motorhome coach batteries
i need new coach batteries and wondered what kind i should purchase. at present have 2 12v interstates but very unhappy with their performance thankyou in advance hb ive been told that 6v per...
Forum Discussion
Gettin' your Star Trek on, Mex? Nice!
I agree with the old man. AGMs have their place as do floodeds. (new word?)
If you have the dough, don't often use a lot of power, tend to keep your batteries fully charged and even the slightest amount of maintenance effort is your Kryptonite... then I'd suggest Lifelines or the equivalent (Concorde.)
If you want to maximize your dry camping abilities per unit of volume and dollar and you don't mind checking electrolyte levels occasionally and adding some water maybe twice a year (for me, once a year is almost overkill)... then a pair of Costco/Sam's GC2s are the way to go.
And there are other options for even further applications.
And FYI: This is settled science. For your standard, voltage regulated, RV converter, there is no difference in charge time between AGMs and Flooded batteries.
AGMs can charge faster, yes... but only in the absorption phase and only by pumping the current in at voltages that would melt most RV electronics. They don't make RV converters like that... for this very simple reason.
The only benefit AGMs have in RV applications is a lack of required maintenance. But this comes at a cost to anyone doing much dry camping... UNLESS... you charge to 100% after each draw-down. For those who do several 50-90% (for example) charges in a row further discussion is needed, but for the sake of this thread... AGMs are probably not for you.
I agree with the old man. AGMs have their place as do floodeds. (new word?)
If you have the dough, don't often use a lot of power, tend to keep your batteries fully charged and even the slightest amount of maintenance effort is your Kryptonite... then I'd suggest Lifelines or the equivalent (Concorde.)
If you want to maximize your dry camping abilities per unit of volume and dollar and you don't mind checking electrolyte levels occasionally and adding some water maybe twice a year (for me, once a year is almost overkill)... then a pair of Costco/Sam's GC2s are the way to go.
And there are other options for even further applications.
And FYI: This is settled science. For your standard, voltage regulated, RV converter, there is no difference in charge time between AGMs and Flooded batteries.
AGMs can charge faster, yes... but only in the absorption phase and only by pumping the current in at voltages that would melt most RV electronics. They don't make RV converters like that... for this very simple reason.
The only benefit AGMs have in RV applications is a lack of required maintenance. But this comes at a cost to anyone doing much dry camping... UNLESS... you charge to 100% after each draw-down. For those who do several 50-90% (for example) charges in a row further discussion is needed, but for the sake of this thread... AGMs are probably not for you.
