FWC wrote:
BFL13 wrote:
"Anyway, this has been pointed out several times, but the same claims still get made. In general, if you want cheap then go with flooded lead acid, if you don't want maintenance, go with AGM, if you want the best lifetime value and performance go with LiFePO4. If for some reason it is really important for you to charge at -37C then go with SiO2"
The OP just wants more AH in the battery space available than he gets now with his Wets. Li and SiO2 will do that.
As will plain old AGM, for much less money than SiO2. I cannot see any reason to go with SiO2 in this application, but they seem to be recommended for every application.
A. You can operate SiO2s down to lower SOCs and get away with it more often than with ordinary AGMs, plus the voltage stays up at the lower SOCs so your inverter alarm will not go off so soon. You will not get as many cycles when going lower in SOC to get more AH, but that only matters if you would ever use the rated number of cycles in your lifetime or the lifetime of your RV. You get way more cycles as rated with SiO2 than with ordinary AGMs, so even if you lose a bunch of cycles you could have had, you might still be ahead on cycles than with AGMs. Depends.
B. PT should limit his recommendation for SiO2s to particular scenarios, and not tell everyone to get them as the be-all and end-all.
Agree with FWC on that.
I am glad he mentioned them in the first place though, or I would never have heard of them, and they happen to be just right for me. I might be the only Rver in the world that they are just right for, can't say :)
