Freerider,
Sorry, there's no Free Ride anymore! (just couldn't resist:-)
Trojan has raised their prices for the ubiquitous T-105, but it's still very highly regarded. I have 10 of them....8 on the
boat and two at home to
power my radios.
Flooded golf-cart batteries are certainly the price-point in house batteries. Two of them (6V each) will net you about 225AH @ 12v of
power for around $200-250, or just about $1 per AH.
AGMs and gels cost anywhere from 2 to 4 or more times as much, though there are savings in recharging costs.
High-end flooded deep-cycle batteries (Rolls/Surette) cost about the same as AGMs, but have a life expectancy of 10-15 years, compared to the 3-5 years for run-of-the-mill flooded golf-cart batteries.
If you treat them well, you might get more than 5 years (my
radio batteries are now 5 years old and test very good; have been continuously under charge with an
Iota 45A
charger...pulse-charging and periodic equalization). If you don't treat 'em well, you can kill them in under a year.
Bill