AGM batteries - are they better?
Upgrade to an AGM battery. You can safely mount them inside, and upside down, and they will out-perform any flooded battery you ever owned! Here's a quote from another thread. It's typical of other...
Forum Discussion
Almot wrote:
1) Recovery after discharge below 50%, AGM is better than FLA. My UPG AGM warns not to discharge below 60%. Maybe Deka AGM is radically different and SOC below 50 doesn't affect it instantly (didn't try to do this to my AGM, though I doubt it will affect it instantly), but AGM being "better"?
2) Shelf life, Starting FLA = AGM. Since when shelf life of any FLA is same good as AGM?
3) Low initial cost, Deep Cycle FLA = AGM. I don't know, maybe this is true for Deka, their FLA are not very common, but this is definitely not true for other brands. AGM technology is getting cheaper so the gap narrows, and bargains can be found if you shop around, but generally, $/AH AGM is more expensive and this makes sense because technology is more complicated.
1. Well some are just resellers of batteries mfgrd elsewhere. Who knows what the specs really are? Deka has their own plant. I do have an 8a24m 79AH and it has survived several morning readings of 11.8V which is pretty close to a resting reading. No telling how low they went overnight. Also, I have dry-camped for 31 consecutive nights by recharging with solar and genny. The battery will be 5yo in Jan when we are going to dry-camp for a month in Q'zite. Should I trust it or get one of those $180 100AH grp 31s? :)
2. I'll bet it has something to do with Antimony or Calcium. Notice the deep cycle is = 1, probably same reason.
3. Possibly for non 6V GCs which are higher cost. They do list flooded dual purpose as cheaper than AGM which is right.
HTH;
John
