Which is the Better Battery Bank?

[BFL13]

Two of these
http://www.wegosolar.com/products.php?product=Surrette-S%252d550-Deep-Cycle-Wet-Lead-Acid-Solar-6V-B...

Or four of these

http://www.wegosolar.com/products.php?product=T%252d105-Trojan-Deep-Cycle-6V-Flooded-Wet-Lead-Acid-B...

For about the same AH? The prices will obviously be all over the map where you live, so pretend it comes to about the same in $/AH.

[landyacht318]

I had a Wally world 27 last 7 years, with the first 2 years being cycled very shallowly and the subsequent 5 years only engine starting and being topped up by solar. When i replaced it, it could crank my engine for only 3 seconds before stalling, but luckily it only required 2 seconds befire it would fire.

However 2 other Wally world 27s purchased at same time failed at 13 and 23 months of light cycling, but the fool owner did not have Solar's absorption voltage set high enough, nor its duration dialed in properly either. User error/ignorance on my part, back in 2008.

[pianotuna]

Hi landy,

I fear the wally worlds have passed now. The RV itself is at the wreckers yard. But they did reach the ripe old age of 12. BTW they were group 29, not 27.

Only one wally world left--being used as a starter battery. It is 8 and what saves it is constant recharging via a trik-l-start with solar feeding it. I may well replace it this winter. In 2017 it will be 9 years old.

landyacht318 wrote:
All hail the flooded Rolls/Surrette L-16, Absolute King of the Lead acid deep Cycle battery world.

With the exception of 6 2v L-16 in series cells of course.

And PT's 18 year old wally world 12v group 27 jars that are still serving the new owner well 🙂

[landyacht318]

time2roll wrote:

pnichols wrote:
Probably two of these ... instead 😉 :

http://www.rollsbattery.com/wp-content/uploads/batteries/S6-460AGM.pdf

Cycles vs discharge looks way better than Lifeline.

Lifeline manual see pg 38

Can't compare numbers across manufacturers, they do not use the same testing protocol, as there is no standard.

[landyacht318]

All hail the flooded Rolls/Surrette L-16, Absolute King of the Lead acid deep Cycle battery world.

With the exception of 6 2v L-16 in series cells of course.

And PT's 18 year old wally world 12v group 27 jars that are still serving the new owner well 🙂

[time2roll]

pnichols wrote:
Probably two of these ... instead 😉 :

http://www.rollsbattery.com/wp-content/uploads/batteries/S6-460AGM.pdf

Cycles vs discharge looks way better than Lifeline.

Lifeline manual see pg 38

[BFL13]

The Surrette ad claims their batts are double-hulled and have more dense plastic too, so I suppose a very small extra portion of their weights would go to that. Not that it would change their first place position in the race though.

"A dual container construction and high-density polyethylene material maximizes durability and eliminates acid leaks even if ..."

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Weight / amp hours = plate thickness x dimension gives electrolyte volume to active plate area. More liquid more weight and similar amp hours for a comparison. It all means ending up with an easier to manage longer lived battery. Package restrictions mean compromises. A group 27 with my .330" plates would mean around 8 amp hours at six volts.

[pnichols]

Probably two of these ... instead 😉 :

http://www.rollsbattery.com/wp-content/uploads/batteries/S6-460AGM.pdf

[landyacht318]

Does R/S even market a marine 12v battery?

Mex has said before that any of the standard car jar battery sizes simply cannot have true deep cycle internals stuffed into them and be effective, but not sure if that was a CCA / engine starting perspective.

I saw R/S did offer a T-1275 sized scrubber battery, but the prices I saw quoted were double that of the Trojan.

I think I am an AGM convert for good, at least in my current application for lead acid batteries. My hydrometer is dusty, the screwy 31 still going in light cycling duty.

[hammick]

Chris Bryant wrote:
The Surrettes have a 7 year warranty (2 year replacement, 5 year prorated), the Trojans 18 month.

The Trojan RE batteries have a longer warranty.

[BFL13]

For more fun, we should compare Wet Surrette 6s vs Wet Surrette Deep Cycle 12s to get about 425-450 AH. Hard to find matching sets and prices. I suppose all the usual 6s vs 12s arguments would apply though. ?

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Cents per kWh rendered. All other formulas are bogus.

Folks a submarine battery 80 years ago was almost five feet in height and survived depth charge attacks that shattered light bulbs. In a 5 ton dump truck the vibration argument would have merit - if you find your melmac dishes shattered and stove scuttled down the hall into the bedroom then a question of plate breakage is warranted.

[pianotuna]

Of course not! But agm to agm, and flooded to flooded, weight is a good place to start.

landyacht318 wrote:
I would't base a AGM vs Flooded on Weight per $.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Was I mistaken in my reply based on wet versus wet?
ALL ALL ALL ALL absorbed glass mat batteries do not like low percentile recharging rates. The higher the CCA per pound the less the "problem". But are we discussing cycling superlatives? Or is this limited to **** the torpedoes gimme an AGM that is least offended by low percentile charging? Quibbling amounts of daily total amp hours is best handled by an excellent quality flooded battery.

More concisely. Ask the OEM: "You claim your battery renders -x- number of cycles at "x" state of charge. What happens when the recgharge rate is less than 20% ratio to total amp hour capacity? How fewer cycles/life will your battery deliver?"

Concorde like R&S are perfectionists. They offer more information which a customer of course can choose to ignore. However too many OEMs offer little or no tech information. Is this by oversight or by choice?

[landyacht318]

I would't base a AGM vs Flooded on Weight per $.

An AGM group 27 can weight 15LBs more than a flooded 27 and have 15Ah less claimed capacity

In the RS vs lifeline comparison, I'd go RS unless one absolutely cannot be bothered with watering.

There is also that pesky 20% minimum recharge rate to account for listed by COncorde when cycled to 50% or deeper.