$1200 for 4 house batteries from the dealer?

[LarryinID]

Originally Posted by BuckyBounder

I've have one of my AC units replaced at the dealer and they say now that they can't program the controller because the house batteries won't go above 9 volts which won't let the invertor supply enough power to set the AC unit's controller.

The batteries may be bad, they are old. I don't understand why they are required to do what they need to do.

Is $1200 a good price? I'm already into it for $2500 to replace the AC unit.

Ridiculous. Get four six volt at Costco for $80 each.

[Dhilbe]

3 weeks ago, I paid $400/battery - Lifeline AGM 6v 300AH - I did the install myself.

[oscarvan]

Originally Posted by LarryinID

Ridiculous. Get four six volt at Costco for $80 each.

Equivalent to a T-105? Didn't think so. Apples and Kumquats sir, and a misleading statement.

[David Moore]

I had a problem with low voltage with the house batteries. It affected lights, refrigerator controls and even the toilet. It was a bad disconnect relay that wasn’t closing to pass full voltage. I would check that for sure. The price your dealer wants for batteries is really high. Any good battery store will put them in for half that

[RV_Road_Trip]

NEWS FLASH - Go online and search for VOLTEC Batteries and go there to buy your house batteries, engine battery or car/pickup battery!


I was telling a friend that my Trojan House Batteries were bad and needed to be replaced and he recommended that I pay them a visit which I did but first I called all the Auto Parts Stores and got their price for the Trojan Batteries and I called several Golf Cart Dealership with also uses the Trojan Batteries and the cheapest price I could find was $375.00 each up to $425.00 each so I called Voltec Batteries in Cartersville, GA and ask them their price for the Trojan Batteries and he ask me how many and I told him, he came back and said $185.00 each that was for the house batteries in our Coach, I said that I may need to get 4 more than I first said and he said if I got that many he would give me an even better deal! I had already checked with an auto parts store for my car and they wanted $115.00 for their cheapest and I ask Voltec and he said that it would be $47.50 for my car plus a trade-in battery. You can guess where I bought the house batteries, golf cart batteries and our car battery! Yep, you guessed it, Voltec Batteries in Cartersville, GA. Don't pay the escalated MSRP that everyone is quoting when you can get 2 for less than the price of 1 by going to Voltec!

[RV_Road_Trip]

You are absolutely 100 % right, the Trojan T105 is the battery of choice for RV's but as for price, Voltec sells them far cheaper than you quoted, they shocked me when I took a friends recommendation and got my house batteries replacement (Trojan T105's) from Voltec and then I decided to replace all my batteries in my Golf Cart (Trojan T105's) and they gave me an even better deal..... Do a search for Voltec Batteries nearest to you, I dealt with them at Cartersville, GA.

[Bonanza45D]

My RV friends,

A story you might appreciate regarding Coach Batteries:

Three years ago, my aging batteries (in my 2000 National Tradewinds) were showing signs of weakness and performing poorly anymore, so I thought it best to visit a local RV service dude I trusted, and asked how best to address the issue.

He advised that HE replace my for FOUR 6v deep cycle batteries with four brand new Deep Cycle, sealed AGM, 6v golf cart batteries (direct replacement for the old school system he was looking at & batteries that were in there), all installed for only $1350 (including new cables). Honestly, I had a moment of total laziness and stupidity, which cost me dearly (I blame my replacement knee surgery for this lack of brain power, at the time, but I digress....). I bought into his sales pitch and I got bent over the fender really good!

This service dude assured me that these new AGM Batteries would be the last batteries I'd ever have to buy, LOL. Yeah, I bought into his BS AND the Batteries! WRONG! STUPID! I should know better at 67 years old!

Fast Forward to more recently: I found my Coach batteries flat line after another normal winter's storage in my cold shelter :-( ; although my Coach was plugged into my 30a 120v outlet all winter? Huh? It gets damn cold here but if the batteries are charged (or charging continuously), they should hold up OK, even when it gets down below 20 degrees, which it does here typically in Colorado Springs, Co. So what happened here? Shoot!

After very little investigation, I found that my connection(s) (using the HD Extension Cord to the Coach) were a bit corroded (green & crusty white on the copper tangs) and the thing was NOT delivering 120v to my Inverter/charging system :-( , probably all winter long! Well that's a bummer. My trickle charging system (via the Inverter) was getting zip for power, thus my relatively new AGM batteries were grow more and more dead all winter long. By the time I caught this, my new batteries had become puffed out, totally flat line, voltage wise, and indeed, ruined

After contacting the very same Service Dude again, he rudely laughed at me while saying , "...sorry pal, there's nothing I can do for you if you froze your AGM batteries, and by the way, they are going to be $1650 to replace today...". OH man, I was so fed up and pretty frustrated at this point! Not his fault, granted, but he wasn't about to step up and help me out any either! Nope, he's in the business to make money and he wasn't about to give up a nickel because I made a mistake in my charging efforts.

Ahhhh, but it just so happens that I know another, more qualified battery dude now. I happened to run across and make friends with a fellow pilot that also happens to be in the Computer Battery Back-up replacement business. I soon discovered that my new friend's company routinely changes out 600 to 900 batteries at a time for a lot for the big gun businesses around the world (a little known multi-million dollar business). You see, these companies HAVE to swap out their monster 12v AGM Batteries every two to three years. My pal brings back the old batteries by the pallet load and merely recycles them when the market price of Lead is best. Reselling these on the secondary USED market is a hassle and often not worth the brain damage he'd experience dealing with so many more buyers (those like us or those wanting to go off-grid solar powering, etc.). I'm talking about 100s of huge batteries that are 100 to 130 lbs ea., still totally useful with 12-15 years of performance left in them, and still performing beautifully (just [moderator edit] for the computer back-up business after 2-3 years), constantly flowing through his company. Unfortunate for those end users, but REALLY fortunate for us in need, IF we can getting any of these big batteries! I offered to make the whole thing worth while to my new friend and paid him between $50 & $100 (depending on size) for each battery I needed (of which I've bought many now) and my battery issues, in the Coach especially (and elsewhere) are no more! AND, my Coach now has about 6 or 7 times more available battery power, well over and above what those stupid NEW 6v Golf Cart batteries ever provided!!!

I suggest that for anyone needing to replace their Coach, trailer, boat, etc., Batteries, just Google up "computer back-up battery contractors" in your local area and play, "let's make a deal" with the owner. You may get lucky and it's well worth the effort. Don't be cheap with the contractor though. Remember, they really don't need your business or gobs of RV owners bugging them for USED batteries. It's a hassle for them generally. You may have to build new cables, etc., but so what!

Now, I've carefully cleaned all of the corrosion off every 120v connector from Shore Power to my Coach and I'm all greased up with Di-Electric Grease on each junction to help keep the Shore Power issue from ever happening again!

I've also installed several NEW 100w solar panels on the Coach roof, which assures charging at all times, even within my shelter (parked beneath the skylight of the shelter, fortunately); so when there's no 120v power to the Coach, I'm still going to be slamming the batteries with a good charge 24/7, as needed (through a correct additional solar Charge Controller, of course).

I think its safe to declare, finally, that yes, I'll never have to replace my Coach batteries again! And let me add one last thing: I trust no one anymore! Take everything you are told with a grain of salt and make your own, carefully considered decisions based on good, intelligent information!!!

LKL

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by LarryinID

Ridiculous. Get four six volt at Costco for $80 each.

Probably ridiculous to buy a Bentley, when a little Ford can be bought much cheaper.
However, the thread is about the cost of AGM batteries, plus the installation charge.
I chose AGM's for my application, as well, for a number of reasons and will have no other.
I bought them at Batteries Plus, but have since seen them at Rural King for a good price. Not sure about the warranty though and mine did come with a 5yr full replacement guarantee. We might be able to see how that works out eventually, but at present, they're less than 3yrs old.

[Gleaf]

AGM batteries can be destroyed by improper float charge voltage. To high the positive plate gets eaten up, to low the battery sulphates up. Make very sure your charge for AGM’s is per the battery manufacturers recommendation. Our application was eating 10 year life span battery packs in 3.5 years. Half a volt to much float charge. There is a graph for that. If I can relocate it I will post it.

[neoflyer]

Originally Posted by RV_Road_Trip

NEWS FLASH - Go online and search for VOLTEC Batteries and go there to buy your house batteries, engine battery or car/pickup battery!

Is that Voltecor or Voltex. I can only find Voltex online but can’t find a website for them.

Thanks

[neoflyer]

Originally Posted by RV_Road_Trip

You are absolutely 100 % right, the Trojan T105 is the battery of choice for RV's but as for price, Voltec sells them far cheaper than you quoted, they shocked me when I took a friends recommendation and got my house batteries replacement (Trojan T105's) from Voltec and then I decided to replace all my batteries in my Golf Cart (Trojan T105's) and they gave me an even better deal..... Do a search for Voltec Batteries nearest to you, I dealt with them at Cartersville, GA.

Remember, there are Trojan T105 and T105-AGMs. Quite a difference in price and performance.

[Bonanza45D]

Originally Posted by Gleaf

AGM batteries can be destroyed by improper float charge voltage. To high the positive plate gets eaten up, to low the battery sulphates up. Make very sure your charge for AGM’s is per the battery manufacturers recommendation. Our application was eating 10 year life span battery packs in 3.5 years. Half a volt to much float charge. There is a graph for that. If I can relocate it I will post it.

Gleaf makes a good point regarding improper "float" charge settings. I know my Solar Charger controller has a setting for AGM or Gell type (which I'm told is the same setting by the Solar dudes), however I have no optional settings available on the OEM Inverter/charger, which is powered off 120v Shore Power (or the gen), in the Coach. I'll have to consult my supplier dude about "float charging". He's pretty with it about all this.

I my case, I've got three monster 120 lb 12v AGM batteries that replaced the four sorry 6v AGMs that were frozen in error. Performance thus far is awesome. It's hard to say how much float charge they are receiving, autonomously, in either case.

One interesting thing, regarding my new Solar System, is that I can now safely be disconnected from the 120v Shore Power at anytime while parked inside my shelter or elsewhere, and my Solar system keeps a nice charge going to the batteries all the while. My fabric shelter has a white skylight or white fabric section running down the length of it, overhead. Even parked beneath that, the Solar Panels are very efficient and producing plenty of power during the day. These newer solar panels are terrifically efficient!

[Persistent]

AGM https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/absorbent_glass_mat_agm
Here is what you need to know about AGM's that is different from flooded cell batteries. Generally they do not need de-sulfating. In fact sudden high charge rates used to de-sulfate can cause venting which permanently damages AGM's.


Fast charge for typical AGM
1) Bulk charge up to 14.4 volts for 4 hours or less
2) long absorption charge at 13.6 volts (14 hours or more)
3) maintenance at 13.2 volts for sustained storage
or battery disconnect for 6 months storage.


You do not need a de-sulfating stage for AGM's.

The float charge voltage is important for AGM's. Over charging causes venting. Venting is permanent. You cannot replace water lost to venting in sealed AGM batteries. 13.6 volts for months is probably to much.

If my TT is going to be connected to shore power while occupied, I trip the battery disconnects. Fully charge AGM's will still be fully charged weeks later. In one case mine were at 12.99 volts to start and still at 12.98 volts after being disconnected for 3 weeks. In this scenario, it is important the batteries are fully disconnected. Some motor coaches have disconnects that still have small parasitic loads.

[Persistent]

Get a digital voltmeter to manage AGM batteries ($20 at hardware store). Measure the voltage on the terminals of the batteries to double check the house battery management system.

Float voltage 4 days after charging should be less then 12.3 volts.