Battery Compatible

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   No, do not use two different batteries. They will have different internal resistances and since they will be in parallel one will always charge and discharge faster than the other. For the same reason you should not add a new battery to one that is more than a few months old, even if it is the same model. Battery internal resistance increases with age. 
If you need to start over then get 2 6V golf cart batteries (case size GC2) and connect them in series. That is the largest size that will fit in the rPod battery rack. Watch your tongue weight, converting will add about 60-70 lbs.

Before adding more battery I suggest you try a short boondock trip and see how quickly you discharge the battery you already have. 

Adding solar is great but you can't count on it in most of the country. It won't do anything significant under trees or on cloudy days. You'll need a small generator for that. So, by all means get a 100 watt solar module and charge controller, but if you're camping in the East or  Upper Midwest, get a generator too. The solar will keep you from having to run the generator on sunny days. 

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offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Topic: Battery Compatible Posted: 11 Jun 2020 at 1:59pm
	No, do not use two different batteries. They will have different internal resistances and since they will be in parallel one will always charge and discharge faster than the other. For the same reason you should not add a new battery to one that is more than a few months old, even if it is the same model. Battery internal resistance increases with age. If you need to start over then get 2 6V golf cart batteries (case size GC2) and connect them in series. That is the largest size that will fit in the rPod battery rack. Watch your tongue weight, converting will add about 60-70 lbs. Before adding more battery I suggest you try a short boondock trip and see how quickly you discharge the battery you already have. Adding solar is great but you can't count on it in most of the country. It won't do anything significant under trees or on cloudy days. You'll need a small generator for that. So, by all means get a 100 watt solar module and charge controller, but if you're camping in the East or Upper Midwest, get a generator too. The solar will keep you from having to run the generator on sunny days.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

D&H Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08 Jun 2020 Location: AK Online Status: Offline Posts: 32	Posted: 11 Jun 2020 at 1:04pm

	2017 R-Pod 182G Hood River 2017 Tundra TRD Crew Max 5.7L V8

D&H Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08 Jun 2020 Location: AK Online Status: Offline Posts: 32	Posted: 11 Jun 2020 at 12:55pm
	Hi Richfsi. First off go Badgers! It looks like your question about the motorcycle battery has already been answered. But with regards to batteries, I have found a lot of discussions for both RV and marine use that discusses running batteries of different group size in parallel. What I am referring to is more geared toward a group 24 battery (like the one that came with your pod) and a slightly larger group 27. However, I cannot find any concrete info that says mixing group sizes is a good idea. The short is that if you run the batteries in series (increase volts, so 2x12V batteries would boost your system to 24V... not what you are looking for, but 2x6V would give you 12V in series) then the larger capacity battery is limited by the capacity of the smaller battery. This could lead to premature failure of the larger capacity battery. If you run the batteries in parallel you keep the voltage of the batteries, but mixed opinions come into play and I can't wade through the speculation to find anything concrete in some of the other online forums that I read through. What I did find is that if you are buying two batteries then it is recommended to get the same brand and buy them at the same time. That way you are maintaining them relatively equally and you don't have an older battery paired with a new battery in your bank. As Stephen mentioned the solar hookups are not limited to Zamp brand. Although marketed that way most any solar system rated for your usage will work. You just might need a $5 adapter to link into the connector on your pod. I have looked into 2x battery vs one and solar vs generator use quite a lot. There is some great conversations on this forum as well as others. For me, and IMHO, a generator might be the best option for longer off-grid trips. In Alaska we have no shortage of sunlight in the summer, however, we get a lot of cloudy/rainy days and most off-grid spots that we frequent are forested and in the mountains. I am someone who would much prefer to utilize renewable energy but I think at this point, generators seem to be the better bet for my use. Plus if the power goes out at our house, I can run our well pump! That said what I did find in solar setups was that I would not get a system that mounts to the R-Pod. Many reasons here including drilling into the fiberglass (potential for leaks), limiting the angle of your panels (you want to be able to adjust to get as close to a 90 degree angle, panel to sun, as you can), and general use (not mounting to your R-Pod means you can use the system to maintain other batteries when you aren't camping). Just MHO though.
	2017 R-Pod 182G Hood River 2017 Tundra TRD Crew Max 5.7L V8

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6289	Posted: 11 Jun 2020 at 9:18am
	Depends. If you add solar (not limited to Zamp), and if you have reliable sunlight, then likely you won't need a second battery. I purchased a Renogy folding solar suitcase, 100A. It cost much less than the Zamp brand and works quite well in my testing. I have not had the opportunity to test it in real life though because of the current situation. It depends also on your power needs. I wanted more available power because I use a CPAP machine and did not want to risk running short on power during the night. That is another reason I went with LiFePO4 when I needed to change batteries. If you are not trying to run a lot of power hungry devices such as an inverter running appliances, then the current battery will certainly work for lights and vent fan. Where it may run short is if you need to run the furnace in freezing or near freezing temperatures which is not a problem in the warmer months. The most power demand is the refrigerator on AC or DC power but it can be run on propane. Same with the water heater. If you don't watch television, the antenna booster can be left turned off. I'm not sure how much power the entertainment system (Jensen or Furion) uses while operating, but it would be minimal also if turned off. A lot also depends on the type of camping you do. Are you planning on doing a lot of boondocking with no shore power available or mostly campgrounds with shore power available? If it is the latter, it is a moot point. You need the battery to get to your destination and then the shore power to the converter will keep the battery charged. If mostly boondocking, then solar might be a very good investment. if you have not done much, wait until you gain some experience with the setup as is before dropping a bunch of money into equipment you may or may not need. In my case, I knew I would be doing a lot of boondocking so I started out with the dual 6V batteries. We travel a lot normally and much of that is spent along the road at Walmarts, Cracker Barrels, or other overnight stops without shore power. We have stayed in campgrounds with or without shore power available. We have also stayed in driveways at our daughters' or friends houses when we have been somewhere for more than a day or two. Now we have the LiFePO4 battery and am waiting for our first camping trip since we went to see my parents in March at the start of the lockdowns.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

richfsi Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 May 2020 Location: Madison, WI. Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Posted: 11 Jun 2020 at 8:59am
	Thanks all for the great information. Leads me to think if I even need a second battery if I add a Zamp portable solar system? Thoughts?

Olddawgsrule Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 20 Sep 2017 Location: New Hampshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 1014	Posted: 11 Jun 2020 at 6:35am
	I wouldn't combine it with what you have. I'm of the same thought, keep the batteries alike. Understand if one battery is weaker than the other, as in having an old and buying a new, they together work as the weaker of of the two. Capacity can be greatly reduced.
	Byways no Highways 2017 Tacoma Truck Camper Build 2004 F150 My Overlander

Colt Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 16 Nov 2019 Online Status: Offline Posts: 383	Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 10:05pm
	Agreed. The PC680 is a motorcycle starting battery. It is sometimes used in racing Miatas to reduce weight. You need a deep-cycle trolling motor battery, or similar. You also need to be aware of the load limit on the battery rack and that weight's effect on tongue weight. The easiest thing would be to buy an identical battery to the one you have and connect them in parallel. My 180 came with a Group 24 deep-cycle battery rated at 75 A-Hr. Another one would double the operating time of your 12V circuits for an additional 55 pounds, or so. If you cannot find an identical battery, you should buy 2 new, identical deep-cycle batteries.
	John '16 R-Pod 180

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6289	Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 8:47pm
	Hello Rich, I would not recommend it unless you replace the regular battery also. Batteries should be the same type, same age, same chemistry, and same voltage according to everything I have read. As for the Odyssey battery, look at the specs on the Odysey web site. They are not very impressive. The 20 hr rating is only 16 AH. That is not much. Running two in parallel would only give you 32 AH. You would be much better off either going with two GC2 6V batteries linked in series which would give you over 100AH or a Gel or SLA battery (more expensive but less expensive than a 100 AH LiFePO4 battery (which is what I have). I used to have the two 6V batteries, but opted for the single LiFePO4 battery for some very good reasons. First, my 6V batteries were aging and starting to swell. Second is that the two of them weighed about 120 lbs while the single LiFePO4 battery weighs about 30 lbs. Third, I could relocate the LiFePO4 battery to inside since there is no offgasing of flammable hydrogen gas, freeing up space on the tongue to make some other changes. Fourth, the cost of the LiFePO4 batteries has come down to where I felt it was justifiable to make the change. However, I did not count on some of he other changes I would need to make for proper charging. Still though, the battery cost was low enough that I am glad I made the switch. You can see my setup in my mods. LiFePO4 might not be for you, but do not assume that what initially looks like a good battery is. You want to look at the 20 Hr. Rating. Also, you don't need a starting battery. You need a deep-cycle battery. What would have come with our RP179 when we bought it was a hybrid battery (usually marked as marine/deep cycle) which is still not a real deep-cycle battery. The GC2 6V batteries are as is the LiFePO4 battery. There are 12V deep-cycle batteries, but they are not as common and are much more expensive than a cheap starter battery.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

richfsi Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 May 2020 Location: Madison, WI. Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Posted: 10 Jun 2020 at 7:04pm
	Greetings, I have a regular rv battery that came with my 190. I want to add a second battery. Can I use an Odyssey PC680 Battery.. They seem so much smaller. Are the two types compatible? This is my third post .. I can’t say enough about the great help I have received. Thanks, Rich