deep cycle batteries - which are best for money?
Submitted: Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 14:26
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Chris@forum
hi folks
1,5 years ago I bought 2x 6V 230Ah batteries at Battery World. Brand US Series.
I upgraded to them from others, bought first 130Ah, but they handed me out 120Ah, so I came back and upgraded right away.
Now, with those US Series I am quite not happy. I use them in a camper van, they get charged by 2x Kyocera 130Watt panels with up to 15 Amps, and I run an Engle fridge, laptop and external hard drive or TV and fans over night on them.
After 1,5 Years the performance of them was getting against 0, and I filled up the distilled
water ... 3 liter each!!! So they were dry, need obviously a lot of maintenance, which unfortunately I didn't gave, if they
cook the
water away like this. I never had this much water/acid lost with any starter batteries.
I brought them back to Battery World, to let there importer check them.
Which brand would you recommend?
I heard Trojan are a good standard. Did you had any problems like this with yours?
thanks
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 14:52
Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 14:52
Do you have a regulator on the solar panels?
AnswerID:
436052
Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 15:02
Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 15:02
The reason I asked is because 3 litres per battery is a huge amount of
water to boil off, so the batteries must have been severely overcharged.
I also need to ask something obvious - you did have the batteries wired up in series and not parallel?
If you are overcharging or have a faulty regulator etc, then you need to sort this out before replacing the batteries.
FollowupID:
707252
Reply By: Member - Captain (WA) - Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 14:54
Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 14:54
If you have had these batteries for 1.5 years and never checked or topped them up,
well... only to be expected really. Part of the charge/discharge cycle is that
water is consumed in a wet cell lead acid battery, they will need topping up.
If you are looking for a zero maintenance battery, I would suggest an AGM. No need to top them up (different technology) and they have other advantages too. The only real disadvantage is their cost, 1-1/2 to 2 times a wet cell.
If you want maximum life, would be advisable to ensure you have a multistage charger. Depending on your power use, your solar may not always get them to full charge and/or you may be draining them too low.
Cheers
Captain
AnswerID:
436053
Follow Up By: SDG - Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 15:20
Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 15:20
In regards to topping up, is distilled
water still the recomended fluid? Only reason I ask is one of the leading battery
places, here uses tap
water. Says distilled
water is an old wives tale.
FollowupID:
707254
Follow Up By: Member - Captain (WA) - Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 16:16
Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 16:16
OMG... its hard to believe that people do not understand the issues when using tap
water.
Quick answer - it will kill your batteries faster than almost anything else.
Longer answer - the Ca++ and Mg++ ions will react preferentially with the SO4-- ions and form insoluble salts during the charge/recharge reaction in preference to PbSO4 (lead sulfate). I could go on, but the chemistry just keeps getting more complicated. Lets just say this is really bad and a good way to destroy your batteries.
Cheers
Captain
FollowupID:
707258
Follow Up By: Member - Phil B (WA) - Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 at 00:09
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 at 00:09
I agree with Captain - don't use tap
water.
Maybe the battery people are out to boost sales by causing premature failure!!!
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Follow Up By: SDG - Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 at 10:59
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 at 10:59
Apparently nationwide with this company.
FollowupID:
707323
Follow Up By: Mike DiD - Sunday, Nov 21, 2010 at 20:58
Sunday, Nov 21, 2010 at 20:58
How many cents per battery do they save doing this ???
FollowupID:
707909
Reply By: Neil & Pauline - Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 15:41
Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 15:41
For what it is worth I got 6 months from Century wet cells deep cycle and have now had the Trojan equivalent for 2 1/2 years and still going
well. Price was the same. I am not sure if I am going to stick with wet cell or go AGM in the future. I understand that there is more usable power in an AGM.
I am waiting to see what answers you get as I guess sometime soon I will need to change.
Neil
AnswerID:
436055
Reply By: Member -Dodger - Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 16:22
Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 16:22
Get yourself a couple of good quality 100amp hr AGM batteries and make sure your charger is a multi stage job.
Also make sure that the solar panels have a good quality solar regulator as
well and you should have no problems at all.
Also if you have the cash get a DC to DC charger that works from the vehicle.
My personal choice of AGM is the Fullriver brand exy but good.
AnswerID:
436059
Reply By: Chris@forum - Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 16:54
Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 16:54
so many replies, thanks guys.
forgot to mention, yes of course I have a solar charger, Jaycar Powertech MP3129, that protects the battery against low voltage discharge.
And yes, they are in series for 12V. At that size only 2x 6V fit in my battery box.
Solar is charging, and when the engine runs, alternator as
well straight in.
Maybe I shall switch the battery relay manually ...
So AGM have more power at same size? Do we have a cheep Trojan dealer in
Sydney? There is this guy in
Brisbane with great prices for 6V on ebay
link
pickup only
What do we need a dc dc charger for again?
I couldn't find any maintenance data for my batteries. So how much charging amps do they like most, when shall I configure to cut them off for low voltage aso
AnswerID:
436063
Follow Up By: Member - Joel and Michelle (WA - Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 21:11
Monday, Nov 15, 2010 at 21:11
I'm not the most technical bloke, but DC to DC charger is used when the charge voltage is too low to properly charge you battery. So the voltage from your vehicle maybe 13.8v but by the time it gets to your camper battery it may have dropped to 12 v or even less ( depending on the cabling ) The charger takes the 12v and increases the voltage back up to 13.8v. This is important because the battery will charge only due to the differential. 13.8-12=1.8v. It will use more amps so it is still important to check your cable size, as you don't want the smoke escaping ( sorry bad joke).
Hope that helps
If I erred anywhere sorry, but that is close.
Joel
FollowupID:
707294
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 at 16:56
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 at 16:56
Chris,
Your Jaycar Solar Charge Controller is adjustable - it can deliver anything between 12 and 16.5 Volts. What is yours set at? As I've alluded to above, you must have severely overcharged your batteries. I'm guessing your Jaycar controller is set at way too high a voltage.
Details of how to set the voltage are in the manual:
http://www.jaycar.com.au/products_uploaded/MP3129_manual.pdf
AnswerID:
436152
Reply By: Chris@forum - Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 at 17:46
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010 at 17:46
thanks for the manual, always good to have one stored.
That charger needs to come up with more than 12V in order to make a current flow into the battery.
The float, bulk and absorb charge modes I left default
Got a 80Ah battery from Battery World until they sorted out what to do with my others. That one does a good job, and for first time for long I see absorbation charge, solar panel has 20,2 V and battery, sort of disconnected, on 12.9V.
AnswerID:
436155