day, so I didn’t finish the installation. The rest just involves attaching tubing to the barbs and connecting the pump, so it can be done with the batteries in situ.
And here are the batteries in the compartment:
They are a couple of inches taller than my old pair (and, yes, I measured before buying!). Filling these manually would be almost impossible, so the Pro-Fill system is a must.
Getting everything hooked up was easy and then I tested the voltage before turning 12V power back on. Uh… why were my 6V batteries registering 12V each and 25V together?! Oh, geeze, the multimetre was on the AC, not DC, setting! I got it on the correct setting and got a combined reading of 12.1V, so I set them on the charger.
Inside, I turned the solar controller back on and it was muuuuuuch happier than it has been in a while. I ended up turning it off because it used to display readings that fluctuated violently. Now, it’s registering a steady voltage.
But all is not well as my batter monitor is not working. I had disconnected at the same time I turned off the solar monitor and it’s not coming back on. Connections look good, so I’m thinking (hoping) I have a blown fuse.
Once I get a good charge on the batteries, I am going to unplug from shore power for at least a day with my inverter running to make sure everything is good. It looks like sun for Sunday and Monday, so that will be a good time to test to make sure the batteries are charging well with solar and holding the charge.
Getting out of this spot will be very tricky as I am on a very, very, very, very busy thoroughfare. The best time to get out of here will be late in the day on a weekend, so I am going to tentatively schedule departure for next Saturday. That should give me time to troubleshoot my battery monitor some more.
Battery monitor notwithstanding, my day made me feel very accomplished!