Best deep cycle ?

Lowsuv wrote:
Love the AGM
i bought 2 for my duramax , group 78 , for $140 each at BiMart.
Exide EDGE AGM , made in the USA .
Our mercedes has a group 49 AGM as standard , six years old now .
It is in the trunk .
The AGM will recharge faster which is important to me as i live in a town that only takes 15 minutes to go anywhere .
AGM life is 150 % better than conventional .
We dry camp and use our duramax AGM hooked up with # 2 jumper cables to our 2 FLA group 27 .
We just let the 4 batteries equalize with the jumper cables .
no genny , no solar .
no corrosion with the AGM .

What is an AGM battery?

Does Interstate sell one?

Thanks......just trying to learn about the various batteries here.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
EVERY type of battery is absolutely perfect for SOMEONE...

ding, ding, ding, we have a winner here.

EVERY type of battery is absolutely perfect for SOMEONE...

We still have FLA but that is because we seem to be short cash before long trips and want new batteries.:)

I think average costs can be about the same. Being able to set 6 months without charging and no acid rust to address are to advantages I see from the few we have on other equipment.

pnichols wrote:

RJsfishin wrote:
Prove it !! AGMs don't last longer, and they cost double. Simple math if ya ask me !

I don't know what "Prove it" means, exactly, in a non-scientific context, but I will say this: I have a couple of 7 year old AGMs still going strong in our RV that are being almost entirely taken care by only the stock Parallax ~13.8 fixed voltage converter in the RV.

Does anyone here have 7 old liquid acid RV batteries that have been, the whole time, taken care of almost entirely by a good old stock fixed voltage converter? If they do, please speak up so as to simultaneously debunk my "proof" while at the same time show that multi-stage chargers are in fact not absolutely required to get superb life out of LA RV batteries.

I have 4 Sams Club golf cart batteries in the rig with 05 stickers on them still going strong!

NinerBikes wrote:

It's all about scale... a measly 21 foot travel trailer for me will be a $1000 a year expense in depreciation over 5 or 6 years. Maybe more with tires and a few other goodies. A lot cheaper that renting a room in West Yellowstone or Breckenridge, and I already have an SUV vehicle to drive that was tow worthy and diesel and gets 33 mpg or better, not towing. Cheap b*stard and frugal have been my nickname for years, I am used to it.

I see what you're saying now.

Love the AGM
i bought 2 for my duramax , group 78 , for $140 each at BiMart.
Exide EDGE AGM , made in the USA .
Our mercedes has a group 49 AGM as standard , six years old now .
It is in the trunk .
The AGM will recharge faster which is important to me as i live in a town that only takes 15 minutes to go anywhere .
AGM life is 150 % better than conventional .
We dry camp and use our duramax AGM hooked up with # 2 jumper cables to our 2 FLA group 27 .
We just let the 4 batteries equalize with the jumper cables .
no genny , no solar .
no corrosion with the AGM .

westend, I appreciate your input. I stand by the graphs of cost efficiency from the links I posted - they're not battery dealers and God knows have had many more AGMs than I have. If these statistics were not accurate, the US military and aviation and USCG and off-road apps would have hung on tooth-and-nail to their old school 20th-Century technology and beat folks like me down to a pulp with stats and examples to show why...Lets just say as a home-grown swamper, biker, camper and off-grid guy, I've SEEN THE LIGHT. Pardon me as I share my experience moving on to the next century of technology..I don't mean to wake you from your happy slumber. :)

tplife wrote:

westend wrote:

Huntindog wrote:

westend wrote:

tplife wrote:
RJsfishin, I paid $120.00 for my Optima vs. $80.00 for the Costco marine flooded battery, an extra investiment of $40.00 more for my example...and the AGM has far exceeded what I expected for a power source. AGMS are rated to last 2 to 3X longer than flooded batteries, at least according to a lot of their customers. There are too many advantages to list here, but like pre-'75 cars, folks cling to what they know and love rather than what they buy and try!

Lets say you needed 100Ah usable capacity from your batteries, and your main charging system was from the vehicles alternator. Now with conventional deep cycle batteries because you would only have 25% of your battery bank usable you would need 400Ah of battery bank, now there are a few ways you could do this, but the least expensive way would be four x 225Ah 6 volt Trojan batteries at a cost of $1,120. Now with AGM batteries you could have just two x 100Ah giving you 200Ah total, so there is your 100 Ah with heaps in reserve and an easy life for the batteries, so only 2 batteries, at a cost of $710 all up, or better still you could use a single 200Ah battery for a cost of $695.00. - See more at: http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/agm.htm#sthash.lE3bx5yy.dpuf

Your assumptions about use and price is definitely flawed. The comparison is not accurate. I choose not to explain it, I'm pretty sure everyone knows.

X2.... He is wrong on so many points, that I wouldn't know where to start... And I really don't feel like writing that much.

Ya, understood. Reminds me of a line in a Clint Eastwood movie, "He's a legend in his own mind..."

Back in the lab we have a name we use, it's "Jack*ss" (when they call you names and can't debate your claims, you've won the argument). :p


:)

Bud, no ones arguing with you. You just are preaching to a fairly knowledgeable choir. Yeah, there's little profit in name calling although I can take it, I've been called a few...:B

IMO, your assessment of costs of FLA vs AGM is not accurate. Also, your estimate of a discharge of only 25% for a bank of FLA is not anywhere near real use application for RV's or any other industry that uses GC2 6V's. If you find extraordinary advantage with AGM's in your application, use them. AGM may not fit everyone's needs, though.

mena661 wrote:

NinerBikes wrote:

Mena... don't argue with the Financial Analyst in me. It's about residual discretionary income left after buying batteries that leave you with more discretionary spending money for stuff like new fly reels or rods, or fly tying material, or whatever you choose to spend the extra savings on, or will to your family or kids.

$180 of batteries amortized over 8 or 9 years or more is a little more than $20/year or just under $2 a month in battery expense.


Oh, and I do monitor, buy and sell stock from my travel trailer. Can't afford to miss a trade or a good buy while bottom fishing, or a good sell. Need electricity to do that. Whether it comes from the sun, the gennie or batteries, gotta have it.

The cost of my MH absolutely DWARFS the cost of my battery bank. If I wanted to make money on vacations, I would've bought a condo in Hawaii and rented it out and made sure the rent paid for the condo AND the vacation AND put money in my pocket. My RV and everything associated with it is a 100% total loss. Battery type, size and cost is irrelevant. If your RV isn't a big financial minus, cool, but mine sure a hell is.

It's all about scale... a measly 21 foot travel trailer for me will be a $1000 a year expense in depreciation over 5 or 6 years. Maybe more with tires and a few other goodies. A lot cheaper that renting a room in West Yellowstone or Breckenridge, and I already have an SUV vehicle to drive that was tow worthy and diesel and gets 33 mpg or better, not towing. Cheap b*stard and frugal have been my nickname for years, I am used to it.