On line source for Lifeline batteries?

[S_Davis]

Anyone purchased lifeline batteries on line? Looking for a reliable source.

Thanks

[S_Davis]

JimK-NY wrote:
I used "Battery Guys". The price was good with no taxes, no shipping charges. I received the batteries within a few days of ordering. They were well packed and crated.

Did they have good date codes?

[S_Davis]

I can limit the charge rate with the Outback for generator charging, truck charging will be whatever I can get through a 2/0 from a 120 amp alternator @14.4 volts. I will plug in shore power as needed for full charging.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

BFL, unfortunately, there is no simple way to describe proper maintenance. The deeper the discharge the more essential it is to stick with the 20% rule. Flat out, twenty percent minimum re-charge rate is NOT DEMANDED once the battery reaches 80%. But the deeper the cycle and longer the period between charges the more essential it is for the 100% .5% of amp-hour recharge.

Electro chemistry is anything but linear.

The fewer the amp hours drawn the less essential the frequency of top charging. And the less essential meeting the 20% amperage rule.

The above has been verified by reality not theory. The absolute here is AGM recovery and amp hour capacity retained or lost. By adhering to the regimen my 10-year old lifeline has retained 97% original amp hour capacity but it's duty is standby not cycling. But the 97% itself should say a lot for most folks interested in preserving Lifespan. It is inarguable that the time versus capacity cannot be fudged. This battery has been babied 🙂

[JimK-NY]

I used "Battery Guys". The price was good with no taxes, no shipping charges. I received the batteries within a few days of ordering. They were well packed and crated.

[JimK-NY]

I used "Battery Guys". The price was good with no taxes, no shipping charges. I received the batteries within a few days of ordering. They were well packed and crated.

[BFL13]

S Davis wrote:
I am trying to decide on either two 8Ds or two 4Ds, if I do the 4D I would have room to add two more at a later date.

EDIT--you can't run a 125 amp charger from a 2200w generator. More like a 75 amp charger (which maxes out my 2200w gen at its rated 1700VA) You could run a 125 amp charger with a Honda 3000w gen (2800VA) I was able to run 130a of non-PF corrected chargers or 160 amps of 100 PF and 60 non PF combo with that.

I have one 250AH 8D AGM plus two 100AH AGM 27s. I bank them as a 450Ah bank, but have to recharge them as a 250 plus a 200 to meet the 20% charging rate required in Bulk. ( I have a 75 amp charger. 20% of 450 is 90 amps )

The 250 needs 50 amps but a 200Ah 4D would need 40 amps. So it depends on the available charger, if you can do that or not. The physical aspects with big batteries like 4D or 8D "depends" on you and your rig.

Mex is confusing above there, but at the 20% charging rate, the AGM will reach absorption voltage at about 75% SOC, then amps will taper.

So if you only draw down to 75% you can't do the 20% rate--the battery won't accept that many amps. You have to draw down below that to get any Bulk stage.

Solar shallow cycling is therefore murder on AGMs unless you deliberately do a deep cycle every so often, and a full 20% Bulk and stay at Vabs all the way till amps taper to 0.5/100AH. Need to be on shore power for a couple days to do that. Impossible on solar while camping.

[S_Davis]

I guess then if I need more power I can stack another Outback and add more batteries later.

[S_Davis]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
I haven't done this but it might be a wise idea to divide $ by amp hours and see if there's a valid difference between the two BCI sizes.

Four 4-D's make sense. Suddenly the last 20% of charging means not 10 amps but a 40 amp charge rate. This makes the running of a generator much more valid. With my wet Rolls batteries 100 amperes is quite near where the specific gravity readings tell me to revert to float. And that is = to 2,800 watts.

Weight, space, and initial cost are the counterpoints and with AGM it is vital that the first 90% of your charge regimen reaches 20% of total amp hour capacity of the bank IF THE BATTERIES ARE DRAWN DOWN to 50% amp hours remaining. Means discharging to deep cycle exercise. This high amperage can be reduced to 10% if recharging occurs when remaining ampere hours total 60% of total capacity. Around 75% remaining amp hours the necessity of a minimum amperage recharge vanishes but the bank requires a full recharge every 2 weeks or so.

A 36 amp Megawatt feeding off a small 1000 watt generator for 5 hours will take the sting out of this top charging. Let the gen run out of gas as a foolproof timer. Any time the regular onboard charger dips below 40 amps charge, revert to the Megawatt and tiny generator and save a lot of money in fuel. This only happens when top charging.

I am presently residing in a stick and brick house. My consumption of electrical averaged over 24 hours ia NINETY SEVEN WATTS

I am planning on using the 120amp charging from the truck and then using a Outback VFXR2812 that has a 125amp charger. Bulk charge at 14.4 from the truck and Honda 2200 watt gen or shore power and Outback for fully charging. So should I stick to just two of the 8D with a max 125amp charging rate?

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I haven't done this but it might be a wise idea to divide $ by amp hours and see if there's a valid difference between the two BCI sizes.

Four 4-D's make sense. Suddenly the last 20% of charging means not 10 amps but a 40 amp charge rate. This makes the running of a generator much more valid. With my wet Rolls batteries 100 amperes is quite near where the specific gravity readings tell me to revert to float. And that is = to 2,800 watts.

Weight, space, and initial cost are the counterpoints and with AGM it is vital that the first 90% of your charge regimen reaches 20% of total amp hour capacity of the bank IF THE BATTERIES ARE DRAWN DOWN to 50% amp hours remaining. Means discharging to deep cycle exercise. This high amperage can be reduced to 10% if recharging occurs when remaining ampere hours total 60% of total capacity. Around 75% remaining amp hours the necessity of a minimum amperage recharge vanishes but the bank requires a full recharge every 2 weeks or so.

A 36 amp Megawatt feeding off a small 1000 watt generator for 5 hours will take the sting out of this top charging. Let the gen run out of gas as a foolproof timer. Any time the regular onboard charger dips below 40 amps charge, revert to the Megawatt and tiny generator and save a lot of money in fuel. This only happens when top charging.

I am presently residing in a stick and brick house. My consumption of electrical averaged over 24 hours ia NINETY SEVEN WATTS

[S_Davis]

I am trying to decide on either two 8Ds or two 4Ds, if I do the 4D I would have room to add two more at a later date.

[S_Davis]

parkdep wrote:
Life Line Batteries

Doesn't look like they stock the 4D and 8D that I am looking for.

[parkdep]

Life Line Batteries

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I really endorse your decision to seek the reputation of a seller of AGM batteries. Too many complaints of batteries of old stock showing 12.50 volts or less. It's a vendor's responsibility to ensure they are vending a maintained product. IMHO you are purchasing the best and the 'best' will easily last 600 full range cycles which translates to what...10-years of vacation boondocking, minimum? Lifeline has their act together with their online user manual. I am rigid with my own 31 about maintenance and it has paid off handsomely.

[Matt_Colie]

For installations, I always get a bid from:
www.powerstridebattery.com

Matt

[ford_truck_guy]

I just ordered 2 GPL31T from Pasco/Stein battery.... they priced matched a guy about an hour away.. when I went to pick them up, they had ordered 2 of the GPL31XT by mistake....

I told them they were different, but they gave them to me for the same cost...paid $320.00 ea
Great people to deal with.

Amazon was showing them at $474.00