Best deep cycle ?

DryCamper11 wrote:

My personal opinion is still that FLAs, such as Sam's Club 6v's are the best bank for the buck. Some of us are willing to pay more for less hassle - no water checks. Some need the reduced gas venting of AGMs or the ability to mount them on their side, etc., and some can use the faster recharge rates if they have a small battery bank and a big charger. However, for me, the bang for buck is the prime concern and FLAs can't be beat.

Great post! I even learned some things which is always good. I was about to pull the trigger on AGMs when I was in the planning stages of my battery bank. My original budget was $2500 for batteries. There were a few things about AGMs I liked (these were for Lifeline AGMs):

1. Can be taken down below 50% SOC repeatedly - 500 cycles doing this, not sure this can be done in reality
2. Fast charging - I planned on 200A worth of charging
3. Less maintenance - I know people say no maintenance but I disagree
4. Can be placed on their sides, etc - I planned to put them on end
5. Don't necessarily need to be floated, at least not in the short term. - You will get more life if you float them

I ended up getting L16 FLAs instead because they were cheaper ($1100), can be taken down to 70% SOC repeatedly. Can be charged with 200A worth of chargers also (saved a few thousand here cause I can use converters instead of the inverter/charger and separate charger I planned to get). They were tall and skinny so no need to put them on their sides. They do require floating and more maintenance but the maintenance ended up being easier and not as often as I suspected.