Looking for new batteries

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:


On my current coach, I have 4 sealed AGM chassis starting batteries, it has looked new in that compartment for 3 yrs. now.

Our 3 house batteries are Lithium Ion, so, clean as a whistle in that storage bay too.

Safe travels,
MM.

Do they have a fire suppression system in your house battery bay?

Rgatijnet, there is a lot of misunderstanding about Lithium Ion batteries.... they are not all created equal.

And no, there is no fire suppression system needed in our type of Lithium Ion battery technology. We DO have a fire suppression system built-in over our engine area with a warning control panel by the cockpit.

Here is the snippet from Liberty Coach....

"The Lithium-Ion system we are now using is a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery which makes it inherently safer and very stable compared to the Lithium Cobalt Oxide which is very volatile. You may hear from some people that these are very unsafe, have been recalled, explode, etc... it is also not efficient in our application and has a much shorter cycle life, so we are not using that type of Lithium-Ion battery. The batteries that explode and experience thermal run-away when damaged or overcharged are Lithium Cobalt Oxide. We are using Lithium Iron Phosphate technology."

Our conversion company has been using this technology for over 7 yrs. with no problems. I have a battery monitoring system and the batteries never seem to get any hotter than the outside ambient temperature.

Our three LI batteries replace 10-12 regular batteries saving weight and space. Our batteries are expected to last at least 10 yrs and can be brought down to a 70% level of discharge many times with no ill effect to the battery life.

Safe travels,
MM.

rgatijnet1 wrote:
Do they have a fire suppression system in your house battery bay?

Newer LifePo4's are safe batteries. Wet cells aren't exactly the safest batteries to be using anyway. They're just cheaper.

Mr.Mark wrote:


On my current coach, I have 4 sealed AGM chassis starting batteries, it has looked new in that compartment for 3 yrs. now.

Our 3 house batteries are Lithium Ion, so, clean as a whistle in that storage bay too.

Safe travels,
MM.

Do they have a fire suppression system in your house battery bay?

..

jplante4 wrote:
For the price of 4 AGMs you can get 4 wet cell Trojans or Interstate GC2s and a watering system and have enough left over for a nice dinner. Wet cells plus a watering system completely negates the "maintenance free" argument for spending twice as much for them.

There certainly are more inexpensive choices as you mentioned above. You might be eliminating watering, but, the trays and battery posts are not going to clean themselves including damaging the battery trays.

I never let my wet-cell batteries get low, ever. They just naturally outgas causing the corrosion.

On my current coach, I have 4 sealed AGM chassis starting batteries, it has looked new in that compartment for 3 yrs. now.

Our 3 house batteries are Lithium Ion, so, clean as a whistle in that storage bay too.

Safe travels,
MM.

rgatijnet1 wrote:

jplante4 wrote:
For the price of 4 AGMs you can get 4 wet cell Trojans or Interstate GC2s and a watering system and have enough left over for a nice dinner. Wet cells plus a watering system completely negates the "maintenance free" argument for spending twice as much for them.

That does not stop the wet cell out gassing nor does it negate the need to check you batteries to see if they need water. The watering system just makes it easier.
Ignore you batteries and the watering system will not top them off automatically.

Yeah, I just don't find it to be a big chore. You could sell me on less battery tray maintenance tho :)

jplante4 wrote:
For the price of 4 AGMs you can get 4 wet cell Trojans or Interstate GC2s and a watering system and have enough left over for a nice dinner. Wet cells plus a watering system completely negates the "maintenance free" argument for spending twice as much for them.

That does not stop the wet cell out gassing nor does it negate the need to check you batteries to see if they need water. The watering system just makes it easier.
Ignore you batteries and the watering system will not top them off automatically.

jplante4 wrote:
Wet cells plus a watering system completely negates the "maintenance free" argument for spending twice as much for them.

No it doesn't.
While the maintenance might be less, it is not completely absent.
You still have to keep water in the "watering system" and check once in a while to be sure it really is doing what it is supposed to do.
Then there is the corrosion that occurs with vented acid fumes.

wa8yxm wrote:
there is not advantage to AGM's save for Profit to the sellers.

Your opinion.
Which is NOT shared by a really LOT of people.
Including me.

Even if you don't try to "optimize" your charging for them, they are maintenance free (except for being sure the connections stay tight) and routinely last 50 to 100% longer.

Before our boat business was murdered by the last regime, I installed more than a few pairs of Lifeline AGMs for house banks. I have not heard of any of those failing and you can bet that I would have if one did. We usually order from http://www.powerstridebattery.com/.
Problem: They are a US company and shipping to Canada may be an issue.

Matt