AGM Battery Questions

mena661 wrote:

Denny & Jami wrote:

Your right my 03 Optima D31M batteries have 55AH the new D31M have 75AH

Denny

What is the weight on the old versus the new? If they're even remotely the same weight, the new is a MUCH lower quality battery.

I don't know about the weight but it's taller than the ones I have with about the same base foot print. How good they are I won't find out until one of mine dies.

Denny

I knew things were bad when I last chatted with the president of Battery Council International in 1994. He was obsessed with "recylalbility" I brought up the subject of specifications, he rattled on about ease of lid removal to get at the plates, I spoke of decreasing antimony content, he babbled about recovery of sulfuric acid percentages. I wanted consumer protection in the form of industry standards that were to be made mandatory - he gibbered on and on, sounding like an aluminum beer can recycle recovery lab. Finally I got fed up: "If you want excitement in plate additives try depleted uranium".

There was dead silence. "Oh great!" he moaned "We are trying to standardize recovery issues and you want to throw radioactivity into the mix".

Some people just cannot take a joke. The manufacturer I was representing, had turned white as a sheet.

That's when I realized the bulk of the industry had just lost touch with planet earth.

Instead of acting like idiots, the BCI should be focusing on establishing a Pb purification mill in the deserted wasteland of northern Mexico. Shooting for a figure of 99.99% purity. That's about as likely as convincing US and State government agencies that a key to economic booming is hinged on affordable energy prices.

Denny & Jami wrote:

Your right my 03 Optima D31M batteries have 55AH the new D31M have 75AH

Denny

What is the weight on the old versus the new? If they're even remotely the same weight, the new is a MUCH lower quality battery.

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:


"Old Timers" who report success with many years of good service have to remember this is not 2005, or whatever. The quality of batteries has degraded. The Optima battery of 2000 is not the Optima battery of 2014. Keep this in mind for ALL batteries, flooded or VRB.

Grrrr....

Your right my 03 Optima D31M batteries have 55AH the new D31M have 75AH

Denny

I have four 6s. All bought in 2011, six months apart in age. Two Interstate GC2 XHD 232AH and two Exide GC135s at 226AH I use them in one bank series-parallel.

Each set is still at baseline SG after four "seasons"and seems to be at full rated capacity using Trimetric AH information.

You are LESS likely to end up with onion-skin thick plates if you choose golf car batteries. Note the word, less.

Compare brands, the heavier the battery AND AND AND not gaining ampere hour capacity in relationship to the difference in weight is a clue that the battery has heavier plates which you want. Many so-called deep cycle AGM batteries have .060" thick plates - that is a cruel joke.

"Old Timers" who report success with many years of good service have to remember this is not 2005, or whatever. The quality of batteries has degraded. The Optima battery of 2000 is not the Optima battery of 2014. Keep this in mind for ALL batteries, flooded or VRB.

Manufacturers who refuse to divulge plate thickness are crooks, plain and simple. There is not a reason on the face of the earth to with hold basic battery specifications, Plate paste compounding, grid alloys and other information is eligible for proprietary secrecy - not positive plate thickness. And I do not give a damn which company decides to slimeball withhold plate thickness - it is as bad as a sign as a taxi driver who refuses to tell a patron how much a ride is going to cost until they arrive. The federal trade commission is a joke, and should be dissolved and executives fired.

Grrrr....

Sam's Club Duracell GC2 at $85 each for 215ah.

Some Costco and some Sam's Club have 208 to 232 rated GC2 wet cell for about $100.
These have a very good following.

If you are going to pay $150 I would take Trojan T105 over the Interstate.

Thanks to everyone who replied for your advice and information. There are obviously lots of pros and cons between the two types of batteries. We do spend a lot of time off the grid so that is one factor not present for many RVers. But, when I started shopping I was under the misimpression that AGMs were lighter, obviously not so.

My first thinking was to buy two Interstate 6V golf cart batteries, having had good experience with those in the past, and, after digesting all the info posted here, I'm again leaning in that direction. At about $150 apiece the difference in price isn't half that of AGMs, but significant. If anyone can suggest a lower price alternative, equivalent in quality to the Interstates, please do so. I have the idea, possibly wrong, that they should be above 200 Ah (20) rated.

I don't even have possession of the new TT yet so still have some time before making a final decision.

Thanks again to all of you, I really do appreciate this.

Mike

I installed 2 Optima Blue Tops 11.5 years ago and they show no signs giving up never had to clean anything except for some dust off the top. I've never measured my draw but when dry camping they they seem to last about the same amount of time. Take them for granted anymore and never look at them.

Denny