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Old 02-19-2021, 10:44 AM   #21
travelin texans
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I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around spending thousands of dollars on a couple batteries then possibly a few hundred more on a compatible converter & still need some way to charge them occasionally, so possibly thousand more on a solar system. Apparently boondocking in the middle of nowhere to need that much battery power so no else is around.
Why not just use lead acid, AGMs or golf cart batteries, buy a Predator 3500 generator & run it all day long if necessary, apparently won't be near anyone for the noise to bother & save thousands of dollars.
As I said I don't get it, the only boondocking we ever did was back in the early 80's & much younger or more recently while in a FHU park & the power goes out for a couple hours. Never "camped" overnight in any parking lot or rest area, didn't have/need a generator. We lived in our rv for 10+ years so it was "home" with all the conveniences of a home & enjoyed the social interaction with others like us, so I guess that's the difference from "camping" in some remote area with no one else around & fulltiming.
I'm glad there are those that enjoy that remote lifestyle & have the kind of $$ it takes to be able to do so, but wasn't for us. So go enjoy!
That's my story & sticking to it!
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Old 02-19-2021, 12:58 PM   #22
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I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around spending thousands of dollars on a couple batteries then possibly a few hundred more on a compatible converter & still need some way to charge them occasionally, so possibly thousand more on a solar system. Apparently boondocking in the middle of nowhere to need that much battery power so no else is around.
Why not just use lead acid, AGMs or golf cart batteries, buy a Predator 3500 generator & run it all day long if necessary, apparently won't be near anyone for the noise to bother & save thousands of dollars.
As I said I don't get it, the only boondocking we ever did was back in the early 80's & much younger or more recently while in a FHU park & the power goes out for a couple hours. Never "camped" overnight in any parking lot or rest area, didn't have/need a generator. We lived in our rv for 10+ years so it was "home" with all the conveniences of a home & enjoyed the social interaction with others like us, so I guess that's the difference from "camping" in some remote area with no one else around & fulltiming.
I'm glad there are those that enjoy that remote lifestyle & have the kind of $$ it takes to be able to do so, but wasn't for us. So go enjoy!
That's my story & sticking to it!
I get it. It's all about how you camp. Prior to last year when all our music festivals got cancelled we mostly dry camped and some of those locations didn't allow generators. When we ordered our current camper in late 2019 we opted for the factory solar package. I went cheap with 2 group 27 lead acid batteries because that is what we had on our previous camper. We have more 12v loads with the new one plus an inverter which is good for the coffee maker but not the microwave. Those are offset by solar when its not raining.
Now that I'm a bit smarter I think I can make a case for the Battleborn in my situation. They come with a 10 year warranty. In that time I will likely go through at least 4 group 27 batteries. I can replace what I have now with one 100Ah LiFePO4 and get more output with less than 30% of the weight. That allows me to carry more water or toys.
But that isn't going to happen until my current batteries die and I convince my DW.
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Old 02-19-2021, 01:46 PM   #23
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Replacing 4 group 27 batteries in 10 years is about $600 worth, found at Sam's club for $150 each, or about 1/2 the price of 1 lithium battery.
Still sounds like an expensive solution for a weekend music festival?
My DW would never go for it, she hates to buy tires when needed.
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Old 02-19-2021, 01:55 PM   #24
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Replacing 4 group 27 batteries in 10 years is about $600 worth, found at Sam's club for $150 each, or about 1/2 the price of 1 lithium battery.
Still sounds like an expensive solution for a weekend music festival?
My DW would never go for it, she hates to buy tires when needed.
Lol my grandfather never had four tires that matched on his old ambassador ? Or rambler.. the tires that he felt were too far gone to put on the car ,he relegated to his home made utility trailer hooked to the back full of stuff for his little place on the eastern shore
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Old 02-19-2021, 02:08 PM   #25
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Replacing 4 group 27 batteries in 10 years is about $600 worth, found at Sam's club for $150 each, or about 1/2 the price of 1 lithium battery.
Still sounds like an expensive solution for a weekend music festival?
My DW would never go for it, she hates to buy tires when needed.
Battleborn is currently $900 so the delta is $300 or only about $37.50 per festival the 1st year Remember, still a dream at this point.

I'm going to need to have the tire discussion in the near future. Not looking to that. Plus I need to find a flat place to change them since my driveway is too steep.
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Old 02-20-2021, 10:25 AM   #26
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I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around spending thousands of dollars on a couple batteries then possibly a few hundred more on a compatible converter & still need some way to charge them occasionally, so possibly thousand more on a solar system. Apparently boondocking in the middle of nowhere to need that much battery power so no else is around.
Why not just use lead acid, AGMs or golf cart batteries, buy a Predator 3500 generator & run it all day long if necessary, apparently won't be near anyone for the noise to bother & save thousands of dollars.
Size, weight, and conveniance. for usable ah a single battle born is about 30 to 40lbs , so that is compared to two GC that are about 70lbs each and takes up the space of one, also they can be mounted anywhere and handle large discharge currents which a 6V GC can't so if your using a microwave or such you wont get the low current alarm going off on your inverter.

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Old 02-20-2021, 01:29 PM   #27
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I would just repair the old ones.. doesn’t seem so hard lol
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Old 02-20-2021, 03:58 PM   #28
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I would just repair the old ones.. doesn’t seem so hard lol
Scary on so many levels.

Give them credit for ingenuity...
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Old 02-20-2021, 05:37 PM   #29
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That's the "real world reality" in most parts of our planet. Notice he's melting lead with no respirator, no gloves, no protective clothing and no steel toe shoes that are leather (burnproof)??? Note the tools he uses aren't properly marked or stored when not in use??? Note that there is no "controlled entry" into the work area, no warning signs notifying visitors of the dangers, no ventilation system and no safety restraints on the compressor hose ???

OSHA, EPA and every other "alphabet soup agency" would roll over and go into "cardiac arrest".....

Between people working in "sweat shops" at "slave labor rates" and living in what we consider "abstract poverty" but to them it's considered "well paid mid-level wages and many of them are thankful to have "their little battery rebuilding business" on a busy street in the "industrial complex" (our name for "where people work")....

When we lived in Turkey, we had a 1962 Rambler Classic station wagon. I can't begin to name the various parts that were "manufactured" in shops just like this one that kept that Rambler on the road.... I remember watching two kids about 14 or 15 build a radiator for it. They worked on the side of a tin shack, on two saw horses with a sheet of plywood as a workbench. No goggles, no eye protection, gas welding/burnishing "hand formed metal sheeting" to make a radiator... That was my first experience with "Turkish automotive parts" and that radiator was still working perfectly 4 years later when we sold the Rambler. It was the same with everythng from water pumps with leather seals to seat covers "custom made with fabric DW picked out"....

It was the same in Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany (to a certain degree), Thailand, Viet Nam, Korea, Japan, and even in Mexico, when it was safe to travel there.....

It's sort of sad that we toss so much in the trash that we could easily be reusing if it weren't for all the "restrictions that make manufacturing so successful".....
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Old 02-20-2021, 05:47 PM   #30
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That's the "real world reality" in most parts of our planet. Notice he's melting lead with no respirator, no gloves, no protective clothing and no steel toe shoes that are leather (burnproof)??? Note the tools he uses aren't properly marked or stored when not in use??? Note that there is no "controlled entry" into the work area, no warning signs notifying visitors of the dangers, no ventilation system and no safety restraints on the compressor hose ???

OSHA, EPA and every other "alphabet soup agency" would roll over and go into "cardiac arrest".....

Between people working in "sweat shops" at "slave labor rates" and living in what we consider "abstract poverty" but to them it's considered "well paid mid-level wages and many of them are thankful to have "their little battery rebuilding business" on a busy street in the "industrial complex" (our name for "where people work")....

When we lived in Turkey, we had a 1962 Rambler Classic station wagon. I can't begin to name the various parts that were "manufactured" in shops just like this one that kept that Rambler on the road.... I remember watching two kids about 14 or 15 build a radiator for it. They worked on the side of a tin shack, on two saw horses with a sheet of plywood as a workbench. No goggles, no eye protection, gas welding/burnishing "hand formed metal sheeting" to make a radiator... That was my first experience with "Turkish automotive parts" and that radiator was still working perfectly 4 years later when we sold the Rambler. It was the same with everythng from water pumps with leather seals to seat covers "custom made with fabric DW picked out"....

It was the same in Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany (to a certain degree), Thailand, Viet Nam, Korea, Japan, and even in Mexico, when it was safe to travel there.....

It's sort of sad that we toss so much in the trash that we could easily be reusing if it weren't for all the "restrictions that make manufacturing so successful".....
My old buddy that owned the marina..he was 87 back in the late 90’s ..told me once how they repaired battery’s back in I guess it must have been 1940’s. He said they would cut off a bad cell from the battery and solder a new one back on and seal it with lead or something.. I can’t remember exactly ..I drank a lot of beer with him in those days . But he was an interesting guy to talk to..he said they wouldn’t throw a battery away at the marina
Not to different then the video I guess.. I don’t know what the battery cases were made of in the 1940’s ,originally I envisioned something different then the video
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Old 02-20-2021, 06:10 PM   #31
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You can bet the guy in that video handed all the old lead plates that he took out of that battery to his 10 year old son, who took them out back and "cooked the contamination and sulfur" off the lead. I'd bet they (the family) has a brother or a cousin who makes "lead plates for batteries" in a shop just around the corner.....

If I recall, before we started using plastic battery cases, they were made from hard rubber and tar. That was back when sitting a battery on a concrete floor would discharge it. Now days, that's no longer true.
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Old 02-20-2021, 06:20 PM   #32
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You can bet the guy in that video handed all the old lead plates that he took out of that battery to his 10 year old son, who took them out back and "cooked the contamination and sulfur" off the lead. I'd bet they (the family) has a brother or a cousin who makes "lead plates for batteries" in a shop just around the corner.....

If I recall, before we started using plastic battery cases, they were made from hard rubber and tar. That was back when sitting a battery on a concrete floor would discharge it. Now days, that's no longer true.
I guess if he drops dead from electrocution or some other tragedy .. someone replaces him as they are dragging him away.. never miss a beat
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