Ken
Batteries UGGH !!
I fought this battle long and hard on both coaches. overcharging, cooking the water out, killing them.
Finally a solution to the problem: I use 8 ea. 6V Trojan golf cart batteries ( $65.00 ea. wholesale ) connected in pairs (Series)to make 12V. tie them all together in paralell. Connect the + at one end of the group and the - at the other. Connect a 12V " Battery Tender " charger to each pair of batteries (4 chargers total). These little chargers will not over charge the batteries, they come on, charge to an upper limit, shut off, and come back on at a lower limit. I leave the main 12V coach charger shut off at the dash switch unless the little guys fall behind while parked with heavy 12V use ie; two ceiling fans running all day. Boost the batteries up to full charge and shut it off again.
See EBAY for "Battery Tenders".
No more acid smell permeating into the coach, no more batteries destroyed by over charging. Waa Laa !!
The 24V starting batteries are another case. One battery would start to get weak causing a constant full charge to cook the others. Simple remedy: Plug the charger into a day timer (sprinkler type works) set it to go on for an hour in the middle of the night and Waa Laa !! problem solved.
" Lifetime Batteries " ? What living creatures lifetime are they reffering to?
My 6V Trojan batteries last aprox. six (6) years in the coach and in my electric Golf Cart. $ 65.00 x 8 = $ 520.00 every six years is not a bad deal.
Remember to not over fill with water, but check them periodically ( your maintenence calendar )
If one battery in a group goes bad, change them all or trouble is around the corner. Use the good ones somewhere else until they die also.
Several battery companies have had to close their doors since I solved my problem.
Good Luck
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