AGM 12V Battery Recomendations

[Loren]

Brian:
We have a Fullriver brand 85Amp-hour AGM battery and last fall it met all our needs for 7 days in a row camping with no recharging. Only non-LED thing was fan and phone recharging.
Loren

[Vedette]

Hi Loren
I am not familiar with that brand.
How big is it? And how much does it weigh?
Brian

[roamer]

Brian,
Like others have mentioned, it really depends on usage. I have done a few systems with different results. It all comes down to a few factors regardless of battery type.
What is the draw, for how long, and how much time is it charged for the battery to recover. Answer those questions and you will know how many amp hours you will need.
Amp hours is more important than battery type. I used to think that Optima batteries were a good choice until I found they have a low amp hour rating for my usage, at least in the toy hauler. The toy hauler has large demands compared to a smaller trailer. I can run everything off my batteries, short of my a/c in the toy hauler for a day or two. It is at the expense of weight though. If you currently have a wet battery setup you are happy with, just replace it with same capacity AGM. Batteries are an electrical fuel tank. If you have a Geo Metro of an electrical system, a small battery can last a long time. If you have a big block hot rod, you need a big tank and have to fill it often.

[roamer]

I have been hearing good things about the Interstate MT7 batteries, just depends on needs.

[Vedette]

Thanks Dave
Brian

[Bill n Robi]

GuitarPhotog : Check out this video about how to resuscitate a deeply discharged AGM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slqd73ZOQvI

[GuitarPhotog]

GuitarPhotog : Check out this video about how to resuscitate a deeply discharged AGM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slqd73ZOQvI

Thanks, I'll check it out.

<Chas>

[Loren]

Brian:
it's 6.5" deep x 10" wide x 9" high
it weighs about 54#
Loren

[Vedette]

Brian:
it's 6.5" deep x 10" wide x 9" high
it weighs about 54#
Loren

Thanks Loren
Who distributes them?
Brian

[mkitchen]

Hi Brian
I have had really good luck with both Deka and Odessy batteries. Neither one is cheap but I prefer to buy a good battery then have one quit me at some very inconvenient time. On our off road trailer we have the Engel fridge, very little lights and the hookups so we can both run our CPAPs. With all that, two batteries works well for two days and we can push for three. We have a 60w solar system that we put out if we are staying somewhere longer. That set up works just fine and NO GENERATORS, than goodness.

On the tear, all we have is the lights and our CPAPs so one battery does fine. On both, we have extra plug ins so we can run a computer or charge a phone while camped. I would recommend that you get the largest AGM that you can fit in. Take good care of the battery and it will last a long time. Note. spiral wound batteries (Optima) don't seem to hold up as well as they used to. They are now a part of Interstate.
Mikey

[roamer]

My favorite setup in the toy hauler had 255 Ah capacity @ 20HR, and 570 reserve capacity @ 25 amps.
Overkill for some. Keep in mind we were glamping, four females and I. It would power the tv, microwave, coffee pot, toaster, lights, hair dryers, etc. and still have power to start the on-board generator. We ran on battery power during quiet hours and started the generator an hour or two during the day. You will also need an inverter, if you plan on using AC power. Ours is a xantrex unit. Or you could just go camping

[Vedette]

As I said before, we are not looking to power up the world here. It is just the fridge that seems to be our need for power.
I always seem so comfortable when we have the shoreline plugged in.
Brian

[S. Heisley]

There should be a sticker or metal plate somewhere on your 'frig, maybe on the back, that tells you how many AMPS it uses. That is usually the per hour usage. So, you would multiply that times ....24 (?) to get your usage per day and then go from there. With your solar panels hooked up, you might not need that much....dunno. At least, that's where I would start to figure out what was needed.

[booyah]

usually they will give you a max amps, by run time, not by hour

so if you have a 50% cycle, you can halve that... only real way to track it is with something like a kilawatt or similar meter over a 24 hour period.

[S. Heisley]

Engel seems the best, with 12 volt truck refrigerators, from .5 to 2.87 amps per hour:

http://www.my12voltstore.com/Engel_Buil ... /sb70f.htm

.6 to 2.3 amps per hr:
http://www.my12voltstore.com/Engel_MT17 ... 17f-u1.htm

.7 to 2.8 amps per hr:
http://www.my12voltstore.com/Engel_frid ... b40v-h.htm

These 3 Engels are .5 to 2.87 amps per hr:
http://www.12volt-travel.com/truck-rv-r ... 11930.html

Koolatron 12 volt refrigerators, 4 amps per hour:

http://www.my12voltstore.com/Koolatron_ ... _p/p20.htm

http://www.my12voltstore.com/ProductDet ... de=P85-TC2

Whynter 2.5 to 2.75 amps per hour:

http://www.my12voltstore.com/Whynter_45 ... fm-45g.htm

http://www.my12voltstore.com/Whynter_65 ... fm-65g.htm

Norcold has 3 different settings, to prevent battery drain on some models; but, they don’t seem to be advertising their voltage on any of theirs:

http://www.my12voltstore.com/Norcold_NR ... /nrf45.htm

http://www.my12voltstore.com/Norcold_NR ... r751bb.htm

http://www.my12voltstore.com/Norcold_NR ... /nrf60.htm