AGM battery issue/recommendation?

[wandererr]

So I have a problem. The AGM battery I have does not seem to want to hold a charge anymore. It drops to 10.4V 5 days after charging completes. It's still under warranty but Amazon does not have them in stock so instead of replacement they gave me a refund and told me to hold on to the battery (shipping back would be not cost practical for them ). I used the trailer with the battery twice. Once for 2 days - it was fine. Once for a week - I let the battery drop to 10.5V by omission and it didn't want to charge back when connected to the tow vehicle. It did charge back up when I was back home with shore power.

So while I'm shopping/trying to get ideas regarding a replacement I'm wondering if there is anything that could be done to bring the battery back to life?

Alternatively - any recommendations for batteries?

Links to battery that I have and the charger that I use

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003FFTFBW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CBTRN26/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Bbasso]

I have these as my battery bank , charged by solar and dual alternators and they holding up very well despite my heavy daily assault lol

 

[john61ct]

Are you sure you need AGM? FLA is more robust, longer lasting andd you can check SoC with a cheap hydrometer.

 

[PhulesAU]

Deka

 

[Regcabguy]

My Sears Platinum is going on 6 yrs now. It's still got the 8 year prorated warranty.
They don't offer the generous warranty anymore,besides they seem to be on their way out.

 

[wandererr]

I prefer sealed battery since it's inside the trailer.

 

[DaveInDenver]

If it was me I'd do a recovery/reconditioning on it, which requires you do a deep discharge as a starting point. On a 12V AGM you would discharge to about 10.0V anyway and rebuild from there.

The main thing is you'd need a very substantial charger to do this. That little 4 amp Genius isn't going to cut it. Typically you want to be able to sustain no less than 40% of the battery's 10-hour capacity, which in your case would be something along the lines of 35A (the MC-31 has a 100A C20 rating, the C10 will likely be slightly lower), and can achieve 14.7V.

I have a 45A charger I use for this. It's a Iota DLS-45/IQ4 that dwh hates, but it's worked for me for years. It got me 7 and 8 years from Red Tops and I'm going on 3 years on my PC1400 pair now (still new). I start doing the reconditioning charges annually on batteries usually after 4 years. The Red Top in my old truck was 3 years old when it sat for 6 months in 2008 discharged while I rebuilt the engine. I used the starter to 'drive' it home about 2 blocks when the timing chain snapped, pulled it out and forgot about it. I ran a reconditioning on it and it lasted another 4 years after that.

If you can get your hands on something capable of that current it's possible you could recover the battery. It's also possible it's been damaged and never recovers, too.

 

[dwh]

I don't hate Iota. I like Iota. I recommend Iota.

I do think people should be aware that what they call equalization, really isn't.

Other than that, Iota is good stuff.

 

[ripperj]

As Dave mentions above , you may be overlooking the importance of being able to get lots of amps back in.
I use Full River AGMs. They are a nice battery that most have not heard of. My local Auto place's battery guy recommended them. The warranty, price, tech support are all good. I was able to get them delivered for free right to the Auto store. My Magnum charger/inverter routinely cranks 45-50 amps(charge rate,not total) back into them, and that's after only going to 85%. I have two 225a six volts in series


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[wandererr]

So here's the update. Picked up the charger below. Since the exide seems to be semi ok at the moment I figured I'd experiment on the oddysey pc1500 first. It's possible that it is coming back to life

http://www.batterychargers.com/xc103w/

 

[TwinStick]

That's what they don't tell you when they sell you a honkin big powerful AGM battery: That you need a big honkin expensive battery charger to keep them in top shape. Most vehicles do not put out the volts needed to do that. They max out at 14.6 usually. Most sales people don't know that either. I bought an Odyssey triple bank 50 amp charger & Odyssey said to me that their big AGM's like 14.8 volts or more and 50 amps. Their triple bank charger that I bought (which is no longer avail) has the capability to, and has, gone as high as 18 volts (according to it's digital readout) while charging & conditioning my big Marine Sears DH Platinum. I also picked up one of these chargers https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...r-with-engine-start-4-30-60-300a?cm_vc=-10005 and have found that hitting our batteries 1x or 2x a year with a short blast of 60 amp charge (10-15 min tops), seems to make them last longer. Some say that doing that desulfates them & knocks some of the sulfating off the plates? I am no battery expert but I have brought a few of my neighbors "dead" batteries back to life by doing that. Also, when bringing back dead or low batteries, it seems that you don't want a "smart" charger. They will say your battery is dead & needs to be replaced. While a "dumb" (old, manual) charger don't know the difference & will keep charging until the timer shuts off or you unplug it. I have also tried that. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/schumacher-6-12v-battery-maintainer-15a?cm_vc=-10005 This charger failed to charge my motorcycle battery that was 12 yrs old & the battery maintainer came unplugged sometime over the winter. I had nothing to lose, so I hit it for 15 min @ 30 amps, then switched it to 4 amps overnight. Turned it off in the morning & let it set till night. Hit it at 60 amps for 5 min then switched to 4 amps overnight. Let it set for a day & hooked it back up to the 1.5 amp maintainer. Left it hooked up for 4 days & when I checked it, the green light was flashing & said it was charged. I put it back in the bike, road it for another year & recently sold the bike with the original Yuasa battery.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

So here's the update. Picked up the charger below. Since the exide seems to be semi ok at the moment I figured I'd experiment on the oddysey pc1500 first. It's possible that it is coming back to life

http://www.batterychargers.com/xc103w/

I think you may have gottten the wrong charger for your AGM. That is an automatic charger, but it does not appear to be a smart charger. I saw nothing that indicated it has the charging profiles for AGMs, and it only charges at 5amps. Schumacher makes smart chargers for AGMs (they used to make the Odyssey chargers), but that is not one of them. You might want to return it if you have not used it yet.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I don't hate Iota. I like Iota. I recommend Iota.

I do think people should be aware that what they call equalization, really isn't.

I was just poking ya since we disagree on what equalization is or isn't. For the record I'm not sure Iota ever claimed anything other than their equalization is the last (albeit unusually extended to 7 days, but still technically correct) step of a CC/CV/CC profile. Claiming it's anything else (like desulfation or a high voltage very deep discharge recovery) is probably something I said or implied.

So here's the update. Picked up the charger below. Since the exide seems to be semi ok at the moment I figured I'd experiment on the oddysey pc1500 first. It's possible that it is coming back to life

http://www.batterychargers.com/xc103w/

That Schumacher should work fine business. It appears to have the ability to adjust for AGM. Doesn't appear to be a smart charger so when you run the high current or really any charge you need to keep an eye on it. Just make sure you don't get too hot or the bulk or equalization (or desulfation, whatever it's supposed to do) run too long.

I think you may have gottten the wrong charger for your AGM. That is an automatic charger, but it does not appear to be a smart charger. I saw nothing that indicated it has the charging profiles for AGMs, and it only charges at 5amps. Schumacher makes smart chargers for AGMs (they used to make the Odyssey chargers), but that is not one of them. You might want to return it if you have not used it yet.

On page 5 the manual claims the charger can be told to select for AGM (or flooded or gel). You then select between 3, 5 and 20 or 30 amp rates.

http://www.batterychargers.com/content/pdf/0099001465-R0.pdf

I wonder if the auto mode starts if you connect a battery but don't manually select anything. Manual isn't clear about that other than a mention about auto start.

The manual mentions other features that I don't know the XC103W has (such as desulfation) since I don't see how to select it. Perhaps it's part of the maintain cycle?

It's important to note that the order of operation seems to be critical, connect to AC first before connecting to the battery. There is a specific warning that marine batteries must be removed and charge on shore. So the implication is that the charger is either damaged or confused if you leave the DC side connected with the AC unconnected.

 

[dwh]

I was just poking ya since we disagree on what equalization is or isn't.

There shoudn't be any disagreement. There is a standard definition.

Equalization is a timed, controlled overcharge used to equalize the cells of a flooded battery.

Lots of chargers can do that. All manufacturers of sealed lead-acid batteries suggest that if your charger can do EQ, don't use that feature.

Restarting the bulk/absorb process after 7 days at float is not a timed, controlled overcharge. It does not equalize the cells. It is not equalization.




The point is not about attacking or defending Iota. The point is for people to understand what they are getting.

One scenario would be someone who knows they aren't supposed to EQ their battery then does not purchase an Iota charger because they think it EQs.

But it doesn't. It would be a perfect charger for their battery.

And they would know that if Iota hadn't used misleading terminology.

 

[dwh]

And the flip side: Someone with flooded batteries buys an Iota because they think it does EQ.

But again, it doesn't.