Victron Charge Settings (?) for Batteries Plus X2Power AGM

[SETundra]

Updated to add the manufacturer's info that's found on the battery label!

I just installed my solar charge system in my truck and will be picking up my first AGM battery next week. I've searched quite a bit for proper charge settings specific for this battery, including the Northstar equivalent, but have not yet found anything. Best I've found was general settings for different AGM batteries but I was hoping to find something more exact for this specific battery.

My solar setup is a Victron 75/15 mppt controller, 100 watt mono panel, smart battery sense, and running the Victron app.

I have a voltage booster waiting to be installed with the new battery, so I should be around 14.5V when driving.

For now I'm mainly running a 45qt Engel fridge, but do drive everyday. Running a single battery system for now, with a JNC jump pack as backup.

So, anyone with this battery or similar setup find the proper charge settings? I also plan on asking the Batteries Plus store if they have that info or can get it for me, or possibly call the manufacturer. If I get that info I'll report back!

float: 13.5 - 13.8
absorb: 14.4 - 14.8

 

[john61ct]

This is not a true deep cycle batt, more "dual use". Probably made by Deka/EPM, a great maker of FLA and GEL, but sub par for AGM.

12V "deep cycle marine" batteries in automotive sizes are 99.99% marketed fraudulently in the US.

Never buy deep cycle batts for which detailed spec sheets and qualified tech support aren't readily available.

For quality deep cycle AGM, Odyssey and Lifeline are better IMO than NorthStar.

If you can't change now, use

14.7-8V Absorb at .4C and

13.8-14.0V for Float, but only after trailing amps has dropped to .005C

 

[john61ct]

Do not equalize these at all.

 

[SETundra]

This is not a true deep cycle batt, more "dual use". Probably made by Deka/EPM, a great maker of FLA and GEL, but sub par for AGM.

12V "deep cycle marine" batteries in automotive sizes are 99.99% marketed fraudulently in the US.

Never buy deep cycle batts for which detailed spec sheets and qualified tech support aren't readily available.

For quality deep cycle AGM, Odyssey and Lifeline are better IMO than NorthStar.

If you can't change now, use

14.7-8V Absorb at .4C and

13.8-14.0V for Float, but only after trailing amps has dropped to .005C

I was looking for a dual purpose battery since I'm staying with a single battery setup for now. I did plenty of research before deciding on the Northstar branded AGM. It was about $300 and 5 year warranty.

What specific battery do you suggest?

 

[comptiger5000]

I wouldn't say East Penn makes bad AGMs by any means. I've seen plenty of them work well and live good lives. The X2 Power isn't East Penn though, it's a re-badged Northstar AGM. I've had a Group 34 version of it in my Jeep for about 2 years. I don't cycle it down very far on a regular basis though (a few amp-hours here and there, but it only gets drawn down below 70 - 80% a couple times a year). It's still performing well at this point.

It's fairly rare that I hook an external charger up to mine, it's usually just charged from the alternator (which has temp compensated voltage based on a sensor in the battery tray).

 

[john61ct]

I'm not saying EPM AGM are "bad", but they do not perform (# lifetime cycles when discharged to ~50%) **nearly** as well as

Lifeline
Odyssey
Northstar

If the X2Power AGM are indeed Northstar, that's a good sign. Is there concrete evidence, anything in writing?

But note the OEM customer (Batteries+ ?)

gives the build specs & price limits, so doesn't mean necessarily just a rebadged same quality

and can change the maker anytime.

If you compare the X2Power version to Northstar's and they weigh exactly the same, all the same specs maybe just the poly case tinted differently, then odds are good.

Otherwise I'd only go with the X2Power if it's very significantly discounted.

IMO Lifeline and Odyssey are the best.

Except for chronic unavoidable PSOC abuse or extra deep discharge scenarios, which (within AGM lines) only Firefly Oasis handles well. But costs $500+ / 100AH

 

[john61ct]

I was looking for a dual purpose battery since I'm staying with a single battery setup for now. I did plenty of research before deciding on the Northstar branded AGM. It was about $300 and 5 year warranty.

Once you have 100AH of true deep cycle, high-amp cranking is easily handled, there's no need to think "dual use" label holds an advantage.

If you already bought top-quality AGM I'm not saying change anything. Those three marques are the **only** time "dual use" can be taken to mean true deep cycling in AGM, otherwise it means "avoid".

But for others still researching, FLA will be much better value for money, especially in the case of Duracell (actually Deka/East Penn) GCs, 2x6V from BatteriesPlus or Sam's Club

Around $1 / AH @12V, and will be much more robust, very tolerant of stock charge profiles, and likely last longer than the pricier AGM.

Top marque FLA like Rolls / Surrette routinely last well over a decade if well cared for.

 

[SETundra]

I've done quite a lot of reading on this stuff the last few months so I'm aware that these topics can turn into heated discussions where everyone has their own opinion. That's fine, but I wasn't meaning to have this thread drive towards that. My decision to go with the X2 battery was based on actual long term reviews across many different forums. I compared it to other batteries as well, and in the end the chose based on price, warranty, and my use of it.

Anyways, yes it is definitely a Northstar battery. It's been well documented across the web. When I picked up the battery, it says Northstar right on the side. I don't have a picture of that because it's already installed.

The label on the top of the battery has all the info I was looking for.

 

[john61ct]

Excellent and thanks for the info, learn something new every day.

Is the brand exclusive to Batteries+ or is it a separate company, units also sold elsewhere?

If you ever get the chance to confirm identical to a Northstar own-labeled model, compare pricing etc, do please report back here.

 

[SETundra]

No problem!

The X2 label is exclusive to batteries plus. I've compared the dimensions, weight and performance specs to the Northstar AGM line and the numbers are all within a few percent, if not exact.

I also found a Cabelas labeled battery that I believe is the same one as above. The Cabelas website had the float and absorb charging voltages so I was going to go by that until I picked up my X2 and saw those numbers on the label.

The battery had 12.83 volts so I installed it right away. Now just waiting for my voltage booster to arrive so I can get the charge from my alternator closer to 14.5 than 14.

I'll get an idea how it performs over the next few weeks. Hopefully I have similar results as others have reported!

 

[john61ct]

Unless the case dimensions and weight are precisely the same to the gram and mm, the batt is different.

And just being precisely the same is no guarantee the internals are, just increases the odds.

Cabela's IMO is very unlikely to be as good.

___
Curious about the "booster", link?

DC-DC chargers give more precise control, but pricey for just one batt, usually only worth it for a larger bank or necessary if the batt is far from the alt.

Make sure to measure charge volts and amps at the batt posts.


_____
Ensure you get to 100% Full at Absorb V

14.7-8V would be better

defined as waiting for trailing amps to drop to .5A per 100AH capacity, or .005C

before dropping to Float. At least 2-3 times a week.

This usually takes 4-5 hours or more if the batt's deeply cycled (30-50% DoD), and even a 200A charge rate will only shorten that time by 20-30min.

This is why alternators are usually only supplemental charge sources.

 

[SETundra]

I wouldn't buy the Cabelas marine battery expecting it to be the exact same without doing additional research, but based on the specs and even the appearance of the housing, I'd say there's a really good chance it is. From the pictures, everything about the design of the housing and color is an exact match, the only difference being the label. I remember seeing a few dimensions that were slightly different. For example, length on one was 12.91" and the other 12.93. That can be the difference of where it is measured to, and likely taken from a CAD model that is easy to hit one side of a radius or another.

With the voltage booster I'm hoping to be closer to 14.5 or .6 at the terminals. Not many vehicles are setup to charge that high unless they come from the factory with an AGM. HKB Electronics is one example where to buy from, or you can make your own. It's basically replacing the voltage regulator fuse with one that includes a diode to drop the voltage by about 0.5, which corresponds to an increased charge voltage by the same amount.

https://www.hkbelect.com/

 

[john61ct]

My understanding of the general approach is that voltage boost amount will vary with amps. Not much boost anyway.

I use Balmar MC-614 external VR where alt charging is a dominant charge source, fully adjustable user profiles.

Or a Sterling DC-DC charger when the bank gets charged by a variety of sources, e.g. a portable LFP bank moved between different boats / vehicles / off-grid cabins.

 

[comptiger5000]

In the group 34 version, the X2Power dimensions are a hair different than the Northstar. It's also rated at 68Ah (like an Odyssey G34) instead of 65. Both are 880 CCA (Odyssey is 850). Weight is listed as 50.6 for the X2, 51 for the Northstar, so no meaningful difference there. FWIW, the X2Power warranty is a year longer (4 years vs 3 for the Northstar), so I'd say it's unlikely that it's any worse a battery. Probably just made to very slightly different specs even though it's built by Northstar.

 

[john61ct]

Batteries+ is the customer, writes the specs dictates the price to build to, could easily mean corners cut on factors important to longevity.

Any variation at all means it's not the same, as Deka's Duracells are simply different label & color.

Personally I wouldn't bother unless the discount was over 30%.

Warranty isn't something I worry about much personally with good makers and proper care should go 6-8 years anyway.

Lifeline and Odyssey are the top two afaic.