Deep cycle AGM batteries

adkel53 · Member

Deep cycle AGM batteries

PetenSue · Veteran Member

Hi there. Been using full river agm batteries for years. So a fair bit biased. Maybe another member will suggest another brand that they are happy with. Another brand a lot of people recommend is Ritar. But just a suggestion. What ever agm you buy check the weight of the battery compared to ah. 0.3 kg per Ah. And yeah. The lithium battery crew will be here shortly recommending thats the only way to go !!! Regards Pete.

yobarr · Guru

Hi Arthur...as Pete has alluded to,you might like to consider Lithium? At the weekend I was able to buy a spare Victron Smart Life PO4 90ah for under $1000.I already have 7 of them,so decided that a spare wouldn't be a bad idea.Only about 15kg too! Cheers

Paintar · Veteran Member

I am with Pete, I only use Full River, my oldest FR battery is 9 years old and still going strong.

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

www.batteryvalue.com.au/
Cheers,
Peter

Tony Bev · Guru

I have 2 X 120 AH Bosch AGM batteries, (with 300 watt solar on roof, and 160 watt portable, for when required),

I have only had the batteries a few years, so not long enough for me to give recommendations, but no problems so far

-- Edited by Tony Bev on Wednesday 9th of October 2019 10:13:50 PM

Rob Driver · Guru

A member of my family has 2 Ritar batteries in a 6 metre boat. These batteries are installed solely to operate an electric trolling motor and are wired for 24 volt.
We have fished all day using this electric anchor on spot lock and we came home and put the batteries on charge and both were in float mode before daylight the following day.
These batteries are now 2 years old and are still in excellent condition.
When my van needs new batteries I will be considering this brand.
The people that installed this electric motor only use Ritars as they claim to have had a great run out of them.
I might add that I had 2 Full Rivers in my previous van and they worked fine with a great life.

Any battery needs to be looked after as far as discharge and charging is concerned

Regards

Rob

T1 Terry · Guru

I have a good cross section of deep cycle AGM batteries pilled up in the back of the workshop waiting for the recycling price to improve. You are welcome to come and check the date stamps and condition of each to determine what is better than the others. About the only ones I can say really do last the distance is Concorde, the others are just a case of you getting what you pay for as far as quality and cycle life.
As already mentioned, they don't make light weight lead and there is no such thing as light weight lithium either. 100Ah of any type of lead acid battery will weigh more than 30kg because that is how much lead is required to store that much energy. On top of that 30kg you need to add electrolyte weight and plastic weight for the case and the plate separators, so 32kg per 100Ah is a reasonably close figure. If it weighs less than that then it isn't truly a 100Ah deep cycle lead acid battery. Using Pete's formula but I'd up it to 0.32kg per Ah @ 12v, divide the weight by that figure and you will know what you are really buying as far as capacity, if they tell porkies about the capacity you have to think hard about the likely quality eh ......

Lithium is no different, a 100Ah measured at the industry standard discharge rate weighs 16kg, if it weighs less than that and includes all sorts of BMS gadgetry inside the plastic case, you gotta realise you aren't buying a genuine industry accepted 100Ah lithium battery.
A quick look at the evilbay drop in offerings, the first one claims to be 135Ah but no weight mentioned, the second claims to be 100Ah but weights 13.2kg complete with the battery case and full internal BMS .... really? The next one is even lighter, 100Ah claimed and 12.7kg complete with a full BMS system inside the battery case ..... probably the most widely talked about drop in, claimed 100Ah but weighs 13kg complete with the usual full BMS system inside the case. Coming at the cheapest and the one we get the most phone calls about from very distressed people, claimed to be 100Ah and weighs 13.8kg with the usual full BMS inside the plastic case. The same applies, if they blatantly tell porkies about the capacity, what is the rest of the battery going be when it comes to quality and designed/built by someone who actually knows what they are doing.

What ever battery you decide to go with, please do it with your eyes and mind wide open, that way you won't have any unexpected outcomes further up the track.

T1 Terry

STRETCH ARMSTRONG · Senior Member

Hey Tony Bev, Hope your both well. I have Bosch AGM's that are 10 years old this year. They seem to still be working great. I don't know how much longer they can last?

Jaahn · Guru

adkel53 wrote:
I need to replace the two 100 amp hour batteries in my camper trailer. Any advice on which ones are good and which to avoid would be much appreciated. Will possibly step up the power rating to 240/260 while about it.

Hi smile

Others have given you the high quality end probably. If that's what you want then go for them.

I have aimed a bit lower and used Aussie Batteries. I would say reasonable quality at a reasonable price. Been OK and quite heavy too. I previously had them for some years and was happy, before selling that MH but I bought another recently and it seems just as good. Some specials currently. Going away soon for a trip. hmm

Jaahn

https://www.aussiebatteries.com.au/

Mike Harding · Guru

In the past I did some professional analysis work on both Full River and Ritar for safety applications in which they *must* work.

Both FR and Ritar met their specifications and I will recommend both.

For the past few years for personal use I have been using Powersonic AGMs (100Ah and 60Ah) and have found them to be fine also but I haven't put them through scientific analysis.

Cyclops · Veteran Member

I have 3 full river 120ah batteries available. They are 2 years old and have never been below 70%. I have upgraded to Enerdrive 300ah lithium system.
Pete

adkel53 · Member

Thank you Terry.