Flooded,AGM or Gel deep cycle batteries 12volt

OLYLEN wrote:
With the two T105's you have 115 AH usable at 50%. I had 4 t105's in the previous MH and they served me well. But now I have moved to a Class C with only two batteries and am running two 12 volt deep cycle and they are doing well also. If I replace as these are well used but still doing good I will go to the Interstate 160 AH 12 volts which will be 320 AH so at 50% I have 160 AH. Now with all that said with the two battery system balanced to the usage in the smaller MH this should be as good or better that the larger MH with the 4 T105's.
We dry camp a week to 10 days then to a hookup for a week then back to dry camping and the Gen time for the two verses the four is comparable.

LEN

Previous owner used RV and Marine batteries with a 95AH rating. I have had the coach for a year and have noticed the steady decline of power. Actually even with the low AH on these batteries they performed to my needs. Getting better batteries with longer AH rating will be a treat. This past week I was parked for 5 days at a race track in Utah and the batteries failed. Very little use and ample time with the Gen running . Checked with hydrometer and one battery has a dead cell, other battery has 2 weak cells yet the built in observation button is green indicating the battery is still ok. Nope. I want to do this and be done with it. It's not a problem checking the batteries and it is part of my routine pre flight
maintenance ritual. Coach is on ground power when stored at my home.

Dragonfly wrote:

Bottom line ... to get your money's worth out of AGMs, research whether you might need a more powerful charger for the more powerful AGM batteries and, whether your alternator output is up to the task.

Bottom line: A really LOT of people worry about this when there really is no need. Even if it does only charge to 95%, you still are going to get most of the advantages of AGM.

The "truck" alternator typically puts out a bit over 14 volts when charging and that is plenty in most situations.

My advice: Don't worry about it unnecessarily unless and until you see that it is becoming a problem FOR YOUR NORMAL USAGE PATTERNS; likely it won't be.

With the two T105's you have 115 AH usable at 50%. I had 4 t105's in the previous MH and they served me well. But now I have moved to a Class C with only two batteries and am running two 12 volt deep cycle and they are doing well also. If I replace as these are well used but still doing good I will go to the Interstate 160 AH 12 volts which will be 320 AH so at 50% I have 160 AH. Now with all that said with the two battery system balanced to the usage in the smaller MH this should be as good or better that the larger MH with the 4 T105's.
We dry camp a week to 10 days then to a hookup for a week then back to dry camping and the Gen time for the two verses the four is comparable.

LEN

Dragonfly wrote:
HOWEVER, apparently many chargers through the converter are unable to charge the AGM's to their full potential. I am still researching this but, it looks like I will have to add a different charger capable of shoving that extra power that AGMs have, into them.

Also, your alternator may (or may not) be up to the task. A long drive will fully charge my AGMs but it takes a while. There are things you can do to boost the output of the alternator to get a full charge quicker but again, I am still researching that.

Bottom line ... to get your money's worth out of AGMs, research whether you might need a more powerful charger for the more powerful AGM batteries and, whether your alternator output is up to the task.

I welcome an education on this and will pass on what I learn as I proceed.

As I had practiced with our old 12V batteries here, when staying put for many days in a camp ground, I plan to do the same with 6Vs by running my generator to power up my 4/10/20/40 amp Black & Decker charger. It reduces charging time by a lot. Maybe this is hard on 12V batteries but pampering the batteries is not my higher priority.


About higher output alternators, our 2007 Ford-V10 has an OEM 115amp alternator. On Ebay there are aftermarket companies offering direct bolt-in brand new replacements with near double the amp output, at what I feel is priced affordably.

I use 2 12V AGM batteries. Another advantage of AGM is that they charge faster than flooded cells so make sure you have a smart charger that has a 14.4 V 'boost' mode for fast recharging to 90% capacity. I added a Charge Wizard accessory to my Progressive Dynamics 9100 series charger to get that capability; the 9200 series has it built in.

I switched to two 6V AGM batteries (from two 6V flooded cell). My batteries are under the floor and DIFFICULT to monitor so I am glad to eliminate that need. Also, I dry camp often and they absolutely do have long life. For those and other reasons I think that they are worth the cost.

HOWEVER, apparently many chargers through the converter are unable to charge the AGM's to their full potential. I am still researching this but, it looks like I will have to add a different charger capable of shoving that extra power that AGMs have, into them.

Also, your alternator may (or may not) be up to the task. A long drive will fully charge my AGMs but it takes a while. There are things you can do to boost the output of the alternator to get a full charge quicker but again, I am still researching that.

Bottom line ... to get your money's worth out of AGMs, research whether you might need a more powerful charger for the more powerful AGM batteries and, whether your alternator output is up to the task.

I welcome an education on this and will pass on what I learn as I proceed.

I have a single 150AH Lifeline AGM which I ordered from the local Battery Mart.

klutchdust wrote:

There isn't a local market for 6 volt AGM.

By that I assume you mean that they are not stocked at any of the major battery shops. That does not necessarily mean that they can't GET them upon request.

But if you don't really need the extra amp hours, stick with the 12s like you have now.

ron.dittmer wrote:
klutchdust,

I know you want to stay with a pair of 12V batteries in parallel, but I would like to read of others who favor a pair of 6v batteries in series. Maybe you will be persuaded to consider that. I also say this because I switched from two wet 12V batteries to two AGM 6V (from Sam's Club) batteries this season. I will find out later this season, how well they perform. I am "all in" now with hopes of better performance rather than regret.

We exclusively camp without hookups for 2 to 4 weeks at a time.

My experience with 12Vs has not been good. They don't take the punishment well enough with one of the two failing, then the charger boiling both because it can't get to the right voltage. I always replace in-pairs too.

I figure if batteries in-series is best for flashlights, power tools, etc. I'd give it a try for our rig.

I could get 225AH using Trojan T-105 flooded in series. There isn't a local market for 6 volt AGM. Trojans run about 125 each. This is higher AH than my present 12 volt parallel set up.

klutchdust,

I know you want to stay with a pair of 12V batteries in parallel, but I would like to read of others who favor a pair of 6v batteries in series. Maybe you will be persuaded to consider that. I also say this because I switched from two wet 12V batteries to two AGM 6V batteries this time around. The cheapest I found are Duracell brand at Sam's Club for $170 each. I will find out later this season how well they perform. I am "all in" now with hopes of better performance rather than regret.

We exclusively vacation without hookups for 2 to 4 weeks at a time. The only charging our batteries get is when driving or running the generator.

My experience with 12Vs has not been good. They don't handle the beating we give them, one of the two giving out, then the charger boiling both because it tries but can't get them charged. I've gone through two pairs of 12Vs now, always replacing both. I get 4 years from them, but year 3 is degraded and year 4 shouldn't happen at all. I should either buy new batteries for year 4, or identify the bad battery and take it off line, but I am learning the hard way.

I figure if regular batteries stacked in-series is best for flashlights and everything else, I'd give two 6Vs in series a try for our rig. I only hope my alternator and inverter/converter can handle the AGMs. I went with AGMs because I had to sacrifice the battery tray to get the extra height for the 6Vs in the same compartment. Now maintaining acid levels would be very difficult.