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batteries in lmtv?

coachgeo

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Adding a AC unit really will not effect Reserve Capacity or Cranking Amps. It's more for if you want to run things when you are not running the engine. If you have a camper on the back you can run on battery longer and still get your truck running. It's like a fuel tank... the more capacity you have give you longer run times... Also with cranking amps you will start the truck easier in cold weather. More will make the truck turn over eiser on a very cold day...
Think it would help 24v (all electric) AC cause it would be wise to turn it on before starting a trip in hot weather since they cool massively slower than an engine driven compressor AC (they have 1/4 to 1/2 the btu's) .

For a camper I would hope someone has a seperate battery bank and an isolation charging solenoid between them and truck batteries. Probably would be best to do that for an all electric cab AC too now that think about it.

better cold weather starting improvement sounds good though

side note: appears it is becoming more and more popular for those who add solar on camper/house batteries, to have a smart battery charger (dc to dc) that will one direction charge from solar house batt's to truck batt's in combination with typical isolation switch between camper and truck alternator charging.... or even completely in lue connecting truck to house batt's for alternator charging.
 
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Awesomeness

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the advantage is to for a general reason of adding more capacity to the system that's the short answer.
the long answer is Reserve Capacity and Cranking Amps, when you run batteries in series the voltage adds but the amps stay the same, when you add batteries is parallel the voltage stays the same but the amps add, so in this case for every two you add to pack you get more amps while maintain the same voltage.

the math for simplicity lets say 12v battery with 1000 Cranking Amps
so two batteries in series 12+12=24volts 1000amps total,
two batteries in parallel 12 volts 1000amps+1000amps= 2000 amps (this is how you would jump a dead battery adding the needed amps but not change the volts.)

so two in series 24v 1000 amps . two of these sets in parallel is 24v 2000amps (this is your 4 battery setup in a 24v truck)
add two to this set up and you get 24v 3000amps( this is your 6 battery setup in a 24v truck)

this also works for Reserve capacity theoretically you can run engine off loads longer with more batteries in the system as you have more amps to play with.
This is theoretically true, but I question how much practical truth it holds. The battery box is still the same size, so changing the configuration of the same volume of batteries inside shouldn't really create a meaningful change. It's like replacing 2 D flashlight batteries with 8 AAA's. There are nuances to this, such as the rate that battery can chemically convert the stored energy back into power on the cables, the rate at which more batteries will discharge themselves faster when sitting due to the internal resistances, the maximum current the cables/hardware can safely handle, etc., however, I don't think there is a lot to gain (if anything).

Even though batteries are rated in Ah (Amps * Hours) of reserve capacity, it's not strictly true. The faster the battery is discharged, the less Ah capacity it will actually produce. In other words, more smaller batteries will actually get stressed harder and produce less duration of output. If you have a 100 Ah battery, and discharge it at 0.1A, you'll get way more than 1000 hours of output. But if you discharge that battery at 200A, you will not get a full 30 minutes.

Almost any combination of batteries you stick in there will work, in a basic sense. But somebody that engineered these trucks sat around for a long time calculating needs and choosing batteries. So aside from wanting batteries that are easier to buy locally, I'm skeptical of claims that these smaller batteries are "better" functionally (even with more), until I see some hard data.
 

deshet

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Will the group 24s or group 31 be more straight forward install.
If I go will group 24s is it 4 of them also?
I am tempted to go with group 24s from Walmart because I can return the cores to any location. (and the Walmart warranty)
The interstate batteries locations all seem to be independently owned and will not except cores from others stores. They also want a $60 core fee for each used battery (not blem)...a waste of $240 in cores since I will be 1000 miles from home.

Thanks for the help
I can confirm that the group 24 batteries worked. I installed 4 in a walmart parking with a crap walmart tool set. They don't sit perfect and the cover will need to be strapped down but they work. I went with 24F.

Thanks
 

Pointman0853

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I'm almost embarrassed to say I am running 4 group 24's in my rig. Two years of no issues and they are relatively inexpensive. I will add Deep Cycle units to the Hab when built.

Pointman
 

coachgeo

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I'm almost embarrassed to say I am running 4 group 24's in my rig. Two years of no issues and they are relatively inexpensive. I will add Deep Cycle units to the Hab when built....Pointman
Besides the few die hard.... "gotta be exactly what military uses" type folk.... my bet is most everyone uses 24's or near equivalents.
 

Awesomeness

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Besides the few die hard.... "gotta be exactly what military uses" type folk.... my bet is most everyone uses 24's or near equivalents.
To be clear about my comments before, I'm not at all saying it has to be military. I actually said practically anything will work, and start the truck. You could use 4 motorcycle batteries... 12V is 12V, and nearly any combination of decent batteries will give you enough current to start the truck. The size, group, type, and material of the batteries are mostly irrelevant as far as "getting the truck started on a nice day".

However, few of these combinations will actually be "better" than original batteries, assuming they still fit inside the same box. The specifications required for the military batteries to meet are probably stupidly challenging, so the truck will still work in austere and poorly maintained locations.
 

coachgeo

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To be clear about my comments before,....
Sorry if you miss took that... have no clue what your comments were before... can't remember from five minutes ago much less a day ago lol. My response is only to Pointman's "embarrassed to say" statement wich is a nothing to be embarrassed about even at an "almost" level. Tis why I quoted him.

Some people just love to be exact military.... do the military parades and military get togethers wearing military uniforms..... and that is all fine and dandy. The rest of everyone else like Pointmant use group 24's or equivalent.... and that is fine and dandy too. Nothing to be embarrassed about.
 
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Pointman0853

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Remember, I said 'almost'...

Fact is, that It came with two 12 v 'starter' batteries rigged in the box. We drove it home from Pennsylvania to Nevada that way. Just added the 24's to balance things out so to speak.

Once I pretty up the wiring in there, I will post up pics.

Pointman
 
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