A G M Batteries

When we ordered our trailer without in batteries 02 we installed two blue top Optima batteries and after 11 years they are still going strong.

Denny

If you have special needs that are improved with AGM then by all means get them.
Otherwise wet cell is fine. Compare Amp/Hr capacity when buying.

Bud99 wrote:
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

I suspect that if you are someone who can setup and follow a maintenance schedule for your wet cell batteries they can perform very well. However, miss that schedule even once and let the water levels drop and you are going to do damage. I CANNOT do this so my wet cell 8-D batteries had an average life span of about 1 year. The gassing also damaged the walls and floors of the compartment where the batteries were stored.
In 2003 I replaced the wet cell batteries with Lifeline AGM 8D batteries (4 of them) and in 2013 I replaced those with new Universal Battery 8D batteries which I am currently using. 10 years from the Lifelines more than paid for themselves and my new UB batteries cost 1/2 what a Lifeline would cost so I only need them to make 5 years to break even. Yes, the UB's are Chinese so if that's not your thing then buy the Lifelines. For me, the difference between $600 per battery and $300 per battery made me blind to the certificate of origin!

I use AGM for specific applications.
I use flooded for specific applications.
I use gel for specific applications.

None are best at everything but each is best at something.

You have to decide which attribute is important for your application. There is no one-size-fits-all answer.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Yes, the UB's are Chinese so if that's not your thing then buy the Lifelines. For me, the difference between $600 per battery and $300 per battery made me blind to the certificate of origin!

A little off topic but how are those UB's holding up? I was considering those myself a few years ago.

1. No maintenance at all. Install and leave alone.
2. Can be mounted at any angle.
3. Usually come with pro-rated warranties.
4. Better battery components utilized.
5. Lifeline make excellent batteries.

What no one has mentioned yet is AGM's don't gas. They don't need to be vented therefore are safer. The only place for batteries in my van is inside where a wet cell would be dangerous.

pigman1 wrote:
The big selling point for me is no need to add water, and absolutely no corrosion....EVER.

You got that right. I got pretty weary of the maintenance of watering. It takes some big pockets to buy your way out of it, but it's really nice once you do.

BFL13 wrote:
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.

Yes.
Take AGM if it's difficult to get to batteries.
Or if you expect high loads.
Or if you need to keep them inside your living space.
Or if you need to store them for +6 months without any maintenance or float charging.

If those are YOUR situations, then AGM is worth extra money. If not, then they aren't worth it.

Extra cost can be anywhere from 40% to 100%, but you aren't going to buy them every year so this is manageable.

kccwoodworks wrote:
What no one has mentioned yet is AGM's don't gas. They don't need to be vented therefore are safer. The only place for batteries in my van is inside where a wet cell would be dangerous.

AGM's DO gas if you overcharge them. And "overcharging" can be using too high a float voltage in hot weather. Another member here confirmed that in his testing (HiTech). You don't want AGM's to outgas. Keep your voltages close to manufacturers recommendations and use temperature compensation. It seems a lot of people here use solar in conjunction with AGM's so my guess is they're using temp compensation.