New Td Battery On Its Way

My new Victron 100Ah battery is installed and tested, and I am super happy. The installation is not for the faint of heart, this battery is slightly bigger than the Camp-Inn original AGM and is best used with the Victron charger. I ordered the battery from Colorado Standby, Victron 12V/100Ah AGM Super Cycle Battery (M6) BAT412110081, $328 with free shipping. I also purchased a Victron IP65 10Amp Blue Smart charger with a 12V cigarette plug adapter, and a Victron Orion 10A DC-DC converter Blue Smart charger. I got 10Amp chargers as the battery will last longer charged at a lower rate, it is easier on the car alternator, and generally the time to charge is not a problem for us. 10 Amps allows wiring with #12 wire, though I used #10 for safety.

The installation took a good amount of time. After removing the old tired original battery from the compartment, the first item was to remove the Camp-Inn installed battery isolator; I labeled the wires so I would remember what goes where. I also found removing the wires from the battery switch was helpful so I could get the battery compartment cover panel out of the way.

Next I removed the wood bar that holds the battery vertically. This is required because the Victron is just slightly taller than the original. The bar is held in place with some staples and grabbing it with pliers and wiggling a bit pulled it out.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-34-38.jpeg
The battery can now be put into place. The top of the battery has a notch that just fit under the plywood piece that mounted the battery isolator; I was afraid I was going to have to trim it, but it fit fine. I put the wood bar back above the battery with some screws.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-36-38.jpeg
Next I mounted the DC to DC charger above the battery; the battery needs to come out again for this step. The mounting required removing the screws holding the wiring harness so it can be pushed up out of the way. I drilled four additional mounting holes in the charger to hit the two wood bars above the battery then fixed it in place with four screws. The wiring harness is well supported by the charger so I didn't try to put the fixing screws back.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-39-13.jpeg
The next task is the wiring. I removed the ground wire that was originally going to the isolator, it was too small. I made two new ground wires with #10 stranded wire, with a ring lug on one end. These were installed on one of the ground studs and routed to the input and output "-" terminals on the charger. The wire from the hitch was almost long enough; I removed the ring lug from the wire carefully so I didn't have to shorten it any, and managed to snake a little length of the hitch cable through the tube that runs from the front to back of the trailer. It was then long enough to attach to the charger input "+". I removed the original wire from the circuit breaker and made a new one from #10 stranded wire, with a ring terminal at the breaker and routed to the charger output "+" terminal. The charger has a jumper that should be left in place.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_13-48-8.jpeg
The battery can now be put into place. The original wires and terminals work fine with the new bolts and washers that come with the battery. Mine has a shunt for my battery monitor on the negative terminal.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_12-54-53.jpeg
The last challenge is that the battery switch is quite deep and interferes with the new charger. I removed the battery switch from the panel, and removed the switch mounting block from the panel. I fabricated an aluminum panel to mount the switch to the panel, this moves it forward. I also cut off the overly long connecting screws. The result fits safely, though the switch handle does protrude slightly into the storage compartment. I don't think it will be any detriment to the use of the compartment, and the switch detent is strong enough that it is not likely to be switched inadvertently.
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_13-29-34.jpeg
View attachment upload_2022-4-29_13-29-53.jpeg
I did not remove the original Camp-Inn shore power charger, though I may in the future. The 110V input charger I got will only be used when the trailer is in the garage, I got a lighter power point adapter for the charger and simply plug it into the power point in the galley, not necessary to plug in the shore power cord. I may upgrade the built in charger at some point, but for now this is easy.

The Victron DC to DC charger works really well. It has a feature that it doesn't start charging the battery until the car engine is actually running. This prevents the trailer from discharging the tow vehicle battery. It also limits the current taken from the car alternator, protecting it from over-current. A Bluetooth connection allows monitoring the charger and battery, and configuration of charger parameters.

We just returned from a five day outing to the East Mojave National Preserve with our son and family. We played DVDs, used lights and water pump with no problems. At the end of the stay my battery meter was showing a charge level of 97%. The previous trip out, the old battery died on the second DVD.

 

Just wondering if you are still waiting on a replacement battery, or if the damaged one is still installed and working OK?

 

The problem has been resolved. 'Nough said.

 

...hmmmm, after sharing such a great detailed description of your new electrical system installation, it doesn't exactly sound like your giving a strong endorsement for others to consider purchasing a Victron battery. Just trying to figure out if it's the battery, the vendor, or the shipper to avoid.

 

I may have been the first to install the Victron 100ah Super Cycle as a house battery in a CI. My experiences are detailed on the first page of this thread.

In my opinion:
The Victron company has excellent design and product. They have an excellent rep in the maritime world, where electrical failures can be catastrophic. The two Victron batteries and chargers I’m running are excellent. I don’t know much about the solar power biz, but Victron (and Colorado Standby) are very active there. The Victron home solar product line seems a little different than their marine products.

I’ve gotten bits and pieces from Colorado Standby, 12volttechnology.com, and Jamestown Marine Distributors. I’ve been in contact with Peter Kennedy of pkys.com. All these dealers have been at least adequate, pkys is great.

Lead-acid batteries *must* ship by motor freight. As far as I know, no Victron dealer stocks them, all are drop-shipped from the Victron warehouse in Maine. I think this is where problems can occur. Common carrier motor freight is not UPS, Fedex, or USPS - pallets get stacked that shouldn’t be, machinery travels this way, etc.

My 100ah had concealed damage; Colorado Standby accepted that and shipped me a new one, and I took the damaged one out for recycling. Do read their shipping Terms & Conditions; Victron honors the claims but clearly nobody likes freight damage.

“Before signing the delivery receipt or bill of lading you must inspect product for damages. If item is damaged, do not accept shipment otherwise returns and exchanges may not be accepted.”

I would do it again! This battery has been great, and even better now that I’ve installed a 12v/12v smart charger.

 

The battery and chargers are great. The battery was shipped by FedEx which did not go so well. The situation is resolved satisfactorily but took a very long time.

 

Thanks to you both for further clarification.

 

I’m a little confused, or perhaps just wrong! I’d thought that Victron lead-acid batteries were motor freight only; perhaps now Fedex Ground service as well?

Glad we both were able to source these. I’m a fan. I wish I could buy one off the shelf, or at least from a local dealer where they handle the distributor relationship.

 

I ordered the same battery and charger from Colorado Standby one week ago. I was told that Victron definitely would not drop ship the stuff, that it first had to go to Colorado then be shipped to me. I should still get it within about two weeks which was ok with me.
I called to check on the status of the order today and was told that the charger was enroute to Colorado but they couldn't tell me when they'd get the battery, and apparently neither could Victron.
This is frustrating since I'm planning on heading west with the 550 later this month and my Trojan is *dead*. I guess I'll order either:
EnerSys DataSafe 12HX300-FR Battery 12v 284W
which is apparently what Camp Inn is now installing, or:
UPS12-300MR C&D Dynasty
which is what they used to install.

anyone like to offer an opinion on these batteries, or know where a Victron 100ah battery is obtainable now?

thanks,

rd

 

I recently purchased the Victron Super Cycle AGM BAT412110081 from InvertersRUs. Apparently there are new regulations around battery shipping. Victron will not ship to a residential address and many of the companies that previously sold this battery (some advertising free shipping) either stopped selling them or had crazy shipping costs (one company quoted me $250 for shipping!). Total cost from InvertersRUs was $391 including a $63 shipping charge. Took 11 days from order to shipment as nobody stocks this particular battery and they have to first get one from Victron before they can ship. All that stated, extremely happy with the battery so far and there is less concern if on occasion I drop below 12 volts. It fit into the battery compartment of my 560 # 701 without any modification.

https://invertersrus.com/product/victron-agm-batteries/?attribute_select-an-option=12V 100Ah AGM Super Cycle Battery&utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=flow&_kx=VTn6hqT7npDK_Qno_dJmHTnkgGbzMmUSuLET7sL52nE=.Y7SUVp

At the same time I also installed a new Victron Bluetooth charger under the trailer (forward of the water tanks as it was too large to fit in between).
https://a.co/d/9IUUKGj

Hope that helps!

Randy

 

....hmmmm. Just checked Colorado Standby, and they are showing the 100ah Victron for $311 with Free shipping, which is about $17 less than what I paid for it there last summer.

 

thanks, Randy. I decided, screw it, I've gotten along almost 9 years with a 75-80ah battery so I've ordered another one. With the ctek dc-dc charger and the trimetric, plus the upgrade to a 130 watt solar panel I'm expecting to get along just fine. Other than the dometic I have no other significant energy needs. And in a pinch the ctek turns the TV into a very nice generator.
I'd have like to have more battery capacity but maybe next time.

rd

 

I tried them first, they wouldn’t ship to me. Perhaps they got it worked out.

 

That looks like a really sweet setup Randy. Was there a reason you couldn’t just use the charger you already had? The Victron is still an AGM, isn’t it?

 

well, a week after I ordered from them they couldn't tell me when they'd get the battery from Victron and said that Victron couldn't tell them either.

 

I likely could have. The Victron charger is supposed to be more efficient, has a specific setting for the Victron Super Cycle AGM battery as well as future lithium and great Bluetooth monitoring system. Also has a desulfating battery refresh cycle. The last thing I want to do is to install a Victron DC to DC charger in place of the OEM isolator to increase tow vehicle charging efficiency.

 

I think the issue is that Victron will not ship to a residential address and the sellers can’t afford to absorb the shipping costs as they order the batteries from Victron as they are sold. Then again I'm in California so there could be a whole load of regulations unique to CA.