House battery is a Bosch AGM Blue top
I thought it as a Trojan 27.
what would you consider the next step up from a Xantrex prowatt 2000?
A higher wattage Xantrex. <snort>
If you want to step up in brands, although I don't know why you would, then it's, from the next step upward, Samlex, Statpower, Magnum Energy, Outback Power, Exeltech.
any other brands besides Trojan you like?
Concord Lifeline is the cream of the crop. Concord also makes the Sun Xtender, which is nearly identical to the Lifeline, except for the warranty, some minor internal differences, and the terminals. The Lifelines are more expensive not just because of the 5 year warranty, but because they are more "hardened" for marine and RV applications, whereas the Sun Xtenders are specifically designed for stationary, on- and off-grid applications.
Other good AGM brands are Odyssey, Werker, Universal Power, East Penn / Deka, and Discover Energy.
Rolls Surrette is the absolute top-of-the-line AGM battery, but they are just stoopid expensive and are designed mainly for off-grid installations. Most commonly they come as individual 2-volt cells, so you need 6 of them to make a 12-volt battery. And they weigh several hundred pounds each. They now make L16 batteries (generally the size known for floor scubbers), however. They have the $525 S6-460 AGM which is a 400 Ah battery and weighs in at 123 pounds, which is right in line with other L16 batteries. You need 2 of those for 12-volts.
Rolls also has a 2-volt model 2-YS-31PS cell that's 2,430 Ah and weighs 285 pounds, and costs only $1100.00. Need 6 of those, though. I had an aunt in Arizona who had 24 of those running a 48-volt off-the-grid house, charged with solar panels. It was awesome. But probably overkill for expediting.
Avoid Optima at all costs. They have always been problematic, but even more so now that the quality control is all over the place ever since they moved manufacturing to Mexico a few years ago.
Can't believe the price of this one... I think my max is around $500 budget and I can even look into used options on craigslist. Can I get by with a 1000 watt or do I need 2000? Planning to run toaster oven possibly and blender maybe a small fridge or something like that.
Magnum Energy MS2012 Inverter - Wholesale Solar
You get what you pay for. Magnum Energy, like most other high end inverters, are designed for industrial and critical (think ambulance) use. They are overkill for what we do. Then again, you'll never be disappointed with the best, as my grandfather used to say.
With a laser printer, you really need a pure sine wave inverter. Most laser printers won't work with modified sine wave inverters. My recommendation is still the Xantrex ProSine. 1500 Watts will probably be fine, if not then a 2000 will do. You really don't need dramatically more capability than you'll ever use. I use a POS Cobra 1500 Watt inverter.
If you plan on running high amp draw appliances, like a toaster oven, a microwave, fridge, even a blender, a rice cooker or a coffee maker, you want
way more battery than you're considering. And you want 6-volt batteries in pairs rather than 12-volt batteries. 6-volt batteries can handle high amp draws better, and will have more reserve capacity than 12-volt batteries of the same Ah capacity. It's because 6-volt batteries have thicker and taller lead plates than 12-volt batteries do. Instead of a single 12-volt battery at 100 amp hours, you should be looking at pairs of 6-volt batteries totaling in the 400-600 amp hours range.
Because of the Peukert Effect (it's like driving faster gives you worse MPG), a 10 amp draw from a 100 Ah battery is the equivalent of drawing 11.57 amps, whereas the same 10 amp draw from a 600 Ah battery is the equivalent of drawing just 7.94 amps. A 10 amp draw turns a 100 Ah battery into a 86.45 Ah battery. A 10 amp draw from a 600 Ah battery turns the battery into a 755.70 Ah battery.
In addition to a decently-sized battery bank (200 Ah minimum), you really need a generator, as well. Not only to run the high amp loads, but to recharge the battery bank when you've been sitting. You can connect a proper 3-stage charger, designed for AGM batteries, and ensure the bank gets properly charged (assuming you don't have an AGM for the cranking battery).
They aren't AGM, but I have 4 of
these batteries, for a total of 610 amp hours. The AGM J305s will run you about $450 each. A pair of them will give you 310 amp hours.
You should seriously consider getting a
Xantrex Battery Monitor. Not only does it read your battery state of charge like a fuel gauge, and let you know when you're down to 50% Depth of Discharge (as well as account for the Peukert Effect), it'll really open your eyes as to just how much power you are drawing from your battery bank.
As for running an air conditioner (or an electric heater) off batteries, xiggi is right, you'll need to fill the van with batteries. About 2400 amp hours worth, at least.
