Another battery question.....Ugh....

[fla_cracker]

So I'm collecting parts for a dual battery in my 06' 4runner. The truck will see occasional (a few times a year) use and be set up with EvlDave's design. I am still on the fence if it will have solar or not, But initially it will not. Also for now it will just be for lighting and accessories but hopefully later a fridge. Sooooo.......

My question is ........ Should I go DeepCycle flooded or AGM ?

If I go AGM I will have to replace both batteries in the truck and....... I reside in FL so I am concerened about the heat with AGM. And cost is a factor.




Thanks in advance,

Cory

 

[Joe917]

Just because its AGM does not mean its deep cycle or better. The best battery as far as cost and life cycle is a DEEP CYCLE FLOODED. Not marine or dual purpose. No battery any good is dual purpose, starting and deep cycling require different plate thicknesses and different charging regimes. The flooded battery is still king for deep cycling, you just have to watch the electrolyte levels.

 

[unseenone]

Use a solar charge controller such as the Morningstar that has the temperature sensor, and you should be fine. The charge controller will compensate the charging routine based on the temperature. I use a yellow top, which also is good for the winch, and the engine battery is a MTP-49/H8 Interstate.

One big advantage of AGM is that some are rated for severe service, such as vibration, extreme angles, and so on.

 

[Stumpalump]

Needing to buy both is a myth. Technically speaking there is some evidence that it's best to replace them all and not mix types but in the real world no. In my van I run my newest batt as a cranking but in back I run a mix of 5 gel batts that I scraped out of electric powered hospital stretchers. Who knows how old they are but they are all different. I put a load on them and if they recover then they are good. On long trips I wire in any old car or deep cycle boat battery I have laying around. As long as you purge the non recovering or bad batts it's OK to mix them. I've been doing it in diesels, boats and campers forever. The farmers never buy two batts for their trucks either because you don't have to. It a myth that they must match. The myth starts when a good batt is mixed with a bad one. Charge it, load it with something like your air compressor and read the voltage. If it drops dramatically and does not recover then throw that one batt out of the mix.

 

[4x4junkie]

I'm also not sold on AGM batteries for most uses. It's true some AGMs may do a little better under a prolonged extremely high current demand (winching, for example), but for pretty much any other use, flooded batteries work just as well, and if taken care of, can last just as long too (I currently have two 9½ year old Delco Voyagers that are still quite very healthy).

In my experience, the best batteries for vehicular use have lead-calcium plates, which reduces water use and nearly eliminates spewing of acid droplets out of the vents during charging (along with the resulting corrosion issues). Such batteries are often labeled "Maintenance-Free", though if it has removable caps, you still should check the water levels at least semi-annually. You may also find you have to wind some teflon tape around the push-on vent caps to get them to seal against the case properly, however I don't consider this a deal breaker considering you're saving 50-70% of the cost of a similarly sized AGM battery.

The Delco Voyager I know uses lead-calcium plates, and I have a suspicion that the Kirkland deep-cycle battery Costco sells also has calcium plates (it looks a lot like the current-design Voyager anyway, and carries the "maintenance-free' claim, and is a bit cheaper to boot). My luck wasn't as good with a pair of Die-Hard marine batts years ago though (they used a lot more water and had the issues of leakage and corrosion typical with a lot of flooded batteries).

 

[fla_cracker]

Thank you all for the replies,

I believe that I will go with the flooded deep cycle type based on the responses and cost factor. I will have to look into the lead-calcium plates that 4x4junkie mentioned. I also agree with sentiment that Stumpalump posted about quickly culling a bad battery from the herd before they all become sick.

Solar will make it's way into the mix but down the road a little. Like I said this unit only sees occasional duty right now and cannot justify the larger investment yet. The small amount that I have to play with is gonna be stretched as far as possible, and in a few directions.


Again, Thank you :ylsmoke:

 

[IdaSHO]

If you need deep cycling and some decent AH, two 6v deep cycles are hard to beat!

 

[spencyg]

X2 on the 6V. Trojan T105 units are something like 230Ah and are extremely resistant to damage due to discharge. A pair of 6V golf cart batteries wired in series to make 12V will outlast and outperform a pair of 34 series 12V batteries wired in parallel.

They are heavy but will last you for a decade.

SG

 

[Joe917]

X3 on the Trojans, I have 4 T145s in parallel/series for 520AH at 12 volts.

 

[4x4junkie]

^^^

You guys ever had any issues at all with acid seeping out onto the tops of your CG batteries from vehicle vibrations causing the acid to slosh or mist?

 

[65BAJA]

How important is venting to the outside with a flooded battery? Meaning I have a Jeep XJ and am mounting the AUX batteries right behind the front seats inside the cab.

 

[Joe917]

How important is venting to the outside with a flooded battery? Meaning I have a Jeep XJ and am mounting the AUX batteries right behind the front seats inside the cab.

Very important, a good source of info: http://www.bdbatteries.com/hydrogenventing.php
My batteries are external, not so easy with a jeep.