prowler Posted December 7, 2016 Report Share Posted December 7, 2016 Hi There .... Time to replace our 4 X 6v flooded acid house batteries that are now 7 years old and have a couple of lazy cells We have 400 Watts of solar .... with a top of the range controller ....... Smart charger on board Batteries are in a devil of a place to get at so now these acid ones need replacing I would like suggestions an what to replace them with so they do not need topping up Thanks ... Brownie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zulu Posted December 7, 2016 Report Share Posted December 7, 2016 Lifeline GPL-4CT. SKP #79313 / Full-Timing / 2001 National RV Sea View / 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubiconwww.rvSeniorMoments.comDISH TV for RVs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w6pea Posted December 7, 2016 Report Share Posted December 7, 2016 Hi There .... Time to replace our 4 X 6v flooded acid house batteries that are now 7 years old and have a couple of lazy cells We have 400 Watts of solar .... with a top of the range controller ....... Smart charger on board Batteries are in a devil of a place to get at so now these acid ones need replacing I would like suggestions an what to replace them with so they do not need topping up Thanks ... Brownie Lifeline GPL-4CT. I'm n the same predicament as Lynx, so I guess after the Christmas and New Year Holidays I will be looking to get new battery's, Our's are not quite 8 yrs old. Thank You for posting the link. Remember..."Without Truck Drivers America Stops" "I woke up still not dead again today!""Take me to the Brig....I want to see the real Marines" Lt.Gen. L.B. "Chesty" Puller during a Battalion inspection. "Semper Fi" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjohnt Posted December 7, 2016 Report Share Posted December 7, 2016 lynk, it sounds like your set up is similar to mine. I have 450 Amp Hours of stored battery energy, 470 solar watts, a temperature compensated smart MPPT Solar charge controller, and a PD 9280 smart 4 stage charger. I also battery shopped before deciding on my four Trojan T-105's (450 Amp Hours total) HOWEVER (my access wasn't much of a problem) 1) If venting was a concern,,,,,,,,, 2) Plus difficult access hard to maintain electrolyte levels,,,,,,,,,,, 3) Self discharge rate I strongly considered Fullriver AGM and to get around the same amp hours of storage and in order to use two 12 volt units to simplify wiring, the particular units I narrowed my search down to consisted of: Two Fullriver DC215-12 @ 215 Amp Hours each (430 AH total) Two Fullriver DC 260-12 @ 260 Amp Hours each (520 AH total) I had already studied Lifeline and Optima and wasn't as familiar with Fullriver, but some of the good gentlemen here had good things to say about them. http://www.fullriverbattery.com/series/batteries/dc-series#view-models Provided you have storage space and compatible for AGM charger and charge controller, AGM sounds like a good plan so no worries with adding electrolyte and less venting problems John T Live from Avon Park Florida Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Heiser Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 I second Fullriver AGM batteries. I have them in my house bank on my HDT and am putting them in my new 5er (I already have the batteries, but don't have the 5er yet). I have been very happy with my Fullrivers and real they are the best quality AGM battery for the price out there. 2009 Volvo 670 with dinette/workstation sleeper - Walter 2017 DRV Mobile Suite 40KSSB4 with factory mods, dealer mods and personal mods - now in the RV graveyard 2022 DRV Full House MX450 with customized floor plan 2018 Polaris RZR Turbo S (fits in the garage) 2016 Smart Car (fits in the garage or gets flat towed behind the DRV when the RZR is in the garage) My First Solar Install Thread My Second Solar Install Thread & Photos and Documents Related to the build My MX450's solar, battery and inverter system - my biggest system yet! chadheiser.com West Coast HDT Rally Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 Fullriver's are a great option. Lifelines are a given for AGM's. You know though.. there are fairly inexpensive watering systems that can be installed to take 95% of the work out of keeping your wet cells topped off. Especially in bays that are less accessible. Each cell is permanently plumbed so all it takes is a few squeezes on a bulb pump and each cell is automatically topped off to the ideal fill level. Just something to consider as a "half-step" (cost-wise) if going AGM is going to put a major dent in your budget. [the link above is just an example. There are several systems on the market] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldjohnt Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Yarome, I fairly recently purchased (E Bay) and installed the Pro Fill watering system you referenced and am very happy with it. It was so easy to install and when I need to top off my four Trojans all you do is stick a tube down in a jug of distilled water and give the squeeze bulb a few pumps, piece of cake. If your batteries are hard to get at its even more of a necessity. John T A Happy Camper live from sunny Avon Park Florida Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 installed the Pro Fill watering system you referenced and am very happy with it. Yup. Pretty slick, hu. Not that my 105's were all that hard to get at.. I'm just lazy that way. There's still the yearly cleaning and such, but it sure makes life easier and helps a guy to be more inclined to keep up with monthly top-offs. I DO still love my AGM's though.. at least I "think" I still have them... I haven't seen them in so long I can't be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale P Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 One I do suggest, get the MFG information on charging there battery. Not all batteries are charged the same. I recently, found out Interstate GCU batteries are charged at a higher absorption and float then the standard deep cycle. And it really does make difference when dry camping. Susan & Dale DaGirls Rv 2008 Alfa Gold SoLong ISL 425 Cummins 2015 Ford F-150 XLT Tow / Roadmaster Setup 1600W@45Vdc Magnum Inv/Chg&Solar880AmpHrDaGirlsRv Blog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yarome Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 I recently, found out Interstate GCU batteries are charged at a higher absorption and float then the standard deep cycle. It's never a bad idea, however, I would strongly contend that nearly ALL true deep cycle batteries are more than capable of charging at higher bulk and absorption rates.. even if the MFG's published rates are lower. There are sometimes other considerations in play with those published rates (conformity to current charger profiles, outdated information) rather than the equipment's actual capability. And as Dale stated.. "it really does make (a) difference". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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