A G M Batteries
Are A G M Batteries worth the extra money? Do they outlast wetcell Batteries or am I just as well off buying 2 wet cell batteries for use in my 5th wheel? Thanks, Bud99
Forum Discussion
It is a specialty situational thing whether the AGMs would be worth it to YOU.
Besides the situation where you cannot get at your batteries for hydrometer and water level checks easily, making AGMs better, the other thing that really came to light in previous threads here was (as mentioned above) little voltage drop under heavy load.
This comes into play where you have only room for say two batteries. With Wets you could need four batteries to run your 2000w inverter that runs the microwave , toaster, kettle, etc. You could do it with two Wets except the voltage drop with two batts, once they get below 75% SOC can make the inverter alarm sound. With four Wets you can run all that till you are down to 50% SOC with no inverter alarm. You will recharge at 50% anyway, since you are a good RVer. :)
Now the deal is, testing by members on this forum shows that you can get the no-alarm down to 50% with only two AGMs, so you don't need four batteries when space is limited. That does not mean you can run the high amp items as long as with four batts, since that is an AH issue, but only that when you do run them , you can run them at lower SOC.
Since the whole point of inverter- powered microwaving , toaster, kettle etc is to be able to do that early in the morning long before campground generator hours would let you do that, and it is early morning when your batteries are lowest, you want to be able to run that when down to 50%, and if you only have room for two batts, then AGMs will let you do that.
However if you have room for four batts, then you can get both the 50% operation AND have lots of AH in the bank to run the things longer.
Besides the situation where you cannot get at your batteries for hydrometer and water level checks easily, making AGMs better, the other thing that really came to light in previous threads here was (as mentioned above) little voltage drop under heavy load.
This comes into play where you have only room for say two batteries. With Wets you could need four batteries to run your 2000w inverter that runs the microwave , toaster, kettle, etc. You could do it with two Wets except the voltage drop with two batts, once they get below 75% SOC can make the inverter alarm sound. With four Wets you can run all that till you are down to 50% SOC with no inverter alarm. You will recharge at 50% anyway, since you are a good RVer. :)
Now the deal is, testing by members on this forum shows that you can get the no-alarm down to 50% with only two AGMs, so you don't need four batteries when space is limited. That does not mean you can run the high amp items as long as with four batts, since that is an AH issue, but only that when you do run them , you can run them at lower SOC.
Since the whole point of inverter- powered microwaving , toaster, kettle etc is to be able to do that early in the morning long before campground generator hours would let you do that, and it is early morning when your batteries are lowest, you want to be able to run that when down to 50%, and if you only have room for two batts, then AGMs will let you do that.
However if you have room for four batts, then you can get both the 50% operation AND have lots of AH in the bank to run the things longer.
