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Old 09-12-2016, 12:43 PM   #1
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Battery question

Has anyone used an AGM battery (sealed battery, requires no water added)? If so, what has your experience been?


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Old 09-12-2016, 12:59 PM   #2
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I've not used one myself. But in general, you will get lower amp hour and reserve capacity ratings relative to a true deep cycle of the same size class. And a corresponding reduction in weight. All the sealed batteries I've seen are either starting or dual purpose, not dedicated deep cycle. Sealed batteries are particularly useful for those who want to relocate the battery off the tongue.
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Old 09-13-2016, 01:26 AM   #3
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Yes. See:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...rum-81229.html

My AGM is definitely a dedicated deep cycle battery. It was designed for off-grid solar.
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Old 09-13-2016, 04:10 PM   #4
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Yes. See:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...rum-81229.html

My AGM is definitely a dedicated deep cycle battery. It was designed for off-grid solar.
That's good to know.

I was thinking of the batteries from the traditional sources for flooded deep cycle batteries like Exide or Interstate.

But wow that monster weighs 138 pounds.
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Old 09-13-2016, 05:46 PM   #5
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Yep. That's a $500 battery. However I stumbled into it for far less. I went down to a local battery dealer looking for a pair of flooded 6V golf cart batteries. But as he led me to the 6-volters, we passed a pallet of these. He mentioned that he was selling these for $100 each and my eyes lit up.

He told me that he bought these for scrap value because they had been originally purchased for someone's off-grid solar project that ended up not happening. These batteries had been sitting around unused, uncharged for 2 years, which is not good for batteries of course.

But these are extremely high quality AGMs. They were not so easy to kill through neglect. AGMs have a low self-discharge rate by nature. These are even better than the average AGM. After some amount of over-voltage recondition charging, I estimate that I have at least 80% of its like-new capacity. So 80% capacity for 20% of the price? Awesome deal. I brought home five of the beasts for my solar experimentation. The best one went into the trailer.
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Old 09-13-2016, 06:16 PM   #6
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Im running 2 12 volt deep cycle group 27 flooded batteries..my solar panel now lives in the garage .
Im a cpac user, and with lights, fan and pump, with a bit of early morning and late evening furnace i go a week without even coming close to half discharge.
For a 14 day stint, the solar panel is brought with the camper.
If you are thinking of camping like this....do not go cheap on batteries...your at least looking at 500 bucks...but if your a weekly camper, it will be worth the expense and issues, than going solar with cheap batteries
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Old 09-13-2016, 06:57 PM   #7
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My T12 (same as your A212) came with one group 24 Interstate "Marine/RV" 75 amp hour battery. I have camped about 90 days so far, mostly with shore power or generator power, and my battery is still well and has required no additional water yet. Unless you are going to rely on the battery as sole power source a lot (i.e. "Boondocking"), you probably do not need a change of battery.
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Old 09-14-2016, 07:00 AM   #8
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Most of the better sites we find up in ontario are non electric, as they are close to the waters edge tucked tight into the woods. Good batteries are a must in our camping situations.
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Old 09-14-2016, 11:53 AM   #9
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Some pros and cons,

but I have an agm in the camper, and in a vehicle, and I am staying agm.
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Old 09-14-2016, 12:52 PM   #10
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but I have an agm in the camper, and in a vehicle, and I am staying agm.
X2! Love them.... And we boondock 80% of the time.
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Old 09-15-2016, 10:21 AM   #11
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We are new to the A-Frame world and I too had these same questions, here is what I learned.


There has been a bunch of consolidation in the battery industry. I have had Optima batteries in the past and thought highly of them. Sadly Optima was bought by Johnson Controls, which move their production to Mexico and the quality suffered and has never improved. A local vendor said he receives more warranty issues with Optima than any other battery.


AGM batteries have higher CCA compared to a wet cell or flooded battery, but that's not what you are looking for in a camper battery. Amp Hours is what you want, and it's just not possible to get the amp hrs out of a AGM battery that you can out of 2 6V flooded batteries. The cost per amp hr makes the flooded or traditional batteries the best choice in my opinion.


I think what less understood is how you should charge your batteries...I really didn't know much beyond plugging them into a trickle charger. I found an article that does a great job explaining solar and charging. I found it very helpful and as a result I'm comfortable with my solar charging system maintaining my battery all year round, even while in storage for the winter.


I think it's worth a read!

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/...ging-puzzle-2/
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Old 09-15-2016, 04:10 PM   #12
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Agm vs flooded cells.vs twin 6 volters...for me, this is an owners choice...and will never be agreed upon.
So if your happy and you know it ....clap your hands....
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Old 09-15-2016, 04:23 PM   #13
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You bet...there are arguments for both. For me, I was surprised at the break down in cost per amp hour, and the over all lack of a high quality 12V deep cycle battery, that's why I went dual 6V deep cycle.

Battery technology is getting better every day...I can't wait to see what the future holds!
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Old 09-15-2016, 07:10 PM   #14
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Battery technology is getting better every day...I can't wait to see what the future holds!
Electrons are very very small and don't weigh much. Like subatomic small. It's a wonder we can't store more of them in a the space allotted on a camper. Maybe one day.
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Old 09-15-2016, 07:16 PM   #15
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Just gotta wait for Matter-Antimatter reactors.................


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Of course, then everyone will weigh in on which brand of DiLithium Chrystals is best.
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Old 09-15-2016, 07:36 PM   #16
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All five of my batteries are Interstate group 31AGMs as they don't produce hydrogen gas and three are inside under the dinette seats. I'm full solar and they work fine for me. I can't have gas producing batteries inside as the gas will corrode the aluminum and is explosive. Since I have a 5,000 watt inverter, gas is not an option! I paid a lot for them, but I got what I paid for.
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Old 09-15-2016, 07:39 PM   #17
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I'm partial to crystals from LeForge Dilithium Mining and Processing. But I have had good experience with both Tucker and Torres brand crystals, in a pinch. Scotty's are a bit histrionic for me.
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Old 09-18-2016, 07:50 AM   #18
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Electrons are very very small and don't weigh much. Like subatomic small. It's a wonder we can't store more of them in a the space allotted on a camper.
Yeah, but the issue with electrons is they are negatively charged, so when you group them together, they repulse each other. That's why you must keep them with protons and neutrons to keep the charge neutral. And those take space...



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Old 09-18-2016, 12:22 PM   #19
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Yeah, but the issue with electrons is they are negatively charged, so when you group them together, they repulse each other. That's why you must keep them with protons and neutrons to keep the charge neutral. And those take space...



jf
Who'd of thunk it.
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