Which Battery - Australia Based

[UFO]

Originally Posted by CapnBazza

LiFePO4 batteries these days are not complicated and getting close to the cost of your AGM choices.

Just a bit wary of the cheaper pre-packaged lithiums - But the tech is getting older so maybe they have now sorted them?

[HankOnthewater]

Originally Posted by Bundyon

snip.... I know you don't want lithium, but if you were going to pay $900 for a good AGM then I techworld have 120ah lithium (i120x) for $975 with a smart BMS that means you can pull your AGM's out and put the lithium straight in and use your existing charger, This, after much tossing & turning is the route I took.
Good luck with it all.

When helping a friend (with campervan, or in USA speak "RV"), we considered "I-Tech world" brand. Indeed not much more $$ than top of the range AGMs. But, the max number you can parallel is 4 batteries, and you can never use them for starting an engine (each 100 Amp/hr battery can only safely supply approx 50 amp). When I asked them they could not, or would not tell what kind of lithium brand of cells they used in their products. We gave them a miss. At that time, we went with Lifeline.
I have myself 120 Amp/hr Lion AGM batteries, in theory very good, but noticed after 4 years a marked deterioration, so now I am too considering alternatives.

I guess two things need to be in place for a battery to last long (ie beyond 5 years): quality battery and quality setup on boat. And to add to that: a battery bank that is used every day by live-aboards, will naturally gets quicker to its designed charge/discharge-cycle than a system that is only used on occasions.

The only batteries I never any problems with and used regularly is a set of 4 Odyssey PC2150, now 9 years old (on my campervan). I just purchased 2 of these for my boat starting batteries as well.

[Bunji]

EV POWER based in WA No brainer

[UFO]

Originally Posted by Bunji

EV POWER based in WA No brainer

Thought they are Lithium only?

[SV DINGO]

I nuse Fullriver AGM's in my 4x4 for years , i have 6 x 115 AP Fullriver on the boat and find them very reliable and if you look around you can pick them for a reasonable price.

[Nineteen]

Hi
Been very happy with my Fullriver 4D house batteries. I replaced my tired Lifelines with them for half the price with the same weight and warranty - so no risk.

They are 3yrs old now and I expect to get 10yrs out of them.

Cheers
Tom

[Wotname]

@UFO, have you looked at Odysseys - size / price?
Pretty hard to beat quality wise.

[ilenart]

I was happy with Goodchild Enterprises here in Perth when I bought my AGMs. Ended up going with predator agm ed6 2240 6vx2 in series to give 12v 224AH x 4 = 896AH. The 6v were 30kg each, which were a lot easier to install than trying to install 200 AH / 60kg batteries.

http://www.goodchild.com.au/

Ilenart

[UFO]

Thanks Everyone - Given me a lot to look at

[UFO]

Here's another cheap Lithium Battery:


https://outbax.com.au/voltax-12v-100...SABEgLgHfD_BwE



Probably rubbish?

[CapnBazza]

Originally Posted by UFO

Here's another cheap Lithium Battery:


https://outbax.com.au/voltax-12v-100...SABEgLgHfD_BwE



Probably rubbish?

Maybe but probably quite good. I bought two x100ah for AUD$900 for both five years ago and touch wood, they’re still doing well.

[wingssail]

I think that golf cart (6 volt) FLA are an economical and reliable choice. We have used Trojan T105 for a few years, get about 5-8 years from a set of four.

Every Battery advertises them at $Aus 299 each if you buy six.

Other similar batteries should have similar life spans and lower costs.

Now, your concern about gassing: Batteries under your bunk is a valid worry. However, we have the same issue. Our batteries are about 6" under our pillows.

I am not going to say that it is safe, but I will say that in the 25 years that ours have been in that location we have not noticed any gassing that reaches us. In fact there has not been any indication of gassing or acid on the battery box (wood) either.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by wingssail

I think that golf cart (6 volt) FLA are an economical and reliable choice. We have used Trojan T105 for a few years, get about 5-8 years from a set of four.

Every Battery advertises them at $Aus 299 each if you buy six.

Other similar batteries should have similar life spans and lower costs.

Now, your concern about gassing: Batteries under your bunk is a valid worry. However, we have the same issue. Our batteries are about 6" under our pillows.

I am not going to say that it is safe, but I will say that in the 25 years that ours have been in that location we have not noticed any gassing that reaches us. In fact there has not been any indication of gassing or acid on the battery box (wood) either.

Originally Posted by wingssail

However, we have the same issue. Our batteries are about 6" under our pillows.

I am not going to say that it is safe, but I will say that in the 25 years that ours have been in that location we have not noticed any gassing that reaches us.

So... Do you wake up speaking like Mickey Mouse or Alvin and the Chipmunks?

Just joking, but I suppose it comes down to personal comfort and perception of risk. I am a bit of a worry-wort and I'd stress about that a bit.

Of course, most of us with solar are not getting any charge outgassing while we sleep, unless we sleep-in a LOT. Perhaps under the bed is better than the settee, now that I think about it.

[Compass790]

My experience is with 6v Crown FLA deep cycle & love them. Wouldn't worry about having them under my bunk but I'm an ex welder so gotta be silly right lol.
Ours were old giveaways, after equalisation, we are still using them 3-4 years later for starting as well. Probably well down on capacity but have enough to run the Engel & masthead light all night.
Dont know about their AGM's ( Good rep among RV people in USA )but if you can get Crowns in NZ I wuda thought u'd get them in Aus.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by GILow

So... Do you wake up speaking like Mickey Mouse or Alvin and the Chipmunks?...

Well, I'm not sure, but you might have noticed my erratic views on some subjects. I used to be quite moderate. And there's these sores on my face and head...My pillow case has all these tiny holes...

Gassing: It occurs when charging, and more when charging hard. That occurs when running the motor, usually not while sleeping, or on shore power, and which mostly happens when we first get into the dock. Pretty much charging is tapered off by the time we go to bed. Our solar will not cause heavy gassing, and certainly not at night.

So the gassing has not hurt us, there is nothing the matter with me, matter with me, matter with me, matter with me, matter with me...