AGM Batteries

[nmit5903]

I am going to have to shortly change over two flooded lead cell batteries (150AH each) and will probably go with AGM's as I gather they have a much longer life.

The price difference is huge from under $500 for chinese made to closer to $1500 for Deka, Mastervolt etc. I know you get what you pay for but what is the real difference in quality? The chinese made products have great references, 6-8 year life expectancy and 1200-1500 cycles at 70% discharge.

Can anyone advise on the real differences between the brands please.

[Jim St.Pierre]

If you are looking for a house battery, go with the golf cart version and 6 volt tied in series, (gives you 12 volts) no maintenance. If it is your starting battery, go for the deep cycle.

[nmit5903]

Interesting. Conventional wisdom from the sellers is deep cycle for the house batteries. Why golf cart version for the house batteries?

[Jim St.Pierre]

Larger cells and recharge is not as long as deep cycle. Deep cycle have great cold cranking power, not needed for house.

[speedoo]

Golf cart batteries are deep cycle. Trojan T-105 is a wet cell 6V golf cart battery, that is widely used in house banks by cruisers.

[nmit5903]

Thanks. Any views on AGM quality ie well known brands better than chinese imports? One would think so but even the well known brands in some products now seem to be turning to china for cheaper manufacture. I'm amazed at the number of times one looks at a product that used to be made locally to find a made in China message.

[anathema]

Couldn't decypher the first part but deep cycles claim to faim is definitely not cranking amps.

Originally Posted by Jim St.Pierre

Larger cells and recharge is not as long as deep cycle. Deep cycle have great cold cranking power, not needed for house.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by nmit5903

Thanks. Any views on AGM quality ie well known brands better than chinese imports? One would think so but even the well known brands in some products now seem to be turning to china for cheaper manufacture. I'm amazed at the number of times one looks at a product that used to be made locally to find a made in China message.

I just changed out two flooded 4Ds for AGMs, largely because the AGMs are 210ah apiece, so the net gain was significant. I figured that over the longer life span of the AGMs I would actually pay less in the long run.

Went with Lifeline brand because they'd been highly recommended by a few friends and because a local dealer carried them. They've only been installed for a few weeks, so I can't attest to their longevity at this point.

[s/v Jedi]

Deep cycle is useless as starter battery. I'm afraid Jim St.Pierre mistakenly swapped the technologies.

For house service, "marine deep cycle" is the best, followed by "traction" which includes golf cart, fork lift batteries etc.

For starter service, the Odyssey AGM PC2150 will win because it's specially designed for the task, just like a flooded starter battery.

I would hesitate to buy Chinese batteries at this time. I would look at the new AGM's from Rolls or, if you have survived the shock of their pricing, the batteries from Mastervolt / Victron etc.

cheers,
Nick.

[beau]

After recommendations from this forum I bought three 200 amp/hour AGM batteries (600 amp/hours) they are Chinese made.
After two years of every day use I am very pleased with them, I would never go back to Golf cart batteries.

Even the "named" brands are probably made in China anyway.

Again from recommendations from this forum I bought a Kipor generator (a chinese made Honda copy) Great unit and I saved myself a heap of money.

[billyehh]

The AGM batteries on my boat are original in 2001. They are 6volt 225 amps. I have 6 for a total 675 amps 12 volts once you get the series/paraelle done. They have the same footprint as the Trojan 105. Last year I had a load test done by the local electrician and they passed with no problem. I have read that AGM batteries can last up to 15 years if they a treated right.

My solar system can put out a peak of 30 amps 12 volt and with a BlueSky controller keeps them charged right up. Last season I only used the charger once at the beginning. I anchor out most of the time and only had to use the engine twice when I stayed in the same anchorage for over 2 weeks.

Lifeline make the equivalent for around $270.00 which is more expensive then flooded batteries but still a bargain if you take care of them.

[TritonSailor]

I bought a 245ah 8D AGM battery (PowerTec) at Defender for right at $500 including tax. Like said above, you're not going to escape the made in china vernacular. I wouldn't worry about power for cranking, as you probably know, you should have a separate starter battery anyway.

Jeff

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by beau

After recommendations from this forum I bought three 200 amp/hour AGM batteries (600 amp/hours) they are Chinese made.
After two years of every day use I am very pleased with them, I would never go back to Golf cart batteries.

Even the "named" brands are probably made in China anyway.

Again from recommendations from this forum I bought a Kipor generator (a chinese made Honda copy) Great unit and I saved myself a heap of money.

Beau is correct that some of the brand names are being made in China.

Welcome to Fullriver.com

Fullriver has a very very good reputation within all the Solar system companies in the US and Australia. You can see that they are now making AGM’s directly for Trojan

Rick our resident electrical guru also speaks highly of them in comparative bench tests he has done

I bought 8 of the 8D DC260-12 series AGMs and am very happy with them after a year of use. Great support from factory in confirming max charge rates and Puekerts factor which is 0.18

If you click on the “Fullriver type” code some of them have detailed photos and specs.

[sailing now]

Personally, I'd be leery of Chinese batteries (and alot of other stuff..drywall, baby toys, etc) I have had Lifeline AGM's On second set now of house batteries. First set 7 years. I only replaced them because I added a third and we were heading to the Bahamas for the winter. My AGM engine start and the little AGM for genset start are now 10 years old and still going strong.

[Strygaldwir]

Hmm.... I use my deep cycle batteries regularly for starting my engines. The concern is their ability to deliver the necessary amperage over very short periods of time. The bank is 750 Ah, I think they handle the load of the very small starters reasonably. I do have a dedicated starter battery that I use the GREAT majority of the time. I just like to be sure that if needed, I can use the house banks to start the engines if necessary. Having this ability means I did not have to install two starter batteries, one for each engine. The starter battery supplies both engines. Having said all that, I'd not install deep cycle batteries as a starting battery. Too much weight, cost, and bulk.

Surrette has just recently announced an AGM solution. I'll check the cost of them. They look pretty good. As suggested, Fullriver has received consistently good review from knowledgeable folks here (Rick). I will not hesitate to use them.