Community Forums

pacevette · 01-03-2013, 03:13 PM

I am going to be in need of new 6 volt house batteries. I have been scouring the internet looking for good batteries and so far Trojan seems to top my list. Would i possibly be better off buying gel or AGM batteries? Always have had wet cell and i do not know much about gel. Comments..suggestions? Thank you in advance.

justaroamer · 01-03-2013, 03:23 PM

Decca AGM's here, no maintence, no mess. Have 8 on the house. Only way to go.

az bound · 01-03-2013, 03:27 PM

Good information here.
www.windsun.com
I do not recommend gel-cell.

trouble&rose · 01-03-2013, 03:28 PM

I have over 1 million miles pulling maxi doubles and 5 years full time RVing...I see the most benefit from Interstate batteries...but Trojan is also very good :-)

vraines · 01-03-2013, 03:40 PM

I have had good service with Interstate batteries, but they do require regular maintenance. I just completed servicing my four house batteries this afternoon. Took about 30 minutes total. Seems like every two months, as I keep them on the inverter constantly when not traveling. Can't get lazy on the services. Gel might be a solution, but the initial investment is scary.

Gary RVRoamer · 01-03-2013, 03:44 PM

Gel has no advantage over AGM, so make that choice on price. Either gel or AGM will cost you 3x what a quality wet cell does, so you have to decide if the zero maintenance of the AGM/Gel is worth the cost.

A high quality wet cell deep cycle, e.g a Trojan, or one of the 6V Golf Cart batteries made by Johnson Controls and sold under a variety of brand names will last as long as an AGM and perform as well, so make your choice based on your willingness to adhere to the occasional maintenance required by a wet cell.

pacevette · 01-03-2013, 03:45 PM

The initial investment scares me as well. I had very bad luck with batteries from sams club and just want to purchase a good quality battery.

bbeane · 01-03-2013, 06:49 PM

AGM's for me, I have 3 8D lifeline house batteries that are going strong after 8 years, along with AGM starting battery's. With that said you have to have a charging system that is compatable with what ever type you choose.

pacevette · 01-03-2013, 07:02 PM

So AGM's use a different charging system?

sgtjoe · 01-03-2013, 07:23 PM

My Sam's Club 6V Golf Cart batteries lasted 7 years. Replaced with the same. I do run a ProFill water system and this seems to really help in controlling corrosion. Takes me a few minutes to top off batteries when needed.

Mr_D · 01-03-2013, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbeane

AGM's for me, I have 3 8D lifeline house batteries that are going strong after 8 years, along with AGM starting battery's. With that said you have to have a charging system that is compatable with what ever type you choose.

Our Interstate U-2200's went one month under 10 years and I only changed them then because we were headed out on a trip and I didn't want trouble on the road.
I also added 4 oz of mineral oil to each cell somewhere around 2004, cut way down on the corrosion and need to refill with distilled water.
Got the same batteries again and used the mineral oil in them too.

HHIDan · 01-03-2013, 07:38 PM

Battery life and battery maointenance has a ton to do with your battery charger/inverter system. If your RV is equipped with a good 3-stage charging system, then your batteries should pretty much be maintenance free and should last about the same as they do in a regular car.

Davdeb1 · 01-03-2013, 07:38 PM

I am very interested in this subject. Trojan t 105 cost about 130-150 each depending where you buy them. They are 220AH. I was just on the SAMs web site, they have an AGM cg2 battery for 160 each. They are rated at 190AH.

Now call me crazy, I've seen these averaging 250 to 300 and yes it's a lot of money, but so are. T105s. They last 8 years each if you check and maintain the wet cell each month. That is 96 months at an average saving of six dollars each month. It takes all my breath just to dump my tanks, so I can just imagine what checking the batteries would be like. You have to bend and get you head in there to check each of those cells.

Sorry to digress...

What is the disadvantage of buying the Eveready AGM? Are they just junk compared to the other AGM? Will they not last?

RonNBama · 01-03-2013, 07:40 PM

[QUOTE=<snip text>
I also added 4 oz of mineral oil to each cell somewhere around 2004, cut way down on the corrosion and need to refill with distilled water.
Got the same batteries again and used the mineral oil in them too.[/QUOTE]

Educate me on this mineral oil aspect please. Never heard about it.

Opinions on the affect (effect?) of having the Trace inverter/charger set to maintain gel-cell batteries when the bank is actually lead-acid type? Cells kept boiling over (new to me RV) and when I finally ran through the settings on the Trace I found the incorrect setup. My house battery consists of four GC2 6V units.