Perhaps Capacity is Not King
I don't want to derail the current "charging AGM batteries" thread more than I already have. During the course of that thread I was shopping for AGM batteries, trying to determine which ones could ...
Forum Discussion
westend wrote:
His new concerns revolve around charge settings for the AGM's that may be in his future. I use 3 of them and they are charged by either the solar or my old PD charger. They seem to be doing fine on a diet of less than scientific charging protocol.
And they should... so long as you don't do successive 50-90%-type charges. Then you may need to equalize them... which is not for the flippant.
Land,
I wonder if you may have actually been overcharging. I check them frequently, but my batteries can probably go years without adding water. That said... overcharging, in my mind, is more likely to cause a short by wearing out the positive plates than it is capacity loss.
Relying on a meter could cause you to go over or under. Neither are good. I like voltage for a simple metric and SG on occasion when I want more accuracy.
Then there's the idea of equalization. If you said you were good about that, then I missed it. Stratification can lead to early retirement too. Equalization should address that as well. Mex destratifies about once every 3 weeks. Just about a bubble a second for maybe 20 minutes to stir things up.
AGMs definitely have their place. They are primarily for those who want low maintenance... and who DON'T do successive 50-90s, i.e. won't be doing much in the way of equalizing.
Put me down for 3 more G27s and a watering system. Cheap and easy... just like me.
