AGM's are they worth the price?

I would say they are worth it by all the positive comments I've read here and on other sites. I am in the process of looking at them as well I look at Full river but have decide to go with Aussie batteries when I'm ready to buy I'll wait till they have the one I want on sale and get a solar panel of them as well. They say their AGM's have a 12 yr life if looked after if I got over 5 yrs I'd be happy. This is their site if your interested.
http://www.aussiebatteries.com.au/batteries/deep-cycle-agm/

G'day yes go with AGM they should last many years, but also charge back up quicker , and are totally sealed. Wet low maintenance batteries still breath a bit so will lose a bit of fluid in time. Plus being totally sealed are a lot safer, don't gas or spill.
Robbo

Good brands, Full River is a very good brand, I repaced the first one after 8 years and sitting at 7 years on the second, and they are mounted under the bonnet of the 80 series. I seriously don't think you would get that out of century or optima.

I've been looking around at batteries and found these a while back. Different technology and might give em a try next time I want a battery.

Silicate Gel batteries

I just purchased a SSB AGM 130 amp battery delivered to Cairns from Extreme 4wd in S.A. for about $280. So that's less than $900 for 3 good quality, high amp batteries that should last for many years if treated properly. Others on this thread have pointed out the pros of investing in AGM....




Your money so your choice...

3 x 120 Ah AGMS is a hell of a lot of batteries. How do you intend to keep them charged?
Hope you have plenty of solar which is far more important than number of batteries.
Batteries are like bank accounts - you can only take out what you put in - doesn't matter how many accounts you have!

Mike, you mentioned warranty. Check fine print on warranty, if you place a AGM in the engine bay you may void the warranty.....go figure! Having said that, mines in the engine bay.

It's sought of like off road tyre's. Also read their fine print, "if taken off road you also void warranty.

They say they don't like being in the engine bay but I had a Remco agm in the back tub of one car for 3 years and then it lived in the Landcruiser engine bay for six years and was still going strong when I sold it. Always kept it topped up when I could.

FWIW I ran a couple of ACDelco Calcium sealed batteries of 96 aH each in the camper trailer. Lasted 5 years. $170 each to replace. They can take a higher charging voltage than other types so recharge quicker.

I’m using 2 x 140 AH Powersonic AGM’s in the pod of the ute. They’ve been running brilliantly for 5 years now but then again I do look after them. There should be no reason why you don’t get many years out of an decent quality AGM providing the way you use it and maintain it is appropriate. If you buy them intending for them to last only 2.5 years, you’re doing something wrong.

With then three batteries, you’ll be able to split the draw over the three reducing the overall discharge rates required to run your accessories. Mind you, the life of these batteries is all about how you discharge them, how you charge them and maintain them.

If you’re spending the big bucks on batteries, you’d be wise to spend some money on appropriate technology to ensure proper staged charging at the right rates of charge. A DC-DC charger is a must as is a half acre of solar cells (4 x 100W solar panels would provide a good rate depending on your useage) through an MPPT controller.

My personal thoughts are you need to go back to basics and figure out your requirements and look at the system. You may well be better off spending a bit extra on a good Redarc dc-dc charger than replacing them again in 3 years.

Building a DC power system

Cheers

Mick

Hi Michael. Just replaced two full river 120s in my truck with two new ones. Eight years old and still good and have put the old ones in my van. Secret is to look after them and keep the charge up. Mine are split with one in the engine bay and one in the back with 280 watts of panels charging them running an 80 litre fridge and 60 litre freezer. Dont let them them get to 12.2 as another post says thats nearly flat. Price is a bit high though payed 320 for mine recently and our dollar has dropped since then so they should be cheaper than that.
cheers Graeme.

Thanks every body,

You have definitely confirmed my decision to go with AGM's, the question remains as to how many, two or three?

I appreciate your help and advice.

Best wishes,

Mike.