Community Forums

desertvince · 03-14-2011, 12:44 PM

Looking to replace the MH house batteries with three high quality AGMs. In the Lifeline product line, it would be GPL-31T. Is Lifeline worth the price premium. How about other brands that offer AGM batteries of that size? Names like: Universal Power Group, Excide, Trojan, Interstate, etc. I find prices are considerably different from Internet sources--most below MSRP. Any recommended Internet sources? Thanks in advance, Vince

Shadowcatche · 03-14-2011, 07:22 PM

Lifeline is American made and from what I have been able to see top of the line. Concord the parent is FAA certified which is one of the reasons I spect it for our trailer.

Gary RVRoamer · 03-14-2011, 07:24 PM

I prefer Lifeline/Concorde, but am currently running Trojan 31AGMs. I got a heck of a deal on the Trojans and they are an excellent battery too.

Mac99 · 03-14-2011, 07:59 PM

Deka makes good ones as well. Made in USA by East Penn. I have
their group 31's for starting, and 6 volt golf carts for the house.

wa8yxm · 03-15-2011, 08:49 AM

If you decide you must have AGM's then I too would suggest Lifeline.. I have MK (Deka) and am not pleased with them.

However the major advantages of LIFELINE AGM's over other types of batteries: Faster Recharge (Lifeline only) And the ability to mount other than "This side up" (All AGM)

Now faster recharge is not tht big an advantage,, And it requires you have a MUCH bigger converter... To be honest, they don't make converters that big, so I'm not sure just how big an advantage this is for the RVer.

IF you do not have a problem with "This side up" you might consider regular "Maintence Free" which if you look around you can find in true deep cycle (instead of Marine/Deep cycle) which has most of the advantages of AGM save the ones listed above,, and about a third the price tag.

RonK · 03-15-2011, 10:27 AM

Has anyone heard of a line of AGM batteries by Discover? This is what American Coach is installing in the Revolution, myself, never heard of the company until now....

TQ60 · 03-15-2011, 10:39 AM

You already have selected a group of manufacturers, next you need to go to each of their web pages and download/review the spec sheet for the product you are interested in.

Different batteries have different uses and requirements.

Be sure you know your details of the charger and loads, from this you can select the batteries that meet your needs.

Then shop price and service, local is always best, many mom and pop shops are more than willing to order what you need.

rough road · 03-15-2011, 03:00 PM

Ditto what mac said, Deka makes great batteries, in the States (PA).

When I saw the pictures of the Deka/Power Tech agm's that fell out of betsy-toms rv and how little damage that had been done to them I decided it couldn't get any better than that so I bought a few for two of our trucks and some equipment.

The dealer we went to sells both Deka and LifeLine and I spent quite a bit of time speaking about the two brands. Lifeline's, at the time, were still 100% hand made-according to the dealer-and the price reflected this, they were just about $100 more each. I asked for their, dealers recommendation, and the nice lady said basically this, 'we don't know if the LifeLine battery could fall out of an rv on the highway and remain intact but we do know that Deka's can' she gave me the smug mug site.....

Never again will I ever buy anything other than an agm-put them in and as he said-'forget about it'

dons2346 · 03-15-2011, 03:14 PM

Lifeline for me. I installed 3 8D's in 2004 and the only thing I do is wash the road dust off of them. Great battery

lblampman · 03-15-2011, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

If you decide you must have AGM's then I too would suggest Lifeline.. I have MK (Deka) and am not pleased with them.

However the major advantages of LIFELINE AGM's over other types of batteries: Faster Recharge (Lifeline only) And the ability to mount other than "This side up" (All AGM)

Now faster recharge is not tht big an advantage,, And it requires you have a MUCH bigger converter... To be honest, they don't make converters that big, so I'm not sure just how big an advantage this is for the RVer.

IF you do not have a problem with "This side up" you might consider regular "Maintence Free" which if you look around you can find in true deep cycle (instead of Marine/Deep cycle) which has most of the advantages of AGM save the ones listed above,, and about a third the price tag.

The advantages of AGM batteries are many. Due to the nature of their construction they have much lower internal resistance than wet cell batteries, therefore they self-discharge at a much lower rate than wet cell batteries. They can take a higher charge because of the lower internal resistance (and not just the Lifeline brand). They don't outgas and are safe for installation in occupied areas. They don't require maintenance in terms of checking electrolyte.

They tend to last longer than wet cell batteries in general use because a lot of folks don't really like checking wet cell batteries and don't. The two biggest killers of batteries are sitting at a partial charge and being overcharged. The AGMs are not immune to those problems but they put up with them much better than wet cells. The first problem is owner induced, the second problem is usually equipment induced (cheap converters that don't have multistage charging).

A really good wet cell deep cycle battery can last for many many years but it takes constant maintenance, the kind most folks don't want to mess with. Given the neglect most batteries get the AGM is usually a pretty good battery for most folks (but not all).

Good wet cell deep cycle batteries are expensive. The best of the bunch have really thick plates and are heavy and since there is so much lead in them they're expensive. They need precisely controlled charging for longest life and constant attention to watering.

I spec, design, and install electrical systems for cruising boats and I use AGM batteries almost exclusively now for the benefits they give most folks. They are much more expensive than the cheap dual purpose and cheaper deep cycle batteries but they're only a bit more expensive or the same as very high quality (like Rolls) batteries. For most folks it's a trade-off between dollars and convenience (as always). A neglected AGM will outlast a neglected wet cell battery and for a lot of folks that's the payback. If you're willing to purchase good quality wet cell batteries (and those don't come from a store starting with a "W") and really take care of them they can be much less expensive than AGM batteries over the long run. That's just not what usually happens.

There is no maintenance free wet cell true deep cycle battery, that's an oxymoron. No wet cell battery has the advantages of an AGM battery, that's just a technical construction issue. Whether or not the AGM batteries have enough merit to justify their price is a individual choice and may be different for each user depending on many factors not the least of which is their willingness to get friendly with their battery bank.

Les

Shadowcatche · 03-16-2011, 04:03 AM

One of the best battery information sources I have found which will tell you a great deal including the country of origin and who really makes that battery is Battery Manufacturers and Brand Names List all on Car and Deep Cycle Battery FAQ which is updated frequently.

rough road · 03-16-2011, 05:35 AM

lots of good info here also;

Deep Cycle Battery FAQ

Les, how about some info on marine wind turbines and solar if you get involved in this?

Bob/Becky D - VA · 03-16-2011, 05:45 AM

Bought mine from the following site w/free delivery.

RV & Marine Deep Cycle Batteries by Lifeline Batteries

Bob

lblampman · 03-23-2011, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rough road

lots of good info here also;

Deep Cycle Battery FAQ

Les, how about some info on marine wind turbines and solar if you get involved in this?

Sorry for the late reply, we've been out with the motorhome and I haven't been online.

I have a bunch of theoretical knowledge on the wind generators and solar but not a lot of hands on experience due to the area we're in. I've got a neighbor with an Ampair unit and he's pretty happy with that and that's the unit that I'd probably use if I were going that direction (and we might eventually). The problem (or really the challenge) with the wind generators is that the really need to be up away from the ground to work well (where the wind is faster and they're away from people) and they tend to be a bit noisy (from whine, mechanical noise, and vibration). The best installs seem to be on tall masts and while it's quite possible to deal with that on an RV I think it's a bit much for a lot of folks unless you're staying put for a bit. Also RVers seems to try to find protection from the wind if they're in an area with lots of it so it also seems to work better if the wind turbine can be set up away from the RV a bit.

Solar in our area isn't as prevalent as it is where the sun shines more. Lots of folks have minimal solar for topping off starting batteries and such but not as many invest a lot of dollars for full house systems unless they're going to travel to sunny areas. With so many trees here along with cloudy skies solar doesn't have the payback it would elsewhere for an RV (that's painting with a broad brush since some folks do have lots of solar but in general RVers and boaters here don't go for it as much). Also we're around 60 miles from the ocean and don't get as many offshore boats that do invest in good solar systems.

Les