AMG battery

Hi Coach-man,

Look at cost per amp-hour. If you have enough room and the Optima is cheaper per amp-hour, get them.

I boondock a lot, so I need lots of amp-hours.

The blue top is 55 amp-hours so two would be required. Amazon price is $190 each, so $380 for the pair.

A single lifeline group 31 would have similar capacity and on Amazon the price is $381. Or you could use a Vmaxtank which has 125 amp hours and costs $259. Both of these choices occupy approximately 1/2 the space of the Optima pair.

Most RV's have a pitiful small space for batteries.

I have some solar. My bank is 556 amp-hours. I could never fit ten Optima's into the available space. BTW I don't have Lifeline batteries. I have used telecom jars that cost me $0.57 per amp-hour. ($310 total).

My opinion is that spiral technology is great, but the footprint per amp hour is low. I'm glad they meet your needs, but they are not a good "fit" for me (and probably not a good choice for serious boondockers).

Coach-man wrote:
?? I will not even dispute your opinion on the spiral technology, but you say they will provide years of reliable trouble free service? So I purchase Optima batteries, rated for what I need, they perform well, and provide years of reliable trouble free service, but you want me to buy a different AGM battery to provide more power than required for twice the cost? I will stay with my Optima's!

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Optima work well. That's not the issue. The issue IS the form factor due to the spiral design. That lowers the total number of watt-hours available by about 40% for the same "foot print", compared to a more traditional design such as life line.

Coach-man wrote:
A lot of people will "pooh, pooh" Optima's but they make a great AGM battery that requires almost no maintenance, and will provide years of trouble free service!

?? I will not even dispute your opinion on the spiral technology, but you say they will provide years of reliable trouble free service? So I purchase Optima batteries, rated for what I need, they perform well, and provide years of reliable trouble free service, but you want me to buy a different AGM battery to provide more power than required for twice the cost? I will stay with my Optima's!

My Lifeline 4D AGM is coming up on its 8th season. Each year it sits, untouched no trickle charge, from November to April. This winter past it will be November to July, disconnected & no maintenance. Will see how it is in 2018 but would not be surprised if is still going strong then.

AGMs are not cheap but the zero maintenance & long service life more than make up for the price difference IMO.

Hi,

Optima work well. That's not the issue. The issue IS the form factor due to the spiral design. That lowers the total number of watt-hours available by about 40% for the same "foot print", compared to a more traditional design such as life line.

Coach-man wrote:
A lot of people will "pooh, pooh" Optima's but they make a great AGM battery that requires almost no maintenance, and will provide years of trouble free service!

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Just make sure it is a TRUE deep cycle battery, not a "dual purpose".

Another good tip for any battery, try to keep it cool, say under 100F if possible.

X2! If you buy a battery with a CCA, (cold cranking Amps), you are not buying a deep cycle battery! A lot of people will "pooh, pooh" Optima's but they make a great AGM battery that requires almost no maintenance, and will provide years of trouble free service!

I love my AGMs that are going on 10 years old and we boondock often so they'd been through many cycles. You need to check your charger voltage because a AGM's do not like 14.6+ charge and a float of 13.8. Doubt your charger has a setting for AGMs...some do.

Just make sure it is a TRUE deep cycle battery, not a "dual purpose".

Another good tip for any battery, try to keep it cool, say under 100F if possible.

For long life don't take them below 50% state o charge.

AGM. They're great. Not necessarily.

agm discussions