Battery Replacement?

[Shultzy]

Have a 2018 Georgetown GT 5 31L5 with 2 12 volt batteries. Considering replacing batteries with these. 2 6 volt AGM from Battteries Plus wired in series.



Anyone have experience with these batteries?

Will I have to change my converter?

Thanks for any information.

[wa8yxm]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Oh yeah? Why not use Velcro and wing nuts and buy car starting batteries? Cheaper, 7 year warranty. Three year free exchange... say they'll do it. Less than 10% come close to actually doing it.

FIrst car starting batteries are not all that cheap (Compared to Flooded wet GC-2. about the same

Second STARTING batteries are designed to be kept near full (80% SOC or higher) and recharged PROMPTLY after starting the car.

MARINE/deep cycle are really STARTING bit with a slight admission to the needs of Deep cycle. Keep 'em 75% or fuller SOC

DEEP CYCLE 50%

So if you have say a pair of Group 29's that's around 210 amp hours and if starting you can use about 45, MARINE/deep ccle 52

DEEP CYCLE 105

See the difference

[MEXICOWANDERER]

For the embossed purple T105 battery the distributor was paying $38.00 and he threw a fit when Trojan raised the price to $44.00 But he purchased in 4 pallet quantities.

Life in a golf car is hideous on a battery.

[Gjac]

RJsfishin wrote:
Bang for buck, LA 6v GC Cosco.....8-10 yrs
AGM...way overpriced
Trojan....always been a joke,......way over priced

My first set of Trojans lasted 4 years. When those went bad I bought Sams Club 6v GC batteries at half the price in 2007 and they are still being used today. It took me a while to learn proper maintenance so I figure the Sam's Club were better maintained. Everyone has different electrical requirements so it is hard to compare battery brands or types based on longevity, but I don't full time but mainly dry camp with minimal battery requirements, so for me I would by the Sams Club batteries again and hope for another 13 years of life.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

It takes months for an AGM Oops I mean a good quality AGM to start to degrade in capacity. Remedy? Leave at 14,4 overnight.

When a flooded battery sulfates, standard recharge voltage does not recover it overnight. A top charge is required. Are you and your charger prepared for this?

Very abused AGMs may need recovery. The Concorde battery manual details how to do it. If you are that hard on batteries, maybe lithium is the way to go.

Massive solar always have a secondary bank undergoing complete charging. Or charging with a low speed generator. Ok let's buy a dozen 8D lithium batteries.

The true maintenance free battery costs out of reach. I have to do the best I can with what I've got. I wonder how much money 10,000 amp hours @ 24 volts lithium costs?

Anyway as far as flooded batteries are concerned, I would seriously look at Rolls & Surrette. My 31 concorde has been disconnected since the first of the year. Let's see what reality brings.

[RJsfishin]

Bang for buck, LA 6v GC Cosco.....8-10 yrs
AGM...way overpriced
Trojan....always been a joke,......way over priced

[BFL13]

But when you are recharging off-grid, you don't do a full charge, due to generator waste of gas and time doing the high SOC part at low and tapering amps.

You do 50-80s or 50-90s so you will get sulfation anyway. You must find a way to do a proper "recovery" to true full and desulfation equalize every so often. (If you have solar, you might get to full--depends, but we are talking gen and charger)

This is the same with AGMs as with Flooded because of generator time. Now you have to do a "recovery" with the AGMs, which IMO is not so easy at all compared with Floodeds due to the lack of an hydrometer measurement with AGMs.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

First and foremost they are easier to recharge.
While camping connect to a charger limited to 14.4 volts. When amperage drops to zero. They or it, is properly recharged.

With a standard battery, it is guesswork to use voltmeters and ammeters to know for sure your battery is completely recharged. And since many people act like touching a hydrometer is poison ivy good luck with defeating sulfation. People expressed horror at the thought of removing a cell cap and seeing if the cell is bubbling slightly when charged enough. No charger on the face of the earth can be trusted to recharge batteries correctly when wilderness camping. Like relying on a faith healer. Can you get a measly 200 full cycles never mind the advertised 500 cycles out of a pair of golf car batteries?. Especially warehouse cheapies.

My forensic audit of the cost of selling off brand golf car batteries versus Trojan made a major battery wholesaler drop everything else but Trojan. But they didn't cost an arm and both legs 25 years ago.

[time2roll]

Post the model number of the existing converter to get best suggestions.
There are more advantages to AGM than just that they are sealed.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Oh yeah? Why not use Velcro and wing nuts and buy car starting batteries? Cheaper, 7 year warranty. Three year free exchange...

Fact is my Lifelines, cost me far less to use than any cheapskate warehouse battery. Not a little less. WAY WAY less. And when someone beats 22 years for a flooded battery drop me a post card.

It's all in the maintenance. 127% of purchases say they'll do it. Less than 10% come close to actually doing it.

[corvettekent]

I don't see any need in buying AGM batteries.
I bought four flooded lead acid 6 volt 235 ah golf cart batteries for a $525.

[BFL13]

The absolute only reason to use AGMs in an RV is if you must keep them inside where fumes from a Flooded set would be unacceptable. Otherwise a total waste of money at twice the cost for the AH. BTDT, now back to flooded 6s and am happy 🙂

[pianotuna]

As I did not enjoy laying down in the snow to check 7 12 volt house batteries, I moved to AGM. Next summer I'll be upgrading to SiO2, which will be the last set of batteries I'll ever need to buy.

[theoldwizard1]

wa8yxm wrote:

Expierence: NOT with that specific battery however I did try AGM's once. Was not pleased ... did not feel the added cost was worth the alleged benefits.

What do I use: GC-2 is good but I use flooded wet.

Concur !

If I could talk myself into AGM GC-2, I would buy Trojan brand.

[midnightsadie]

big bucks for what a couple wal mart marine batteries could do, just week end camping, mine are 4years old and still good. P.S I do complete shut down on my batteries I pull the ground when I,m done . leaving a battery hooked up will still draw some power in a week or to it,ll kill a battery.