Gel vs Flood vs AMG

[Capt Eddie]

I am trying to figure out what is the best battery is for my uses. They will be used in a Truck camper that will boondock for up to 7 days at a time. I do carry two EU2000 in parallel. As well as a possible solar panel. The cost of the battery is not the issue as much as using the right battery for the right purpose. I will not use the battery to run the A/C the gens will do that. Can I mix a flood type and one of the other together in line? The camper has a flood and I have two more in line in the bed box. The title should read AGM. But you guys all know that already. Sorry.

 

[whatcharterboat]

This my opinion only but more than a question of "what is the best?" is "what is the best value?". Not much point buying a gel if it's twice the price but is only a little bit better than an AGM. If it's for a remote satellite communications station or something critical then Gels are common however AGMs provide a maintenance free alternative to older style wet lead acid. They can also be dropped to a much lower Depth of Discharge (so longer life) but will normally charge OK with the same charging characteristics as Flooded will . True Gels need a different rate and level of charge so they are definitely not the correct choice for a dual battery setup.

To sum up, AGMs are the G.O. No matter what you use, in a deep cycle / camping situation try to observe the DoD recommended by the battery manufacturer and don't leave them in a state of discharge when you get home either.

 

[BigJim]

he already has Wet cells

And all three batteries require a different charge algorithm and they all have different discharge rates etc.

I like wets because they to me are more forgiving from being underwatered, over charged and discharged. BUT they are messy, they outgas and leak. So maybe an AGM may be the best choice, depending on application of course.

 

[Capt Eddie]

I went to town today and read an article on dual batteries by Gary Westcott. He used Optima Yellow top Group 31 AGM. That did it for me. I found the battiery on Amazon ,com for $210 including shipping. Two are on the way.

 

[Antichrist]

Too late now, but for AGM I'd suggest one of the batteries made by Enersys, Odyssey or Diehard Platinum. Highest capacity and much bettery warranty.
Plus I've heard of just way too many problems with Optimas in the past couple of years.

 

[Capt Eddie]

Thank you for your input.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Ritar and Full River are excellent too. I think Fullriver should be available in the US???? Have been installing them for 5 years now and most are still going strong. Very heavy and therefore lots of amphrs for the same dimensions. As I said, these 2 examples of AGM's are fine in parallel with wet cells. No way you would expect a Gel to last with wet cycle charging characteristics.

 

[Capt Eddie]

I was wondering if I could run then parallel with a wet cell? Thank you for reading my mind.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Hey still check that you aren't going to affect your warranty. Our supplier is cool with it. These can be expensive things, so make sure.

BTW Batteries must have nearly doubled their price in the last 7 or 8 years here, since China has been buying up all our minerals.

 

[jkam]

I'll ask anyway.

I see you bought a group 31. Is that all the biggest that will fit in the space?

Depending on the space available, you might have room for some other setup.


How accessible is the camper battery?

I ask, because if it's not easily accessed, then AGM is the way to go.

In my camper, I have 2 6v golf cart batteries and that works pretty well for me. Mine are flooded Trojan T105's, I couldn't afford AGM's or I would have gone with Lifeline.

Does your camper have a battery charger/converter? Mine does for on 110v, it needs to be a 3 stage charger to work with the AGM's. I changed my old Parralex 2 stage to a 3 stage 50 amp and it charges the batteries much faster and won't overcharge them.

Oh, and I've been told it's not good to mix flooded with AGM. Something to do with the difference in charging rate.

 

[Capt Eddie]

The charger, convertor is in a new Lance camper. I hope it is a good one.I have plenty of space for any battery. I will put the two AGM inside the camper and I have three wet cell in the storage box. I can run them together or divided. The three wet cell can run my invertor and leave the two AGM just for the camper. I can charge off the truck, generator and campers 110 charger. Since the batteries are stored inside the camper, the AGM will be safer, and easier to check on.

 

[Capt Eddie]

Whatcharterboat, That price is one hundred dollars cheaper then most places I checked.

 

[jkam]

The charger, convertor is in a new Lance camper. I hope it is a good one.I have plenty of space for any battery. I will put the two AGM inside the camper and I have three wet cell in the storage box. I can run them together or divided. The three wet cell can run my invertor and leave the two AGM just for the camper. I can charge off the truck, generator and campers 110 charger. Since the batteries are stored inside the camper, the AGM will be safer, and easier to check on.

More than likely the converter in the Camper isn't a good one. They cheap out on stuff like this to save money. I know a guy that has a Lance camper and his was a 2 stage and wasn't very large in the amps it put out. He used an 8D monster battery for his camper but needed to upgrade his converter/charger to get the benefits for his new AGM battery.

Have a look at it and find out it's brand and model #. With that info, have a look here http://www.bestconverter.com/ for an upgraded one. It will be one of the best cheap investments you make in your camper.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

We use 4 Lifeline AGM's to live off of fulltime. They're powered by 3 AM Solar 100watt solar panels and are fed by a HPV-220 Charge Controller.

That charge controller makes a huge difference in how the panels feed the batteries. Help boost the amperage coming in.

We use a Xantrex 2000watt pure sinewave inverter/charger to change the DC current into AC and have a few problems with the Xantrex. But all in all its a good system and I'm happy with it.

The Lifeline batteries are so worth the extra price as they have been being used non-stop for 3 years now with not one bit of trouble. Completely sealed and although they're mounted outside in battery boxes, I've never even so much as opened a box to check on them.

What more could you ask for from a battery? Way worth the cost for ease of mind. Oh, and they're 6volt run in parrallel to help boost the power.