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Old 07-26-2012, 06:10 PM   #1
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Sears Batteries

I have been reading comments about house batteries trying to learn all I can so I can make an informed decision when it comes time to replace mine. I was in Sears today looking at the DieHard brand, which I have had good luck with in my cars. I found out they have a DieHard Platinum battery and the "regular" deep cycle battery. I would be interested in hearing opinions as to whether the very expensive Platinum battery is worth the up-front cost plus any other thoughts that are out there. I am in my first year of owning a 2007 Win. Journey. Thanks in advance for your responses.
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Old 07-26-2012, 06:25 PM   #2
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The Platinum appears to be an AGM battery. These are great in certain applications, but RV deep-cycle service isn't one of them. Also it is a combined deep-cycle/starting battery (sometimes also referred to as a 'marine' battery) and these do not perform as well as a dedicated deep-cycle battery if deep-cycle service is your primary objective. I would go with a good standard flooded lead-acid battery as they are usually more cost-effective in RV service.
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Old 07-26-2012, 07:51 PM   #3
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Replacing the chassis battery or the coach batteries?
What do you have now? how many? Have you considered 6v batteries, the only true deep cycle.
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Old 07-27-2012, 07:42 AM   #4
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Quote:
These are great in certain applications, but RV deep-cycle service isn't one of them.
Don't know why you would say that. Thousands of RVers are happy with their AGM batteries and most high line coaches come with them as standard equipment. Darned expensive, though!
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Old 07-27-2012, 08:04 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer View Post
Don't know why you would say that. Thousands of RVers are happy with their AGM batteries and most high line coaches come with them as standard equipment. Darned expensive, though!
It's the damned expensive part I am referring to. At a cost of 2-3x over conventional batteries there doesn't appear to be an equivalent increase in performance when used as a deep-cycle house battery. It's not the superiority of AGM batteries I am questioning but rather their cost-effectiveness in this particular application.
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Old 07-27-2012, 10:27 AM   #6
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This repsonse depends on geometry (or gee, I'm a tree or something like that) that is the size and shape of your batery compartment and how easy it is to access.

Flooded wet cells are long lasting if properly cleaned, watered and cared for, Watered by the way means DISTILLED water, not tap water. The most common Flooded wet cell in RV use is the common GC-2 Golf Car battery, This is a DEEP CYCLE battery ideal for RV use. I highly recommend them,, They are a bit taller than most 12 volt batteries however.

Maintenance free (Liquid filled) types are 2nd in life and need way less cleaning, of course being as they are sealed you can not water them. Hard to find a true deep cycle, Though Marine'Deep cycle are common.. Look for one designed for trolling.

AGM's are way more expensive, I find no advantage to them at all unless you are unable to mount them "THIS SIDE UP". Lifeline (Specific make) AGM's can take a very rapid recharge though.

Optima is a special case of AGM, costs more and holds less energy, Avoid.

GEL .. Small gell batteries work well but when you start piling on the amp hours (A group 24 is 75 AH roughly) they really are not a good choice, they are very finikey eaters (Recharge) and are easily damaged by under/over charge or too fast a charge, I would avoid them, not only that it's nearly impossible to find one in teh size we use since AGM beats the lead out of them . Also expensive.

Best bang for th Buck,, GC-2 at Sam's club.
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Old 07-29-2012, 08:38 AM   #7
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wa8xym - I liked your summary. Concur for pur price to performance, the common GC2 6V is hard to beat.

I will add to your comments on AGM's, as for those that boondock and are 'off the grid' for longer periods - the faster recharge rate of AGM's do provide a solid advantage.

It all depends on usage. For 'plugged while parked usage', GC2's cover the bases. And those, with a bit more investment, and if room permits, can be set up with auto fill water supply that reduces the maintenance required. For those with solar, and off grid usage - AGM's do provide a solid value. Cost more, but some of that costs comes back over the life usage by less generator time. (Not saying enough to offset the total higher costs, but enough to be a factor.)

Also as mentioned, AGM's do allow for creative non 'this side up' install...

I also like to always mention that the 6V's can be found with usually two higher capacity sizes. In the Trojan line, T125 and T145. We had room for T125's in our old Bounder's battery compartment, and I got a dang good price on them 6 years ago... A little extra capacity, for not much more cost. (Today, lead prices have made the jump to T125/T145 more painful! In our current coach, it came with one water 8D for chassis, and two 8D AGM's for house duty. Admit I like the no fuss of the AGM's, but not sure what I will replace with when the time comes.

Best to all, be safe, have fun,
Smitty

Best to all,
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Old 07-30-2012, 08:41 AM   #8
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Agree. I was always a DieHard fan, but last year the Sam's Club price for one starting and two coach batteries was $100 less than for the regular Sears batteries (not the AGM's).

Quote:
Originally Posted by wa8yxm View Post
...Best bang for th Buck,, GC-2 at Sam's club.
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