Need New House Batteries - HELP!
Hello all, I could sure use some help and guidance from the experts! I'll do my best to keep this short and really appreciate you taking the time to read about my dilemma. I have a 2005 American E...
Forum Discussion
I've been involved in field testing of batteries several times over the years, and as a general rule, a properly maintained wet cell lead acid battery will last about 12 percent longer than a comparable AGM battery. That said, there are a lot of differences in the two types of batteries that make a flooded battery more likely to be abused in RV type use. Wet cell batteries self discharge a lot faster, especially the ones designed for true deep cycle use. As a result, folks keeping their rigs in lots without a charger running for weeks, or even months are probably doing a fair bit of damage to their batteries.
Another issue with wet cells is that they are fairly slow to take a charge, and failure to charge fully is very likely an issue you're having, although in your case I think you never have enough charing current for that specific characteristic of the batteries to be an issue. That Zamp controller you have is a PWM controller, which are designed for use with "12 volt" panels. The largest of this type I recall seeing is about 160 watts which means at most you've got a 320 watt system. Assuming flat mounted panels, and the PWM controller your max charging current is probably around 15 amps, which on a large rig with moderate to heavy is most likely quite a bit less than what you use, and thus need to replace in the batteries.
I recommend you read up on how to do an energy audit, and possibly install something like a trimetric battery monitor to figure out how much DC capacity you use and need prior to changing out the batteries, and figuring out what if anything you need to do differently.
Another issue with wet cells is that they are fairly slow to take a charge, and failure to charge fully is very likely an issue you're having, although in your case I think you never have enough charing current for that specific characteristic of the batteries to be an issue. That Zamp controller you have is a PWM controller, which are designed for use with "12 volt" panels. The largest of this type I recall seeing is about 160 watts which means at most you've got a 320 watt system. Assuming flat mounted panels, and the PWM controller your max charging current is probably around 15 amps, which on a large rig with moderate to heavy is most likely quite a bit less than what you use, and thus need to replace in the batteries.
I recommend you read up on how to do an energy audit, and possibly install something like a trimetric battery monitor to figure out how much DC capacity you use and need prior to changing out the batteries, and figuring out what if anything you need to do differently.
