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Deka Intimidator Batteries?

howardq99
Explorer
Explorer
I was going to purchase some Fullriver DC250-6 AGMs for my project but I've been told that every DC250-6 battery in the US was purchased for a large order being shipped overseas and it will be at least until mid-December until they are available again.

Now looking at other options, it seems that Deka batteries are highly recommended. I was hoping for input on Deka Intimidator AGM batteries and if the intimidator series are the ones that are highly recommended. I'm specifically looking at their group 31 12V battery with part number 8A31DTM.

I know that the Fullriver are 6V (with two in series giving 250AH) and the Deka are 12V (with 2 in parallel giving 210AH).

One item that I would like advice on is that with the Dekas, I would need to wire the four batteries in parallel to work with my Xantrex ProWatt 2000 12V inverter until next fall when I'll be upgrading to a 24V inverter. At that time I would series-parallel the batteries.

Any input will be appreciated.
Thanks!
2004 Ford Excursion 4X4 PSD
Firestone Airbags, Hellwig Anti-Sway Bar, Landyot Radius Rods,
Donahoe Racing 3" Lift, Prodigy & Silverstars

2006 ATC Custom Trailer w/Hensley Arrow Hitch
Yamaha Warrior & Banshee
Honda XR650L Thumper
53 REPLIES 53

brulaz
Explorer
Explorer
landyacht318 wrote:
I'd not buy an AGM battery reading 12.3v. There is no Bargain there.

If these AGMS are going to be deeply cycled and not 100% recharged nearly every cycle, they will not be the best AGM for the application.

They are said to be, on some marine forums, very poor at PSOC cycling, partial state of charge cycling, losing capacity quickly and being very difficult to recover compared to other higher quality, higher$$ AGMS like Lifeline, Northstar and Odyssey.

The Member CMS in the following link, is well respected on every forum on which he participates, as he is a fountain of knowledge and experience and also writes clearly and concisely.

Look at post 49, where he speaks of the Deka AGM G-31 or the EP G-31.

EP meaning East Penn who make Deka intimidator.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/carbon-foam-batteries-1-year-later-26233-3.html

He says Deka themselves rate the their AGM at ONLY 350 cycles to 50% depth of discharge, less than half of Northstar or Odyssey and about 1/3 that of Lifeline.

If true, that bargain just got expensive.

Unless you can't recharge the batteries properly anyway, then just get the cheapest you can find and ring the 'works just fine' bell as long as you can.


Thanks for that link. I've avoided AGMs because we run our batts at PSOC a lot when boondocking (no generator, just solar), and because of weight. But those carbon foam Firefly's would be a great replacement for our GC2s if only they were cheaper. They handle the cold well, have a 1000 cycle lifetime down to 80% DOD, and are less complex than lithium phosphate.

More Firefly info
2014 ORV Timber Ridge 240RKS,8500#,1250# tongue,44K miles
690W Rooftop + 340W Portable Solar,4 GC2s,215Ah@24V
2016 Ram 2500 4x4 RgCab CTD,2507# payload,10.8 mpgUS tow

landyacht318
Explorer
Explorer
I'd not buy an AGM battery reading 12.3v. There is no Bargain there.

If these AGMS are going to be deeply cycled and not 100% recharged nearly every cycle, they will not be the best AGM for the application.

They are said to be, on some marine forums, very poor at PSOC cycling, partial state of charge cycling, losing capacity quickly and being very difficult to recover compared to other higher quality, higher$$ AGMS like Lifeline, Northstar and Odyssey.

The Member CMS in the following link, is well respected on every forum on which he participates, as he is a fountain of knowledge and experience and also writes clearly and concisely.

Look at post 49, where he speaks of the Deka AGM G-31 or the EP G-31.

EP meaning East Penn who make Deka intimidator.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/carbon-foam-batteries-1-year-later-26233-3.html

He says Deka themselves rate the their AGM at ONLY 350 cycles to 50% depth of discharge, less than half of Northstar or Odyssey and about 1/3 that of Lifeline.

If true, that bargain just got expensive.

Unless you can't recharge the batteries properly anyway, then just get the cheapest you can find and ring the 'works just fine' bell as long as you can.

grizzzman
Explorer
Explorer
howardq99 wrote:
howardq99 wrote:
Now looking at other options, it seems that Deka batteries are highly recommended. I was hoping for input on Deka Intimidator AGM batteries and if the intimidator series are the ones that are highly recommended. I'm specifically looking at their group 31 12V battery with part number 8A31DTM.
Thanks!


Things just got a little more interesting....

I called the local distributor to confirm they had the 8A31DTM in stock before I make the drive tomorrow to pick up 4 of them for ~$236 + tax each. They mentioned they had some cosmetically blemished Intimidator stock they would sell at a greatly discounted cost of $75 each plus tax.

The catch is that it is not the 8A31DTMs but rather their 9A31P part number (I think this falls under their "starting & cycling" category). As far as I can tell they are 4.5lbs lighter and 100AH vs 105AH.

I was told they only have the automotive SAE posts (this is what scares me). I asked them to measure the voltage and I was told that they are at 12.30V. The blemished also only have a 30 day warranty.

What would you do, stick to the original plan of purchasing 4 of the 8A31DTMs or get 8 of the 9A31Ps and save ~$350 to boot?

(If I get 8 batteries I will not have to schlep them between my house and trailer, I'll keep 4 at the house and 4 in the trailer)

Many thanks to the experts for their sage advice!


I would not trust a battery that had a rested voltage of 12.30 volts.
"If it is to good to be true"........... p T Barnam " There's a ...... EVERY day".
Good luck with your choice
2019 Ford F150 EcoBoost SuperCrew
2016 Rockwood Mini Lite 2504S. TM2030 SC2030
640 Watts Solar. Costco CG2 208 AH and Lifepo4 3P4S 150 AH Hybrid. ElectroDacus. Renolagy DC to DC charger. 2000 Watt Inverter.
Boondocking is my Deal

howardq99
Explorer
Explorer
The cosmetically blemished Intimidator batteries are relabeled/rebranded as "The Usable"....
2004 Ford Excursion 4X4 PSD
Firestone Airbags, Hellwig Anti-Sway Bar, Landyot Radius Rods,
Donahoe Racing 3" Lift, Prodigy & Silverstars

2006 ATC Custom Trailer w/Hensley Arrow Hitch
Yamaha Warrior & Banshee
Honda XR650L Thumper

howardq99
Explorer
Explorer
howardq99 wrote:
Now looking at other options, it seems that Deka batteries are highly recommended. I was hoping for input on Deka Intimidator AGM batteries and if the intimidator series are the ones that are highly recommended. I'm specifically looking at their group 31 12V battery with part number 8A31DTM.
Thanks!


Things just got a little more interesting....

I called the local distributor to confirm they had the 8A31DTM in stock before I make the drive tomorrow to pick up 4 of them for ~$236 + tax each. They mentioned they had some cosmetically blemished Intimidator stock they would sell at a greatly discounted cost of $75 each plus tax.

The catch is that it is not the 8A31DTMs but rather their 9A31P part number (I think this falls under their "starting & cycling" category). As far as I can tell they are 4.5lbs lighter and 100AH vs 105AH.

I was told they only have the automotive SAE posts (this is what scares me). I asked them to measure the voltage and I was told that they are at 12.30V. The blemished also only have a 30 day warranty.

What would you do, stick to the original plan of purchasing 4 of the 8A31DTMs or get 8 of the 9A31Ps and save ~$350 to boot?

(If I get 8 batteries I will not have to schlep them between my house and trailer, I'll keep 4 at the house and 4 in the trailer)

Many thanks to the experts for their sage advice!
2004 Ford Excursion 4X4 PSD
Firestone Airbags, Hellwig Anti-Sway Bar, Landyot Radius Rods,
Donahoe Racing 3" Lift, Prodigy & Silverstars

2006 ATC Custom Trailer w/Hensley Arrow Hitch
Yamaha Warrior & Banshee
Honda XR650L Thumper

pianotuna
Nomad III
Nomad III
Hi,

Only one fuse on positive closest to Load and Charge.

howardq99 wrote:
So to properly fuse this configuration using MRBF fuses, would you need 1 fuse for each of the positive terminals or only 1 fuse on the positive terminal closest to the Load & Charge?
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

howardq99
Explorer
Explorer
pianotuna wrote:
Hi Chris,

3 12 volt jars can only be wired in a balanced manner using method #3 at the smartgauge site.

This is what is balanced and best for twin twelve volt batteries.




So to properly fuse this configuration using MRBF fuses, would you need 1 fuse for each of the positive terminals or only 1 fuse on the positive terminal closest to the Load & Charge?
2004 Ford Excursion 4X4 PSD
Firestone Airbags, Hellwig Anti-Sway Bar, Landyot Radius Rods,
Donahoe Racing 3" Lift, Prodigy & Silverstars

2006 ATC Custom Trailer w/Hensley Arrow Hitch
Yamaha Warrior & Banshee
Honda XR650L Thumper

MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Explorer
I asked this before. What was your "bad experiences"?

free_radical
Explorer
Explorer
howardq99 wrote:
I was going to purchase some Fullriver DC250-6 AGMs for my project but I've been told that every DC250-6 battery in the US was purchased for a large order being shipped overseas and it will be at least until mid-December until they are available again.

Now looking at other options, it seems that Deka batteries are highly recommended. I was hoping for input on Deka Intimidator AGM batteries and if the intimidator series are the ones that are highly recommended. I'm specifically looking at their group 31 12V battery with part number 8A31DTM.

I know that the Fullriver are 6V (with two in series giving 250AH) and the Deka are 12V (with 2 in parallel giving 210AH).

One item that I would like advice on is that with the Dekas, I would need to wire the four batteries in parallel to work with my Xantrex ProWatt 2000 12V inverter until next fall when I'll be upgrading to a 24V inverter. At that time I would series-parallel the batteries.

Any input will be appreciated.
Thanks!

I had bad experience with Deka and Lifeline,,AGMs
Fullriver on the other hand works great...

If it wasnt mentioned yet heres the Correct way to connect multiple batteries

http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/batt_con.html

mvas
Explorer
Explorer
BFL13 wrote:
mvas wrote:
Two wire segments carry 2/3 of the amps = higher voltage drop
Two wire segments carry 1/3 of the amps = lower voltage drop.
Since the amperage is not shared equally the system is not balanced.
The wire segments carrying 2/3 of amps, must be "doubled up" for balance


You never said if that was amongst the load/charging wires or just amongst the battery bank wiring.


I am discussing the battery inter-connect wire segments ...
See the '3 battery diagram' by Red31 on page 3 of this thread.
The Two wire segments labelled '1' carry 1/3 of the amps (lower voltage drop)
The Two wire segments labelled '2' carry 2/3 of the amps (higher voltage drop)
The Main +/- cables carry all amps

The wire segments labelled '2' should be doubled in size or twin paralleled to help balance the load.

Unequal amps in the inter-connect wires cause the same type of voltage drop error between batteries just like unequal wire lengths and different number of inter-connects.

MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Explorer
How did I wire 24 2-volt 1,625 amp hours jars?

The CORRECT ANSWER is you establish a KNOWN proved-good standard for a series or parallel set of batteries.

With a carbon pile load tester using algebra when necessary, test additive battery additions. I tested 24 volts with a thousand amp load. You do not have an eleven ton bank. So both voltage and amperage tests are far less powerful. You do not test with a @#$%^! Kelvin Meter because the connections are REACTIVE.

Testing milliohms is insane. A comedy. A misconnection can go from 3-milli-ohms to 40 megohms in 2 seconds flat. Got a question LOAD the @#$%^! bank with a high inverter load and MEASURE THE VOLTAGE ACROSS EACH 6 cell BATTERY. You will find the lazy red headed stepson in 10 seconds flat.

SHEESH!

2oldman
Explorer II
Explorer II
I have 8 AGMS. Lotta weight, which I hope to reduce substantially with 4 Li's. Now there's just the **** cost.....
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman

MrWizard
Moderator
Moderator
We have five AGM house batteries, nine would be super
I've tried to adopt the off grid solar home attitude
All the batteries you can manage
I can explain it to you.
But I Can Not understand it for you !

....

Connected using T-Mobile Home internet and Visible Phone service
1997 F53 Bounder 36s

Chris_Bryant
Explorer II
Explorer II
pianotuna wrote:
Chris,

I'd love to know how you found room for 9 jars. I had 7 in two banks with balanced wiring.


We put them where the LP tank was, which was removed- made dealing with the weight a lot easier as well. But- not wanting to drop down too far we don't have much headroom over the batteries.
-- Chris Bryant