Replacement Leisure Batteries

Ly085

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Yes I realise that this question has been asked many times but........
We have 2 x 100w solar panels and need to replace our leisure batteries (we do a fair bit of self sufficient camping). There are so many different choices: acid, gel, glass mat, lithium-ion it’s a minefield! Suggestions please
 
What is your budget? That is the main yes/no bit when it comes to "do I go lithium or not" - Lithium is most likely the best option IF your budget will allow for it (new batteries, and also probably upgraded chargers to go with it) plus the willingness to invest more personal energy into managing it.

For those with a typical budget and knowledge level, AGM (aka 'glass mat') is a good compromise in my opinion (and what I am going for in my latest design as the customer cannot justify running to a Lithium LiFePO4 setup)
 
I have two 90 AGM's and 100 solar. The batteries are four years old and have had a good deal of off grid use, they show no signs of failure and hardly ever go below 12.5 after a full days use, hey recharge quickly the next day. All our lights are LED and we don't have a tv but we do use an inverter to charge our laptop and phones. I would reface them with the same without hesitation.
 
I wouldn't use AGM after reading this (and anything else on the site re batteries is well worth a read)

http://www.**************************/agm-batteries.php
 
I think for those who need information a well reasoned and unbiased read is more useful than a bloke that merely says 'that's a load of guff'. I was impressed that they back up their points of view with evidence and don't have a product to push.
 
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I think reviews which are based on a users real life experiences of a product, whatever it might be are valuable a d usually dependable.
 
wfdTamar said:
I think for those who need information a well reasoned and unbiased read is more useful than a bloke that merely says 'that's a load of guff'. I was impressed that they back up there points of view with evidence and don't have a product to push.
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Evidence such as Lithium Packs that catch fire you mean?
And points such as "most of the chargers ... are unsuited to AGM Batteries"? What does "most" mean? bit of a sweeping statement - "most" people who enquire about batteries tend to also check if their charging devices are suitable for whatever batteries they are considering
 
wildebus said:
Evidence such as Lithium Packs that catch fire you mean?
And points such as "most of the chargers ... are unsuited to AGM Batteries"? What does "most" mean? bit of a sweeping statement - "most" people who enquire about batteries tend to also check if their charging devices are suitable for whatever batteries they are considering
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I mean any real fist hand user experience whatever that might be. I didn’t comment on lithium packs or on what “most” might mean and won’t as I have no experience of either. I do, however, have experience of my own AGM batteries which I posted earlier.
 
I think he was responding to my post (not yours). I'm not sure why Lithium came into it either. The charger thing - without checking the reference - I'm guessing they mean most chargers built into motorhomes aren't suited to AGM. They do know a lot about chargers so I'd be more inclined to take their word for it than 'a bloke on a forum'.
 
wfdTamar said:
I think he was responding to my post (not yours). I'm not sure why Lithium came into it either. The charger thing - without checking the reference - I'm guessing they mean most chargers built into motorhomes aren't suited to AGM. They do know a lot about chargers so I'd be more inclined to take their word for it than 'a bloke on a forum'.
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Why did lithium come into it? you said "....they back up there points of view with evidence " - "there" evidence shows burning lithium batteries as 'evidence' not to go lithium. THAT is a nonsense and shows that you cannot always trust what you read even on that hallowed site.
Why would you trust a "bloke with a website" any more than a "bloke on a forum"? who says EITHER are to be trusted?
 
Iandsm said:
I mean any real fist hand user experience whatever that might be. I didn’t comment on lithium packs or on what “most” might mean and won’t as I have no experience of either. I do, however, have experience of my own AGM batteries which I posted earlier.
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As wfdtamar posted, my reply quoted HIS message and was so a reply to his point, not yours.
 
There instead of their - I was autocorrected and didn’t notice it.

Not sure how recent or up to date the lithium stuff is and you’re possibly right regarding that part of it, I don’t know as I didn’t read those bits not considering lithium, but although they’re a bloke on a web site, they run a business in the field fixing things stuffed up by incorrect choices, so I reckon they have back up for their claims. Also he answered some email questions quickly, sensibly and with no BS.
 
They certainly discredit their lithium leisure battery (LiFePO4) argument by using misleading information about fires in entirely different types of lithium batteries (LiCoO2 & LiMn2O4) that I am not inclined to pay much heed to what they say generally.
 
I think the problem is they’ve lumped all lithium in together, without consideration for the lower fire risk (as I understood it) of LiFePO4. There might be an argument against that type of lithium, based on cost, but perhaps the weight saving would benefit some people? Seems a bit severe to dismiss everything on the site just because you don’t like one point.
 
There is a definite fire risk with some types of lithium that is not in question I wouldn’t think. What is stated there does not apply to the LiFePO4 technology though. To my mind there is still more sense on the A and N site than on any other I have come across
 
wildebus said:
Evidence such as Lithium Packs that catch fire you mean?
And points such as "most of the chargers ... are unsuited to AGM Batteries"? What does "most" mean? bit of a sweeping statement - "most" people who enquire about batteries tend to also check if their charging devices are suitable for whatever batteries they are considering
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Maybe "most" of the members on this and it's associated sites would be aware of the various charging needs of the various battery types.
However I think you'd find that a very large percentage of motorhome owners have no idea what the needs of a particular battery type is, and whether or not the charger installed in their van can accommodate any change they may make.
Most of the less well informed will simply rely on the cheapest solution to their immediate needs.
 
eurajohn said:
Maybe "most" of the members on this and it's associated sites would be aware of the various charging needs of the various battery types.
However I think you'd find that a very large percentage of motorhome owners have no idea what the needs of a particular battery type is, and whether or not the charger installed in their van can accommodate any change they may make.
Most of the less well informed will simply rely on the cheapest solution to their immediate needs.
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We will never know, will we, as they will never ask anything other than what the price is.
If resources such as A&N want to educate unknowing folk, they need to do better than saying "most" all the time - "most chargers" is a very unhelpful statement. Maybe some pointers from the site that specialises in Charger Repairing on to how to identify the type of charger you have would be useful?
When I do shows, I end up spending a lot of time (far more than I would like) talking to people with Campervans on different batteries and chargers, so the desire to know more amongst the people I meet is certainly there.
 
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