So, after a little bit of research on Batteries I know what I want, but I dont know if I really need it.
Deep cycle batteries come in numerous shapes, sizes, and types. Marine, Golf Cart, Sealed, Lead Acid. Marine batteries are a hybrid of a starting battery and a deep cycle, so they do not have the lifespan or the capacity of an actual deep cycle “house” battery like used in an RV or Golfcart.
Golf Cart batteries are similar to “House” RV batteries in that they are meant to give a slow release over a long time and are not rated for the current draw of repeatedly starting. But they will run a fan for instance for a longer period of time.
The reason I am digging into this, is on top of the option to have lights at anytime in our Teardrop, I would also like the option to run the fan all night for numerous nights in a row and for Andrea to run her hairdryer without needing to charge the batteries.
The most common being the Lead Acid variety which is also the cheapest, but requires some regular maintance and cleaning of the terminals. They also have the possibly of leaks and they need to be vented. This pretty much eliminates them from the list of ones I would mount inside our Teardrop. My proposed battery location is in the back of the teardrop inside the storage area to lower the possibility of theft, clean up the wiring, and also not add to more tongue weight than I already have. If I go this route a vented battery is not an option.
Another option are Sealed batteries, both Marine and GolfCart/House batteries can be purchased as a sealed battery. Golf Cart batteries are available in 6V or 12V. With the 6 Volt batteries I have the option to run them in series to get the normal 12 Volts. This option takes up a little more space, but the capacity available can be much larger than one 12V battery.
So I need some ideas/opinions on what to do. I’m not an electrical engineer for sure. I have read a few ways to calculate the power usage of the fan over an hourly period and haven’t dug deep enough into it yet to figure it out.
Also, the Life Span of the Deep Cycle Batteries and Golf Cart Batteries can be up to 8-10 years, where as you are lucky to get 2-3 years out of most marine deep cycle batteries.
So, what do you think? And do you have any suggestions?
Deep cycle batteries come in numerous shapes, sizes, and types. Marine, Golf Cart, Sealed, Lead Acid. Marine batteries are a hybrid of a starting battery and a deep cycle, so they do not have the lifespan or the capacity of an actual deep cycle “house” battery like used in an RV or Golfcart.
Golf Cart batteries are similar to “House” RV batteries in that they are meant to give a slow release over a long time and are not rated for the current draw of repeatedly starting. But they will run a fan for instance for a longer period of time.
The reason I am digging into this, is on top of the option to have lights at anytime in our Teardrop, I would also like the option to run the fan all night for numerous nights in a row and for Andrea to run her hairdryer without needing to charge the batteries.
The most common being the Lead Acid variety which is also the cheapest, but requires some regular maintance and cleaning of the terminals. They also have the possibly of leaks and they need to be vented. This pretty much eliminates them from the list of ones I would mount inside our Teardrop. My proposed battery location is in the back of the teardrop inside the storage area to lower the possibility of theft, clean up the wiring, and also not add to more tongue weight than I already have. If I go this route a vented battery is not an option.
Another option are Sealed batteries, both Marine and GolfCart/House batteries can be purchased as a sealed battery. Golf Cart batteries are available in 6V or 12V. With the 6 Volt batteries I have the option to run them in series to get the normal 12 Volts. This option takes up a little more space, but the capacity available can be much larger than one 12V battery.
So I need some ideas/opinions on what to do. I’m not an electrical engineer for sure. I have read a few ways to calculate the power usage of the fan over an hourly period and haven’t dug deep enough into it yet to figure it out.
Also, the Life Span of the Deep Cycle Batteries and Golf Cart Batteries can be up to 8-10 years, where as you are lucky to get 2-3 years out of most marine deep cycle batteries.
So, what do you think? And do you have any suggestions?