Battery Trojan vs. LIfeline

[Redterpos3]

Ok, i've done my research, measured my area for a 2-battery bank and am looking at these two possibilities:

1) Lifeline - GPL-6CT RV - 2 6-volt AGM batteries - $440.99 + s/h - Total = $1,023.94

2) Trojan - T105-AGM - 2 6-volt AGM - $275 + 27 core - Total = $640

Looks to me like the lifeline would provide a much greater (almost 40% more) battery capacity; while the Trojans are about that much cheaper. Am i thinking right?? What say you?

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I am going to have to switch voltage regulators on my toad when I fit an AGM. The factory ECU voltage regulator is crazy-nuts too high of voltage for an AGM battery that will be subjected to 150+F under-hood temperatures. I am going to do with a remote rheostat (already made up) Transpo 911-02 voltage regulator.

But again, this is for "far-side-of-the-moon" environment. Celsi is going to construct a 13" tray underhood, and the battery is going to be wrapped in 316 grade marine stainless cable so it doesn't spring out of jail and run down the road. It is amazing how well a 12-volt electric fence charger works when isolated atop rubber tires with a stainless braid ground strap connected to the fence charger opposite post. A key FOB 12-volt remote switches the system.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

When the 8955 Whiffy was floating at 13.7 I fitted an inline 500-ampere Schottky rectifier to drop voltage three tenths. When the Whiffy smoked and upon autopsy I damaged several ribs laughing, I now use the BORG. But it is going to be replaced by the GigaWatt.

The 10-amp Whiffy fuse failed. I replaced it. Plugged it in. One of the two bi-polar transistors popped off a chunk the side of two dimes, stacked. The shrapnel pinged off my safety goggles. When I unfastened the heat sink from the corpse I found Whiffy did not use a micro-gram of heat sink compound on the cheap grade Chinese heatsink "counterfeit Berquist Sil Pad" pad. Wiffco may be manufactured in northwest Pakistan or the Hindukush as far as engineering land mines are concerned.

[ExxWhy]

Seems like one would need a converter/charger upgrade to properly maintain an AGM battery. What do you use mex?

[pnichols]

Regarding purchasing heavy duty battery boxes and then using them for AGM batteries ... part of "heavy duty" implies corrosion resistant enclosing material. That's of course not necessary for AGM batteries, as they don't corrode.

For instance in our case to add a couple more AGM batteries, I'd just have to build a simple screwed together wooden framework to physically keep them from moving around or bouncing around (or use only simple metal hold-down brackets from an automotive store) in one of our stock outside storage cabinets close as possible to the other two AGM batteries that are under the entrance step. However I'd still have a bit more complex cabling to do to make sure that the resulting four 12V deep cycle batteries still wound up in a balanced configuration. Inter-connecting only two 12V batteries in a balanced manner is pretty straight-forward. Inter-connecting three or more 12V batteries in a balanced wiring setup is more complex.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Hard-earned suffering has shown me the type of rough surface gray plastic that looks like it has fibers in it makes the most durable box. UV proof, and it does not crack.

[brulaz]

And ...

3. Century Plastic makes affordable, heavy duty, plastic battery boxes only for 4 6v batts. GC2s or L16s. Not for 4 12V batts.

[pnichols]

BFL13 wrote:
ISTR reading in this forum at times that there is no advantage 6v vs 12v with AGMs like you get with Wets, where most Wet "deep cycle" batts are not so good at deep cycling (exception being 12v T-1275s and similar ones)

If true, then if going AGM, why not stick with 12v if the price is right?

If going AGM, there are at least a couple of situations in which it may make more sense to use 6V AGMs instead of 12V AGMs:

1. Your RV's battery storage area may lend itself better to use of the typical taller/not-as-wide "golf cart shaped" 6V deep cycle AGM batteries instead of the typical shorter/wider "group sized" 12V deep cycle AGM batteries.

2. When wanting to install four batteries instead of two batteries, the heavy cable wiring is simpler when inter-connecting four 6V deep cycle AGM batteries in a balanced configuration than when inter-connecting four 12V deep cycle AGM batteries in a balanced configuration.

[BFL13]

ISTR reading in this forum at times that there is no advantage 6v vs 12v with AGMs like you get with Wets, where most Wet "deep cycle" batts are not so good at deep cycling (exception being 12v T-1275s and similar ones)

If true, then if going AGM, why not stick with 12v if the price is right?

[Searching_Ut]

Back to the original post, the new Trojan AGM batteries mentioned haven't been out long enough to where there is good long term usage data. Unfortunately, even with the batteries that have been around a long time, real data is hard to come by, and peoples perceptions tend to be pretty poor quite often when compared to actual data collection. If you try to get data from forums where it is impression based on things like gas mileage, solar output, battery life, etc. you'll find it's all over the place.

Personally I'd go with the Trojans due to the significant cost difference, but that's based on a guess as to long term performance vs real data. Having done a lot of capacity testing and data collection on the concord aircraft batteries, I most definitely wouldn't recommend them. The government might be able to replace a battery every two years but I need to get a little more use out of mine.

[pnichols]

When I put a couple of new 12 volt deep cycle AGM batteries in our RV over two years ago, I looked at Lifeline and Fullriver. The 72 lb. 115 amp hour Fullriver was only slightly less expensive than the closest equivalent 125 amp hour 75 lb. Lifeline model. Upon researching I discovered that Fullriver batteries are used all over the world, including extensively in marine applications. At the time Fullriver also suppled a different colored rebranded 12 volt deep cycle battery model to Rolls Surrette for resale under the Rolls Surrette name. I picked Fullriver over Lifeline because the specified float voltage of the Fullriver exactly matched the nominal output of my RV's converter. The Lifetime battery I was considering required a 0.3 volt lower float voltage - per their spec sheet and per verbally to me when I called Lifeline.

Here's the Fullriver battery model I installed two-of to get the 230 amp hours we need for 2-3 days of drycamping (we don't have solar, but have a built-in generator and carry along a small portable generator):

http://www.fullriverbattery.com/product/batteries/DC115-12

[RamblinAnne]

I feel like the original question was never really answered. Lots of info about flooded vs agm or 6v vs 12v batteries. But let's say I've decided I definitely want 6V AGM batteries. Can anyone recommend one brand over the other? Trojan and Lifeline seem to be the top competitors. Lifeline seems to have a little more amp hours but also costs more. Worth it? Can anyone attest to either brand?

[MEXICOWANDERER]

When I chose Lifeline, it was because I fear not to discharge it 100% on rare occasions.

Any other group size battery DOWN HERE would weld itself to the hood when it was closed and if the group 42 is substituted it will eat a hole in the radiator end tank and without a hold down guaranteed will bounce and weld itself to the hood. With luck the radiator leak would put out the fire.

"Penny-Wise and Pound-Foolish" has been around for centuries. I am far too cheap to automatically rely on a warehouse cheap-at-any-cost battery. OK here's a question: What is the thickness of the positive plates of those batteries? Plates per cell? Price on the other hand is no guarantee of high quality either. Warranty survival percentage is an indicator.

A vast majority of RV'ers haven't a clue as to how to go about taking proper care of an RV battery. They buy, they use for a while and to the recycler they go. It may be implied that these folks "Don't Care To Learn" and thus the subject of learning anything but batting averages and whom is starring in what movie, is of little importance to them. That assumption vanishes when you listen to them moan and complain to everyone who wants to (or doesn't want to) listen to oaths and expletives.

I have learned to carefully step around such an attitude...

[mena661]

So Lifeline wasn't BSing on the 80% DOD's. And thick plates too. Thanks for the info MEX.

[Chris_Bryant]

Full River says:

Full River wrote:
If Fullriver batteries are properly charged they should never require an equalizing charge. If they were not properly charged and there is a decrease in capacity, recharge the batteries and make sure they complete the entire charge cycle.

This from http://fullriverdcbattery.com/technical/charging/.