Anyone using two Battle Born 270Ah GC3 batteries in their RV?

[LarryJForman]

I am serious about purchasing two of the Battle Born GC3 batteries (2 ea. 270 Ah 12 volts) for installation in our 1969 22 ft. Ultravan Class A RV. These are on sale for $2359 right now and possibly through January 2022. They are in stock with about a 2 day delivery into CA. These should just fit under the front seat pedestals and the Aims 3000 W inverter/charger/transfer switch mounts under the floor in front of the seat pedestals with room for ventilation fan and Victron 500 Amp Smart Shunt. I have 800 watts of HQST solar to install with two 40 amp MPPT solar controllers. The old propane system has been removed and all electric appliances will be powered by the 120 VAC system. That includes a rooftop A/C, a two burner induction cooktop, a 4 in 1 comvection microwave and 7 gallon hot water heater plus the usual coffee pot and flat screen TV. I realize the rooftop A/C is the power hog and that the solar will not handle all the power needs, but we should get several hours of A/C when running down the road especially with the solar to help with battery recharging plus the 80 amp engine alternator.

I am interested if anyone has experience with the Battle Born GC3 batteries. I understand they have been sold with internal heaters commercially under the Dragon Fly logo.

 

[Supervstech]

So about 7KWh of battery, with 4800Wh MAX (likely never going to see 2400Wh regularly) solar array…
The 80Amp alternator is dedicated? Or is there a dc to dc controller connected?

 

[LarryJForman]

So about 7KWh of battery, with 4800Wh MAX (likely never going to see 2400Wh regularly) solar array…
The 80Amp alternator is dedicated? Or is there a dc to dc controller connected?

The stock Corvair alternator is 37 amps, but I will replace it with around an 80 amp alternator for engine and load and Battle Born recommends a 30 amp Victron Orion dc to dc isolator. They said without the isolator I would be risking overheating and burning out the stock alternator so I should go with about 80 amps or a little more.

 

[Supervstech]

The stock Corvair alternator is 37 amps, but I will replace it with around an 80 amp alternator for engine and load and Battle Born recommends a 30 amp Victron Orion dc to dc isolator. They said without the isolator I would be risking overheating and burning out the stock alternator so I should go with about 80 amps or a little more.

Ok, at 30A, while driving you get around 400W additional charging, vs the max 800 solar.

I don’t think you will be able to recharge your bank if depleted… try hard to keep Wh use below 3000. Use the bank size as a buffer when poor weather presents.

 

[LarryJForman]

Ok, at 30A, while driving you get around 400W additional charging, vs the max 800 solar.

I don’t think you will be able to recharge your bank if depleted… try hard to keep Wh use below 3000. Use the bank size as a buffer when poor weather presents.

 

[jaytee]

I am interested if anyone has experience with the Battle Born GC3 batteries. I understand they have been sold with internal heaters commercially under the Dragon Fly logo.

They have one with internal heater?! ??‍ I bought a gc3 a few months ago and two external heater pads because I didn’t know. Dang it! I haven’t installed it yet so I don’t have any feedback for you.

 

[LarryJForman]

I looked carefully and my space will not quite fit the two of the Game Changer 3 batteries, so I decided to purchase six of the GC2s at 100 Ah each for a total of 600 Ah, or slightly more than the 540 Ah for two GC3s. The GC2s are 31 lbs each or a total of 186 lbs versus about 162 lbs. I talked with them about the lack of a heater. Their BMS stops charging whenever it gets too cold, so that prevents damage to the batteries. With the weather in Sacramento generally mild and seldomly getting less than 22F and mostly not less than around 28F, I think I am fine. They said that they could sell me heaters if I really wanted them. I'll keep an eye on the battery temps compared to cold spells and see if I really need to worry about it.

 

[jaytee]

Nice! Sounds like that configuration is better due to more bms output since each gc3 does only 200A output. I noticed the firefly heated version of the gc3 only has 5 year warranty vs the battleborn gc3 10 year warranty

 

[LarryJForman]

Oh, I missed that spec on the GC3 output. I hope to limit my max current to less than 500 Amps since I will be installing a Victron Smart Shunt rated at 500 Amps. I bought six GC2s to help reduce the max drain and extend the battery life with reduced drain cycles. My GC2s arrive tomorrow and I understand they are typically charged to 80% I want to label each battery and charge them each to 100% and then discharge to 0% at 11 volts and test each one. I hope to report how they measure versus their rating as received. And maybe test the batteries annually to see how they are holding up.

 

[jaytee]

Apologies I’m wrong on the bms output for gc3. It is 300A output at the bms.

 

[LarryJForman]

Oh, OK, that makes sense since one GC3 is close to the weight of three GC2 batteries.

 

[dorkmatt]

Oh, I missed that spec on the GC3 output. I hope to limit my max current to less than 500 Amps since I will be installing a Victron Smart Shunt rated at 500 Amps. I bought six GC2s to help reduce the max drain and extend the battery life with reduced drain cycles. My GC2s arrive tomorrow and I understand they are typically charged to 80% I want to label each battery and charge them each to 100% and then discharge to 0% at 11 volts and test each one. I hope to report how they measure versus their rating as received. And maybe test the batteries annually to see how they are holding up.

Curious how you're planning to wire these up? I'm looking at 24V / 540Ah, with two each in series and then running those parallel. It's unclear if Battleborn supports this configuration?

 

[jaytee]

Mine is 12v and my roadtrek was prewired so it's a direct drop in replacement for agm, and no wiring change.

 

[LarryJForman]

Curious how you're planning to wire these up? I'm looking at 24V / 540Ah, with two each in series and then running those parallel. It's unclear if Battleborn supports this configuration?

You will have to ask BB about that question. Since the engine and inverter need 12 volts, that is how I went. Also, the inverter is 12 volts input and the solar can be wired in series/parallel since I have a MMPT solar controller and that is more efficient and can use slightly smaller wiring for the higher voltage. I think it will work fine.

 

[Geokilroy]

Just a comment about your batteries. I ordered 4x 280 cells with 200 amp bms w/bluetooth from Amy at Docan. Delivered in about 10 days from Texas whse. I put them together and added a Group 27 batt box from Amazon. It totaled about $850. Took about 2 hours because it was my first build (next one will take less than an hour). Batt heat can be added for less than $100.
If I can build it almost anyone can. 280ah 12v with heater for under $1000.

 

[LarryJForman]

Just a comment about your batteries. I ordered 4x 280 cells with 200 amp bms w/bluetooth from Amy at Docan. Delivered in about 10 days from Texas whse. I put them together and added a Group 27 batt box from Amazon. It totaled about $850. Took about 2 hours because it was my first build (next one will take less than an hour). Batt heat can be added for less than $100.
If I can build it almost anyone can. 280ah 12v with heater for under $1000.

Damn, that would have saved me thousands! Can you tell me the battery dimensions and weight for one 12V 280 AH? I had been looking around but it seemed that ordering from the Far East was risky. Did you test your cells like Will did? Congrats. My BB GC2s don't have a heater, but the BMS prevents charging at reduced temps so I don't think I need a battery heater, besides I live in Sacramento.

 

[Geokilroy]

Damn, that would have saved me thousands! Can you tell me the battery dimensions and weight for one 12V 280 AH? I had been looking around but it seemed that ordering from the Far East was risky. Did you test your cells like Will did? Congrats. My BB GC2s don't have a heater, but the BMS prevents charging at reduced temps so I don't think I need a battery heater, besides I live in Sacramento.

My DIY fit inside a Group 27 battery box. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W5SG6Y?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
I also used these:https://www.amazon.com/LICTOP-Premi...pd_rd_i=B07M69KV8D&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_rp_1_i
Drilled hole thru thru cover to have outside access for hookup. My next build will have "Anderson Connectors" mounted to the outside. I need it to be easily removed.

 

[Geokilroy]

My DIY fit inside a Group 27 battery box. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W5SG6Y?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
I also used these:https://www.amazon.com/LICTOP-Premi...pd_rd_i=B07M69KV8D&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_rp_1_i
Drilled hole thru thru cover to have outside access for hookup. My next build will have "Anderson Connectors" mounted to the outside. I need it to be easily removed.

The weight is about 60 lbs.

 

[chrisski]

For your GC2 batteries, cases are available on the shelf in a State Trailer RV store locally. That store has cases to fit one or two batteries. On line fronm E-Bay you can get a case for up to four GC2s. I think Century Plastic in Canada makes the E-Bay Cases. I used GC2H batteries for my first build. About 1/2” taller than normal golf cart batteries with otherwise the same dimensions and marginally more amp hours. I saw nothing for six batteries.

I bought 16 280 h cells to set up in two 8S 24 batteries. It took me two weeks for the build.