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AGM vs Flooded Batteries


Trailblazers

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I went to Batteries Plus today to look at purchasing 4 new AGM batteries for my 2018 Elite II.  The sales guy said he would go with the flooded battery due to the ease of maintenance and cost.  The price difference was $1,260 compared to $720.  I have never seen the flooded batteries talked about in this forum, so was wondering if anyone had tried them.  

 

Franklin, TN
2018 Elite II #315
Tow Vehicle: 2020 Ram 1500

 

 

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I have the good old fashioned lead acid wet cells.  Cheap proven technology, but they are heavy and bulky for the given amp-hour capacity.  They’ve worked well in the 4 years since we purchased our Oliver.  Minimal maintenance (I check the water level about every 6 months).  The 4x12v parallel setup I have only gives about 100 amp-hours usable of capacity to a 50% to 60% state of discharge (not recommended to go lower with lead acid batteries), but it’s worked fine because we typically stay at full hookup campgrounds.  No factory solar or inverter on our Ollie.  HOWEVER, when they do need replaced I’ll probably upgrade to 2 x 100 amp-hour BattleBorn lithium batteries, just to gain capacity and save the weight, and the BattleBorn batteries claim up to 100% usable depth of discharge as usable capacity  

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54 minutes ago, Trailblazers said:

I have never seen the flooded batteries talked about in this forum, so was wondering if anyone had tried them.  

Sure enough - I got 4 of them similar to Frank C.

Mine are the original Trojan T-105's that Oliver was offering 7 years ago.  I purchased the optional "watering system" that makes getting water into these very easy.  I've been fairly religious in checking these and giving them water at least every 60 days.  I know that I'm living on borrowed time with these but as long as they continue to function properly I'll hang with them.

Bill

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

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1 hour ago, Jim and Chris Neuman said:

Standard flooded batteries are cheaper than AGM's but they are definitely not lower maintenance.  AGM's are sealed and require no maintenance beyond keeping them clean and appropriately charged.

Flooded batteries require topping off with water (preferably distilled) on a regular basis and also present an explosion risk.

The fact that AGM batteries are sealed is what sold me on them for use with my CPAP machine years ago.  I now use LiFePO4 batteries because they are so much lighter, and last so much longer.  I had to replace my AGM batteries every 3-4 years to be confident they would not let me down when I most needed them.  Of course, flooded batteries last no longer than AGMs, because both use lead/acid chemistry.

You don't have to pay $1260 for 400 Ah of AGM batteries.  See:

https://www.renogy.com/deep-cycle-agm-battery-12-volt-100ah/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1Oykr8qE_QIV7AGtBh1NkAFVEAQYASABEgIaWPD_BwE

Four of these 100ah batteries would cost about $800.

I don't know if these Renogy AGM batteries will fit in the Oliver battery tray, but if not, I'll bet you can find AGMs that will fit for a lot less than the amount you were quoted.

And, whatever you buy, ensure they are fresh.  All lead/acid batteries have a 3-5 year life from date of manufacture, whether they have sat on a shelf for 1-2 years before sale or not.

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Hull #1291

Central Idaho

2022 Elite II

Tow Vehicle:  2019 Tundra Double Cab 4x4, 5.7L with tow package

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