Inverters, 120V Fridges, House battery and Inverter Battery

[Javi]

I've owned this 313 RS Avalanche since July 22, 2020 and I've never been satisfied with the battery system.

There is Group 24 starting battery in the side compartment with the hydraulic system and pump which seems to be pretty much separate from the Inverter battery which is also a Group 24 starting battery with its own cable connections and disconnect.

The only connection between them other than a frame ground is an 8-gage wire from one of the auto-reset breakers on the house battery and the positive terminal of the inverter battery. I guess this is to charge the inverter battery from the converter.

Seems to be less than sufficient for the purpose.

I don't boondock nor do I ever plan on doing so, but I would like to be able to level the trailer without having to plug into shore power if I need to... Right now it's sketchy at best.

My quandary is do I tie the two batteries together with proper gaged cable and run with it.

Or do I run it as two entirely different systems with either a battery isolator or a second charger dedicated to the inverter battery.

Both battery boxes will accept either Group 27 or even Group 31 batteries. I plan on going with AGM just because I'm lazy and don't want to fool with checking the water levels especially because the inverter battery is a total PIA it get to...

What y'all think

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by Javi

I've owned this 313 RS Avalanche since July 22, 2020 and I've never been satisfied with the battery system.

There is Group 24 starting battery in the side compartment with the hydraulic system and pump which seems to be pretty much separate from the Inverter battery which is also a Group 24 starting battery with its own cable connections and disconnect.

The only connection between them other than a frame ground is an 8-gage wire from one of the auto-reset breakers on the house battery and the positive terminal of the inverter battery. I guess this is to charge the inverter battery from the converter.

Seems to be less than sufficient for the purpose.

I don't boondock nor do I ever plan on doing so, but I would like to be able to level the trailer without having to plug into shore power if I need to... Right now it's sketchy at best.

My quandary is do I tie the two batteries together with proper gaged cable and run with it.

Or do I run it as two entirely different systems with either a battery isolator or a second charger dedicated to the inverter battery.

Both battery boxes will accept either Group 27 or even Group 31 batteries. I plan on going with AGM just because I'm lazy and don't want to fool with checking the water levels especially because the inverter battery is a total PIA it get to...

What y'all think

If you go with a second charger maybe you could replace the inverter as well…go with a smaller 1000 watt freedom XC charger inverter. Or even the 2000

either one has a provision for a gfci receptacle that mounts right on the inverter. (If you didn’t want to run a circuit in the rv itself) the 1000xc is about $675… that’s if you keep them separate…the outlet would let you run electric tools or whatever for short amounts of time

I’d get heavier duty battery’s also ….although it would be nice to be able to combine them when operating leveling if your not on shore power.

[Javi]

Originally Posted by jasin1

If you go with a second charger maybe you could replace the inverter as well…go with a smaller 1000 watt freedom XC charger inverter. Or even the 2000

either one has a provision for a gfci receptacle that mounts right on the inverter. (If you didn’t want to run a circuit in the rv itself) the 1000xc is about $675… that’s if you keep them separate…the outlet would let you run electric tools or whatever for short amounts of time

I’d get heavier duty battery’s also ….although it would be nice to be able to combine them when operating leveling if your not on shore power.

The WFCO inverter that is there now is a 1000 watt 2k surge it is actually not a bad inverter for what we run with it.
The only time we're not on shore power is when traveling or a power outage and a 105ah should give us several hours on the fridge.

The heater would be on the house battery.

[jasin1]

I’m sure someone will have a better idea ..sounds like the only thing your lacking then is some decent batteries ( deep cycle instead of starting)

[Javi]

Originally Posted by jasin1

I’m sure someone will have a better idea ..sounds like the only thing your lacking then is some decent batteries ( deep cycle instead of starting)

Either way I have a good bit of rewiring and adding at least one shunt and better suited cables.

I just don't know which way to wire it, separately or as a pair of 105ah in parallel

[ChuckS]

without a battery isolator in the circuit it would seem to me that since both are connected to the same DC BUS then the inverter battery can also draw down the main coach battery - thus killing both batteries if boondocking

I would have an isolator in the circuit if one is not already in between the two batteries

If I had the inverter and front compartment battery it would have to be a Grp 31 AGM and the main batteries would be two GC2 flooded cell batteries...

footprint of the GC2 is the same as a Grp 27 and two Costco GC2s are about $98 each... Mine are currently Seven years old and as good now as day one..

The hyd system runs very niicely on the GC2 batteries and it doesnt take long to fully charge them after running the Hyd system for my hyd slides and six point hyd level up.. about 15 to 25 minutes max time for batteries to be fully charged

[Javi]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

without a battery isolator in the circuit it would seem to me that since both are connected to the same DC BUS then the inverter battery can also draw down the main coach battery - thus killing both batteries if boondocking

I would have an isolator in the circuit if one is not already in between the two batteries

If I had the inverter and front compartment battery it would have to be a Grp 31 AGM and the main batteries would be two GC2 flooded cell batteries...

footprint of the GC2 is the same as a Grp 27 and two Costco GC2s are about $98 each... Mine are currently Seven years old and as good now as day one..

The hyd system runs very niicely on the GC2 batteries and it doesnt take long to fully charge them after running the Hyd system for my hyd slides and six point hyd level up.. about 15 to 25 minutes max time for batteries to be fully charged

I am defiantly leaning toward making it two separate systems versus wiring the batteries in parallel and draining them as a unit.

I don't know that I really need two GC2"s as opposed to one Group 31 for the house. In the past I've always used a single group 27 and never had a problem with it as a whole house battery.

I guess my next decision will be whether to use an isolator and let the WFCO 8955 charge both batteries or put another independent charger beside the inverter and wired into the A/C side of the trailer..

The Isolator would certainly be less expensive.

Since I already have one of the 80 amp Bussmann Circuit Breakers in the side compartment for the hydraulic system;

I'm going to replace the other two 50amp auto-reset with matching https://www.waytekwire.com/item/4668...SABEgJnQPD_BwE to clean it up a little.