Charging a Battery Bank

landyacht318 wrote:
No doubt East penn's pure lead versions were also not in the price range of the Deka Intimidator either.

I think East Penn can and does make an Awesome battery, but they are a slave to market forces. The Intimidator being relabelled and sold everywhere across north America, as the most budget oriented AGM available, is likely their cash cow. "AGM" to the layperson somehow indicates super battery status, and if they see they can get one for only 50% more than a flooded battery..., done deal bragging rights warm and fuzzies all round.

The only cheaper AGM is the UPG Asian AGM's and they are not much cheaper, and these too have the poor self discharge and the 30% limitations.

The intimidator CCA specs are no better than a flooded battery of same size group, the self discharge little better, and the capacity is usually less in the same size group.

Often online somebody finds the absolute cheapest product they can find, then comes online asking if anybody else has purchased it and if it is any good, and they only want to hear one answer, and will latch onto it, and the answerer and question asker both get their warm and fuzzy serotonin release.

It is possible to extract excellent battery longevity if one can indeed reach full recharge often. It is also possible to kill the best possible battery through chronic undercharging.

Any reports of battery longevity, good or bad, without knowing how the battery was treated, are entirely meaningless.

Its just fine till it is not.

Previous repoirts, from a battery 5 years old, well the battery with the same label could have completely different internals today.

How well with the Indimidator hold up in regular deep cycle service? compared to another AGM?

Well a few have done the tests, If one wants to subscribe to the practical sailor magazine, but the Deka Intimidator did not do well from what little I have extracted from online having not subscribed.

At barely more than half the price of a LifeLine, do people really expect budget is just as good as top quality with the price to match?

People believe what they want either way. Regardless of facts.

I'll believe the person with experience and tools and desire to understand and actually measure performance over the lifespan of a battery.

The person who claims X amount of years and 'still going strong' or 'just like new', likely has none of those attributes.

I consider an adjustable voltage charger to be part of those 'tools' as well. How many amps are flowing at X voltage, reveals a lot.

Amazing how easy it is to read a temperature and twist a dial too. Seekng an autonmatic charging source which can do it all well, is pretty much not happening until one gets into the high dollr units from magnum.

The powermax with adjustable voltage, can do it all, with only a little input from a human, and likely with much less effort than reprogramming a programmable charger.

The battery's needs as to absorption voltage and its duration will change as the battery ages. Does any charging source automatically compensate for longer absorption stages required? No, but a human who can spin a dial and watch an ammeter and a voltmeter can.

All charging sources are a compromise.

LY, you're the guy for being on top of things. The OP mentioned most RVers are not, and they seem to get by ok.

But if you are "pushing the envelope" you have to be more careful, as we know. and do some work on that.

I figure the OP is no dummy, and he is just trying to find out if he will be pushing the envelope, and if so, what to do about it.