Flooded,AGM or Gel deep cycle batteries 12volt

harold1946 wrote:
It is best not to charge any battery at more than 13.8 volts unless de-sulfating or de-stratifying.

Say what? My batteries accept 14.7 volts for bulk and absorption charging, and 13.7 volts in float. Such generalizations do no one any good.

klutchdust wrote:

pnichols wrote:
Remember that, due to their low internal resistance, AGM batteries accept more charging current at any applied charging voltage.

So .... if you have what you consider a "marginal" charger and/or alternator for camping off road for days at a time .... your setup would be even more marginal in this situation with wet cell batteries. So far after using AGM batteries for years everywhere - including around 8 years of the same set of AGM batteries in our RV - I see no disadvantage to them other than cost.

So my question is this. Will my system that puts out a maximum 13.6 volts be adequate to charge AGM batteries.

The short answer is yes. 13.6 volts is fine. Chargers with higher AMP output can charge them up to 10 time faster. It is best not to charge any battery at more than 13.8 volts unless de-sulfating or de-stratifying.

Battery Systems
3051 La Palma Ave.
Anaheim, CA 92806
Contact: Chris Tschombor
Phone: (714) 257-1705
Fax: (714) 257-7314
Email: CTschombor@batterysystems.net
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00am - 5:00pm

EsoxLucius wrote:

klutchdust wrote:

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.

Battery Systems of Anaheim, CA has the full line of Fullriver 6 volt AGM batteries.

http://www.fullriverbattery.com/search?cat=batteries&voltage=6

http://www.batterysystems.net/locations/index.php

When doing a search this company did not come up only one called the battery town.Thanks! In stock, $302 plus tax per battery.

pnichols wrote:
Remember that, due to their low internal resistance, AGM batteries accept more charging current at any applied charging voltage.

So .... if you have what you consider a "marginal" charger and/or alternator for camping off road for days at a time .... your setup would be even more marginal in this situation with wet cell batteries. So far after using AGM batteries for years everywhere - including around 8 years of the same set of AGM batteries in our RV - I see no disadvantage to them other than cost.

So my question is this. Will my system that puts out a maximum 13.6 volts be adequate to charge AGM batteries.

Remember that, due to their low internal resistance, AGM batteries accept more charging current at any applied charging voltage.

So .... if you have what you consider a "marginal" charger and/or alternator for camping off road for days at a time .... your setup would be even more marginal in this situation with wet cell batteries. So far after using AGM batteries for years everywhere - including around 8 years of the same set of AGM batteries in our RV - I see no disadvantage to them other than cost.

Vulcan Rider wrote:

Dragonfly wrote:

My alternator will top them off when driving but it takes too long.

In my opinion, you are making a LOT of assumptions here and you need to do some actual testing to see what your situation really IS.

If you are going to get an outboard charger and will be in a position to USE it between between drain-downs......I don't see what your concern is with the charging times from the "truck" or the controller.

I don't know your exact situation but try to be practical and not emotional. I don't remember hearing of ANYBODY in any application being sorry that they upgraded to AGM batteries.

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I think that we are actually thinking alike. I AM looking at the practicalities not the emotional "wishes." I have a friend with the exact same camper (Provan Tiger) and the same batteries (2 6V AGMs but a different brand). He has the exact same problem of the OEM charger being unable to shove enough power into the AGMs to top them off. He has a better monitoring system and can very accurately read that they were about 75-80% which, from my idiot lights, seems to match mine.

He is in Alaska right now so all I know is he solved the problem by adding a supplementary "smart" charger, probably similar to the one mentioned by another poster earlier, to get the AGMs up to full charge when plugged in or using the generator. It is simply plugged into a 110V outlet and to the batteries and when you are plugged in or on generator it shoves that extra power into the AGMs topping them off quickly.

He also had a modification done to his alternator which increases its output to the house batteries. Previously, like mine, they would charge quickly when driving, up to about 75%. Then it took forever for them to top off. Now they top off much quicker, important when he is doing short hops in the boon docks. I don't have the details on the alternator modification yet.

I probably should have waited until I had all of the facts but I was just speaking in general that to get full use of AGMs you may need to address the above two issues - a smart charger and your alternator output. Every amp and amp hour counts when you are boon docking in Alaska or being off road for days at a time like I am. If you are not using the batteries at that level the original charger and unmodified alternator will be fine and you will reap the other benefits of AGM. Sorry that I only have the generalities right now. I will post the details once I have time to sort out the information I have.

I am a fan of AGM and not sorry for investing in them. One must just know that they require some extra attention to maximize their potential (at least the high quality ones). Thanks for the reminder to stay focused on the realities of any situation.

klutchdust wrote:

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.

Battery Systems of Anaheim, CA has the full line of Fullriver 6 volt AGM batteries.

http://www.fullriverbattery.com/search?cat=batteries&voltage=6

http://www.batterysystems.net/locations/index.php

harold1946 wrote:

ron.dittmer wrote:

Vulcan Rider wrote:

ron.dittmer wrote:
It has been my experience for long term storage to disconnect all batteries rather than having the rig plugged in. I also disconnect the chassis battery.

Regardless of the type of batteries you have (let's NOT get into Lithium please), it is best to have them fully charged during storage. If the storage is longer than 90 days or so, that means "topping them up" every so often. I do it once a month.....when I move the rig about 18 inches to help prevent permanent tire flat spots.

With them disconnected off season, I top mine off about every third month (when I remember). I figure they sit on the shelf in the stores for at least 90 days before getting sold.

One of the advantages with AGMs is that if they are fully charged and disconnected the only self discharge 1-3%/month, where wet cells discharge from 10-30%/ month.

Interesting!

ron.dittmer wrote:

Vulcan Rider wrote:

ron.dittmer wrote:
It has been my experience for long term storage to disconnect all batteries rather than having the rig plugged in. I also disconnect the chassis battery.

Regardless of the type of batteries you have (let's NOT get into Lithium please), it is best to have them fully charged during storage. If the storage is longer than 90 days or so, that means "topping them up" every so often. I do it once a month.....when I move the rig about 18 inches to help prevent permanent tire flat spots.

With them disconnected off season, I top mine off about every third month (when I remember). I figure they sit on the shelf in the stores for at least 90 days before getting sold.

One of the advantages with AGMs is that if they are fully charged and disconnected the only self discharge 1-3%/month, where wet cells discharge from 10-30%/ month.