VMAX Charge Tank Battery Reviews?

[roostonu]

I need to replace my 2 Deka G31 12v AGM batteries and I've found this brand on Ebay. Reviews on Amazon are good but there aren't a lot of them. I'm aware of the typical favorites like Trojan and I'm not looking for recommendations, just wondering if anyone has personal experience with this brand. Their Group 31 Solar Deep Cycle is rated at 125 ah with a predicted life span of 8-10 years. My Deka's lasted 8-9 years and probably would have gone longer if I didn't let them go completely dead a couple years ago. Then 2 months at the repair shop getting a new roof wiped them out.

Thanks,
Eric

[roostonu]

NRALIFR wrote:
Thanks for the update on how your VMAX batteries are doing, Eric. Sorry it went sideways. I’m always interested to read about others experience with this brand, since it isn’t quite as well known.

Just speaking for myself, when I was in the market for a new battery, I was able to find enough information on the VMAX website, plus anecdotal and credible evidence elsewhere (not in the same place, of course) that these batteries were worth risking some money on. Plus, they seemed competitively priced.

Anyone who is truly curious about their quality, and yet skeptical of reports by average owners like us (nimrods? :W ) that lack the scientific evidence they so clearly demand has the same options we did. Buy one and put it through a stress test, then tell us why it’s a POS, or not. They aren’t prohibitively priced. Or, use the company “Contact Us” page to request the kind of data you require to make a purchase decision. I’m afraid you’re never going to get the level of documentation and logs you desire from me on a battery. That may seem strange, or even negligent to you, but that’s the way it is. I don’t need any new obsessions, thank you.

Eric, I see that you bought the same VMAX battery I did, which is the SLR-125, rather than one of the “MR” models. SLR = solar, and MR = marine. I reasoned that my usage more closely matched the usage of a solar battery bank, than a marine battery that probably needs to also start the boat motor. I’m not a boat guy, so I admit to not knowing jack about how their battery banks are arranged. Was that your reasoning as well?

I don’t have any solar panels on my camper like you do, so recharging when we’re dry camping is via a Yamaha 1000 generator. The maximum short-duration output mine typically sees is <50 amps, although I have occasionally asked it for as much as 100 amps. Running the microwave on the inverter is the heaviest load mine sees. The SLR battery seems to be able to handle it just fine. Other than that, my battery usage is very much like yours.

:):)

I did get the SLR125 x 2 mounted on the tongue of the trailer. I should add that they have never been covered so have been exposed to the elements (mild NorCal) for 6 years as well. I made the tray (welded to frame) for them along with a 2" x .080ish stainless steel strap that goes over the batteries, down through the tray and then has pad locks on each end of the strap. I did get the SLR's specifically for the Solar application that I already had. Which by the way is a 55w GoPower panel and controller that cost roughly $700 on Ebay 16-17 years ago before GoPower was sold through RV dealers & parts suppliers only. I do not have an inverter yet, but we plan on one more summer season in this trailer and then we're going to purchase a new fiver for our 30th anniversary. I have done very little research since back then because my system has been so trouble free, but I plan on our new rig having 1 or 2 100ah Renogy Lithiums along with 400w of solar and a 2000w inverter/charger so I've been reading up on the subject again. In fact I just purchased 2 of the VMAX XCA27-1000 Xtreme Cranking batteries for my wifes 2nd Gen Dodge Cummins and when I started researching VMAX reviews again, my old post on here came up. There are many reviews and comparisons now on the internet and they come highly recommended in several reviews. Unfortunately none of the reviews are scientific enough for some but good enough for someone like me to have some confidence that I'm not getting some POS.

[NRALIFR]

Thanks for the update on how your VMAX batteries are doing, Eric. Sorry it went sideways. I’m always interested to read about others experience with this brand, since it isn’t quite as well known.

Just speaking for myself, when I was in the market for a new battery, I was able to find enough information on the VMAX website, plus anecdotal and credible evidence elsewhere (not in the same place, of course) that these batteries were worth risking some money on. Plus, they seemed competitively priced.

Anyone who is truly curious about their quality, and yet skeptical of reports by average owners like us (nimrods? :W ) that lack the scientific evidence they so clearly demand has the same options we did. Buy one and put it through a stress test, then tell us why it’s a POS, or not. They aren’t prohibitively priced. Or, use the company “Contact Us” page to request the kind of data you require to make a purchase decision. I’m afraid you’re never going to get the level of documentation and logs you desire from me on a battery. That may seem strange, or even negligent to you, but that’s the way it is. I don’t need any new obsessions, thank you.

Eric, I see that you bought the same VMAX battery I did, which is the SLR-125, rather than one of the “MR” models. SLR = solar, and MR = marine. I reasoned that my usage more closely matched the usage of a solar battery bank, than a marine battery that probably needs to also start the boat motor. I’m not a boat guy, so I admit to not knowing jack about how their battery banks are arranged. Was that your reasoning as well?

I don’t have any solar panels on my camper like you do, so recharging when we’re dry camping is via a Yamaha 1000 generator. The maximum short-duration output mine typically sees is <50 amps, although I have occasionally asked it for as much as 100 amps. Running the microwave on the inverter is the heaviest load mine sees. The SLR battery seems to be able to handle it just fine. Other than that, my battery usage is very much like yours.

:):)

[roostonu]

landyacht318 wrote:
Ok, I'll apologize for the nimrod comment.
Sorry.

Thanks for additional info on how your batteries were used in their life so far. Hope they go another 6 years for you.

Thanks and I apologize for being so blunt.

[landyacht318]

Ok, I'll apologize for the nimrod comment.
Sorry.

Thanks for additional info on how your batteries were used in their life so far. Hope they go another 6 years for you.

[roostonu]

landyacht318 wrote:
Still going, vs still going strong.

One requires No data, experience or knowledge, only pride and ego and ignorance,
The other requires only Data, for points of comparison

YOur rope comment only proves my point about a fragile ego, even though my nimrod comment was directed at battery neophytes on Automotive forums.

Haw haw.

Glad your batteries are still working, but without offering any information on how they've been used, about how many cycles over the subsequent years, and to what depth of discharge, even as a round guestimate, your 'still going strong' report, is basically worthless.

I too saw when these batteries came on the market years ago and wondered about their quality, and your report nearly 6 years later satisfies none of my curiosity.

So give a guesstimate, how many cycles did they accumulate in those 6 years, and to what depth?

My last AGM battery lasted 6 years, but it accumulated well over 1200 deep cycles, about 100 of those well below 50% and many thousands of engine starts and cycles to 90% or higher are not counted towards that ~1200 figure.

I had a nimrod on an automotive based forum say he gets 6 years out of his starting battery for 1/5th the price, implying I am an idiot for having an expensive AGM battery I insure reaches full charge regularly, and he could not seem to realize there is a difference when one is cycled deeply, providing hundreds of KWH over its life, and the other likely never passes 1KWH.

A battery owner on an rv forum is expected to give some information on how the batteries are cycled, you provided NONE just a 'still going strong' claim with Zero evidence that they are still indeed strong.

Your dance around the nimrod comment doesn't work. You compared my post to that of a nimrod's. The piss up a rope comment had nothing to do with my ego and willingness or lack there of to admit I'm wrong. It had everything to do with you comparing me to a nimrod. When you throw comments like that (nimrod and fragile ego) around over a simple comment about my batteries, you are bound to get people like me to tell you to STFU.

You see, I actually agree with you about needing more information but you had to turn your comment into a lecture and scolding for not fulfilling YOUR expectations so now you can just piss up a rope.

For anyone else, I do not have a battery monitor so I never know my state of charge other than battery voltage and I do not care to estimate my charge cycles or DOD so if you want to try and figure it out, go for it. I have two 125ah AGM batteries and a 55w solar panel with PWM controller for our TT. We use the trailer for approximately 4 weeks a year total and it sits the rest of the year float charging from the panel. We have a fridge running on propane, a propane detector and a couple lights left on in the evening until 10:00pm when we are using it. We also charge a phone or two during the day from a 12v port. The voltage is never below 11.5v by the time the sun hits the panel around noon(due to trees blocking the sun). By the time the sun goes down, my batteries are fully charged at 12.6v and my controller goes to maintenance mode. As long as this continues, I will consider my batteries to be going strong, until they no longer do.

[BFL13]

They get a mention here in comparison with some others, scroll down

https://www.deepcyclemarinebattery.com/reviews/upg-ub121000-deep-cycle-agm-battery.html

[landyacht318]

Still going, vs still going strong.

One requires No data, experience or knowledge, only pride and ego and ignorance,
The other requires only Data, for points of comparison

YOur rope comment only proves my point about a fragile ego, even though my nimrod comment was directed at battery neophytes on Automotive forums.

Haw haw.

Glad your batteries are still working, but without offering any information on how they've been used, about how many cycles over the subsequent years, and to what depth of discharge, even as a round guestimate, your 'still going strong' report, is basically worthless.

I too saw when these batteries came on the market years ago and wondered about their quality, and your report nearly 6 years later satisfies none of my curiosity.

So give a guesstimate, how many cycles did they accumulate in those 6 years, and to what depth?

My last AGM battery lasted 6 years, but it accumulated well over 1200 deep cycles, about 100 of those well below 50% and many thousands of engine starts and cycles to 90% or higher are not counted towards that ~1200 figure.

I had a nimrod on an automotive based forum say he gets 6 years out of his starting battery for 1/5th the price, implying I am an idiot for having an expensive AGM battery I insure reaches full charge regularly, and he could not seem to realize there is a difference when one is cycled deeply, providing hundreds of KWH over its life, and the other likely never passes 1KWH.

A battery owner on an rv forum is expected to give some information on how the batteries are cycled, you provided NONE just a 'still going strong' claim with Zero evidence that they are still indeed strong.

[roostonu]

landyacht318 wrote:
How many deep cycles accumulated in those years? To what average depth?

How are you determining they are 'still going strong?'


Not saying they are a good or bad battery.

On automotive forums, the nimrods there( concerning batteries) will say their battery is 'still going strong' for X years now, then the next day, it fails to start their engine and their 'still going strong' claim was obviously absurd.

If they had a voltmeter wired to their battery and observed it every engine start in those subsequent years, they would have not said still going strong, but that the voltage held every engine start has been declining in a mostly linear manner, but lately it seems to have dipped further, then one day it failed to start.

Regarding deep cycling, one could observe voltage held under X amount of load, with X amount of AH removed from the battery, and compare it to when teh battery was newer, and see the trend, how well capacity is being retained, but without this data all one can say is that it still meets their needs, whether their needs draw the battery to 90% state of charge, or 60%.

My most recently AGM replaced battery, still holds a very surprisingly high voltage, when powering normal overnight loads. It was also my engine starting battery. The day before I got a new battery it almost failed to start my warm engine in mild ambient temps when fully charged. Now it is in my workshop being light cycled and still maintaining over 12.7v when I turn everything off.

If I did not have the starting voltage data and the slow cranking, and judged its health solely by the voltage held in my workshop's evening loads previous to that, my regular overnight loads, I could make the 'still going strong' claim, but the ~180 amp load of my starter motor tells a very different story, as does the fact that amps never can taper to the level it is considered full.

Without Data, all it is is opinion, and perhaps wishful thinking with a whole bunch of fragile ego involved.

The Vmax tanks do seem to be pretty heavy for their group size, but I hardly trust amazon reviewers to have any inkling about battery performance other than it works or it does not. If it fails early most are completely oblivious about what a proper full recharge entails.

If it has not failed yet, it is 'still going strong' without anything to support that claim.

And thanks for the lecture Dad. You just can't help yourself can you?

[roostonu]

landyacht318 wrote:
How many deep cycles accumulated in those years? To what average depth?

How are you determining they are 'still going strong?'


Not saying they are a good or bad battery.

On automotive forums, the nimrods there( concerning batteries) will say their battery is 'still going strong' for X years now, then the next day, it fails to start their engine and their 'still going strong' claim was obviously absurd.

If they had a voltmeter wired to their battery and observed it every engine start in those subsequent years, they would have not said still going strong, but that the voltage held every engine start has been declining in a mostly linear manner, but lately it seems to have dipped further, then one day it failed to start.

Regarding deep cycling, one could observe voltage held under X amount of load, with X amount of AH removed from the battery, and compare it to when teh battery was newer, and see the trend, how well capacity is being retained, but without this data all one can say is that it still meets their needs, whether their needs draw the battery to 90% state of charge, or 60%.

My most recently AGM replaced battery, still holds a very surprisingly high voltage, when powering normal overnight loads. It was also my engine starting battery. The day before I got a new battery it almost failed to start my warm engine in mild ambient temps when fully charged. Now it is in my workshop being light cycled and still maintaining over 12.7v when I turn everything off.

If I did not have the starting voltage data and the slow cranking, and judged its health solely by the voltage held in my workshop's evening loads previous to that, my regular overnight loads, I could make the 'still going strong' claim, but the ~180 amp load of my starter motor tells a very different story, as does the fact that amps never can taper to the level it is considered full.

Without Data, all it is is opinion, and perhaps wishful thinking with a whole bunch of fragile ego involved.

The Vmax tanks do seem to be pretty heavy for their group size, but I hardly trust amazon reviewers to have any inkling about battery performance other than it works or it does not. If it fails early most are completely oblivious about what a proper full recharge entails.

If it has not failed yet, it is 'still going strong' without anything to support that claim.

1. I don't care to study every milliamp going in and out of my batteries.
2. It was a simple observation that I was passing along. Going strong to me just means they still take a charge, hold a charge and last until the sun hits my solar panel again. That's all some of us need. We don't all need to know every detail down to a nat's ass like you.
3. I was referring to battery comparisons, not amazon reviews.
4. Go piss up a rope with your nimrod and fragile ego comment.

[NRALIFR]

I’ve had a VMAX group 31 battery in my camper since 9/18/15, and it’s working well for me. Can I tell you how deep I’ve discharged it, or how many 50-90’s I’ve done? Nope. I couldn’t tell you that about any battery I’ve ever had. I can tell you that it’s the heaviest group 31 I’ve had. Even heavier than the Trojan group 31 that it replaced.

:):)

[landyacht318]

How many deep cycles accumulated in those years? To what average depth?

How are you determining they are 'still going strong?'


Not saying they are a good or bad battery.

On automotive forums, the nimrods there( concerning batteries) will say their battery is 'still going strong' for X years now, then the next day, it fails to start their engine and their 'still going strong' claim was obviously absurd.

If they had a voltmeter wired to their battery and observed it every engine start in those subsequent years, they would have not said still going strong, but that the voltage held every engine start has been declining in a mostly linear manner, but lately it seems to have dipped further, then one day it failed to start.

Regarding deep cycling, one could observe voltage held under X amount of load, with X amount of AH removed from the battery, and compare it to when teh battery was newer, and see the trend, how well capacity is being retained, but without this data all one can say is that it still meets their needs, whether their needs draw the battery to 90% state of charge, or 60%.

My most recently AGM replaced battery, still holds a very surprisingly high voltage, when powering normal overnight loads. It was also my engine starting battery. The day before I got a new battery it almost failed to start my warm engine in mild ambient temps when fully charged. Now it is in my workshop being light cycled and still maintaining over 12.7v when I turn everything off.

If I did not have the starting voltage data and the slow cranking, and judged its health solely by the voltage held in my workshop's evening loads previous to that, my regular overnight loads, I could make the 'still going strong' claim, but the ~180 amp load of my starter motor tells a very different story, as does the fact that amps never can taper to the level it is considered full.

Without Data, all it is is opinion, and perhaps wishful thinking with a whole bunch of fragile ego involved.

The Vmax tanks do seem to be pretty heavy for their group size, but I hardly trust amazon reviewers to have any inkling about battery performance other than it works or it does not. If it fails early most are completely oblivious about what a proper full recharge entails.

If it has not failed yet, it is 'still going strong' without anything to support that claim.

[roostonu]

Digging up my old post to update V-Max Battery review.

6 years now and going strong. I have not touched the batteries or terminals since making the original connections in 2014. I did just order a new Renogy 100w panel to upgrade my 55w panel bought over 15 years ago and I'm going to replace the 8g battery cables to 6g.

6 years ago, almost no one had heard of them and now they are rated very highly and made in the USA.

[roostonu]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
TANX for the review, did they come with vmax and float value suggestions?

From their website:

Charging voltage 14.4-14.9
Float voltage 13.5-13.8

[MEXICOWANDERER]

TANX for the review, did they come with vmax and float value suggestions?