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A good discussion so far, but one other thing to consider is the rate of charge that a battery can take. With all the things in my ACE 30.2 which has a residential refrigerator, my constant drain on the batteries is about 3.5A. The refrigerator actually pulls about 5 when in cooling mode but averages less than that. I can easily pull 25A at times between watching TV, Lights, Heater etc.
The standard lead acid batteries will only charge at a specific rate no matter how many solar panels you have or no matter how long you run the gen. In other words it takes a lot longer to put the amps back in than it did to take them out. So much so that if you deplete them to much say over night, there will not be enough time in the day to fully recharge them no matter what you do. Because of this i switched out my batteries to Lifeline AGM 110Ah(2). AGM batteries are sealed and maintenance free and last longer than flooded cell batteries. The most important thing about them, however, is the fact that they take a charge at almost twice the rate of the flooded cell which means if you have enough charge capability, you can fully recharge them during the day. The bad news is they are not cheap. A 12v 110Ah Lifeline is 375.00 and i have two with a plan to add a third. I also had to upgrade my converter from the standard 55A one that was installed to one that has a 100A capacity. The new converter also has a fourth charging state, equalization. Most converters don't have this but it is important for making your batteries last and at 375.00ea, its important. Equalization basically overcharges the batteries occasionally and reduces sulfation. Sulfation occurs when a battery is not fully recharged after use which in the case of Motorhomes is almost a daily condition. My original two batteries which were standard flooded cell and brand new initially charged at a rate of 35A when depleted down to 50%. THe AGM's had an initial charge rate of 75A. I say initial because as the battery charges and the voltage comes up, the charge rate decreases.
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