RV Deep Cycle Battery

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Try and find a car-jar battery with .125" positive plates and 5% antimony construction. This and glass mat separators are what makes up a "Deep Cycle" battery.

Interstate is a reseller. The only thing they manufacture is paperwork. Their production consists of warehousing and distribution. Some (not all) distributors (the people with warehouses and trucks) are well-informed about batteries. At Wal-Mart, the pimple-faced kid in the automotive department is about as battery smart as the teenager in Burger King who does the french fries.

You might want to invest in a subscription to Consumer Reports...
Amigo.

Try and find a car-jar battery with .125" positive plates and 5% antimony construction. This and glass mat separators are what makes up a "Deep Cycle" battery.

Interstate is a reseller. The only thing they manufacture is paperwork. Their production consists of warehousing and distribution. Some (not all) distributors (the people with warehouses and trucks) are well-informed about batteries. At Wal-Mart, the pimple-faced kid in the automotive department is about as battery smart as the teenager in Burger King who does the french fries.

eric1514 wrote:
I've never seen a Deep Cycle battery at Walmart, I've only seen Marine. I'll look again.

Eric

I have been looking for the GC batteries also at Walmart's across the country in my travels and finally found them in a Walmart in NH this summer. If I remember correctly they were less than $80 and no tax, made by Interstate.

I've never seen a Deep Cycle battery at Walmart, I've only seen Marine. I'll look again.

Eric

My three AC Delco series 30 RV/Marine batteries are now 8 years old. Load tested them in the spring and they are still very strong. They are true maintenance-free batteries. I've used AC/Delco for years in different RVs (and in vehicles) and have never had a single problem. No need to check water — they are entirely sealed. I keep the RV batteries on a battery minder each winter. Golf cart batteries are not an option due to their height. To each his own, but I'll continue buying AC/Delco. BTW, I found that comparable AGM batteries don't have as high amp hours.

Dang, I wish we had as costco within reasonable driving distance.

I am just forced to go the wally world route and will stick to it even after reading thru this post. :h

The latest Consumer Reports that I just got yesterday has a test on batteries. For a group 65 (usual large 12v) Costco is the top brand and is almost 1/2 the price of DieHard. Napa 8465 is the same $85 price but lower in capacity and life. Walmart Everstart is in the middle of the pack but more expensive than Costco and 150 fewer CCA's. These are not deep cycles, just reg car batteries. If you want true deep cycles you just about have to go with two 6v's.

DryCamper11 wrote:

westend wrote:
The AGM has a few advantages, will charge quicker, will not freeze if less than charged fully, has low discharge for storage. The FLA is a clear winner for price/AH. I haven't had any issues with acid ruining my clothes, injuring any adjacent gear, or lost a lot of time with maintenance. Maybe it's just me.:h :B

I'm interested in the claim of faster charging for AGM. I recharge by gen and exclusively drycamp. I use FLA 4x6volt and recharge at C/5.75 (80A into 460 AH). That's about as fast as I'm comfortable with.

Does anyone have experience with faster charging than this using AGM?

I'm pretty happy with the speed of my recharging as it gets done with normal gen usage for the microwave or other high draw uses, but if I wanted less gen run time, I'd go to solar, not AGM.

I have AGM, genny and solar. There are many merits to AGMs. It is quite a long list of small merits that when considered in the aggregate lead me to say "Wets are cheaper to buy, AGMs are cheaper to own.".

Re faster charging, yes it is possible to fast charge some AGMs in accordance to their specs. Lifeline allows 500%, or 5C20 which they call inrush; that means 500A into a 100AH battery. Of course, this requires a temperature sensing charger to back off on the Volts/current to prevent thermal runaway. I do believe this will cause a loss of cycles making the benefit not so great except for the possibility. OTOH, a 100A charger is about the most you will find in a MH and few can take advantage of fast charging.

AGMs do charge cheaper though at any rate of current. This is simple math related to their internal resistance being lower. This means that less fuel is wasted to heating the battery. Also, since you don't bubble an AGM, no fuel is wasted breaking apart water molecules to stir the electrolyte. Plus shaving a few minutes from each genny run time can extend the life of the genny and postpone the expense of repair/replace.

The most Amps I have used is solar plus two portable chargers for ~40A into a 110AH AGM bank; I borrowed a 25A charger to get that high. Most of my genny charging is incidental while using the genny for cooking as I am not plumbed for propane.

HTH;
John

westend wrote:
The AGM has a few advantages, will charge quicker, will not freeze if less than charged fully, has low discharge for storage. The FLA is a clear winner for price/AH. I haven't had any issues with acid ruining my clothes, injuring any adjacent gear, or lost a lot of time with maintenance. Maybe it's just me.:h :B

I'm interested in the claim of faster charging for AGM. I recharge by gen and exclusively drycamp. I use FLA 4x6volt and recharge at C/5.75 (80A into 460 AH). That's about as fast as I'm comfortable with.

Does anyone have experience with faster charging than this using AGM?

I'm pretty happy with the speed of my recharging as it gets done with normal gen usage for the microwave or other high draw uses, but if I wanted less gen run time, I'd go to solar, not AGM.

My last trailer had 2 grp 27 Everstart Maxx (Johnson Controls)from Walmart. I dry camp always. They lasted 8 yrs. Best thing is there's always a walmart close by if one fails.

Most will do you good with good care, thats the key with any brand.