DC31 or AGM?
Submitted: Tuesday, Mar 31, 2015 at 07:30
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Phil 23
My Yuasa deep cycle in getting a little sad after 3 years.
Also have a Delkor DC31 pushing 5 years now & still going like a trouper.
Considering what to replace the other with.
Another DC31, that I know I'll be happy with, or go a step further in cost & go AGM.
Local prices are $255 Vs about $370.
Just wondering if I'll be that much more impressed with the extra 50% outlay.
One battery lives in the van, the other in a portable power box.
They could be swapped about.
Cheers.
Reply By: vk1dx - Tuesday, Mar 31, 2015 at 09:26
Tuesday, Mar 31, 2015 at 09:26
Why not just get two indentical "middle of the road" crank/accessory combination batteries. Something in the middle.
Our car initially came with two identical batteries under the bonnet as standard. When we started setting up for camping and remote trips a friend, who owns a large battery
shop, suggested that we fit two the same. We decided to give it a go (at a discount helps).
And to enable us to set up
camp in the bush for more than two days without having to charge and running two fridges we fitted another third and a Redarc isolator between one (for cranking and standard car power) and the other two separated for 4WD and camping accessories and lighting etc.
We have three 105 AH Allrounders under the bonnet or our 100 series 4.2TD.
We have camped for three days and all car power and accessory power has performed without a hitch.
No complaints after six years. The one that did all the cranking broke after being shaken about on the Canning. Five minutes to swap it with one of the others and we were away.
Interested to see if anyone else does the same or similar?
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Notso - Tuesday, Mar 31, 2015 at 09:48
Tuesday, Mar 31, 2015 at 09:48
I've always done the same, works for me. I know there are plenty who swear by AGMs as the holy grail of batteries but you get better warranty and heat resistance out of the allrounders at a much lower cost. The Delkor DC31 is of this type.
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Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Tuesday, Mar 31, 2015 at 18:40
Tuesday, Mar 31, 2015 at 18:40
My new van came with an 80Ah Delcor calcium battery. This was nowhere near a big enough capacity as I had upgraded to an upright compressor fridge in the van.
I bit the bullet and sold the Delcor and replaced it with two 105Ah Fullriver AGM batteries.
These have a great reputation and I know these are going to be looked after by the on-board dc-dc charger. They are currently $375, but can be bought on special for $349.
Not impressed with the Calcium battery. They need a higher charge rate of about 15.7 volts to obtain a full charge. Not many chargers will supply this higher requirement.
AGM's will fully charge with a 14.2 input voltage that most alternators will give, excepting some modern vehicles' tricky dicky lower output alternators. This is where the dc-dc charger improves the charging process so the best charging resume is obtained.
Obviously, voltage drop comes into play, especially when charging van battery banks, but a good quality dc-dc charger will boost the voltage if necessary to provide an optimum charging voltage with a multi-stage process, thus ensuring a long life from the battery investment.
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551860