Bit thick about batteries

[Geek]

My advice is to buy a hot water bottle, fill it with water heated by gas.

 

[Sharon the Cat]

My advice is to buy a hot water bottle, fill it with water heated by gas.

I wish I'd thought of it at the time. We always have hotties with us. Honestly, we are so out of practice, coupled with the fact that we lived in this van on hook-up for 13 months, we really have not got back into it all.
I think it will take us a while.

 

[molly 2]

My 2 105 amp batterys are about 5 years old so expecting them to fail any time soon deciding what to buy is information overload , 100 amp lithiam would be ideal .any point in buying lithium when they will last much longer than me .another vote for the cheap ebay battery monitor it dose everything it says on the tin .

 

[Derekoak]

Longevity is only one advantage of lithium. The disadvantages are price, charging when the battery is cold and ensuring the rest of your system is compatible, which may also cost.
Other advantages, less weight, less volume, much greater effective storage. More efficient charging, more efficient discharging. No problem leaving lithium discharged, very little discharge whilst stored, whilst lead needs constant topping up.
My old 80ah Agm battery weighs more than my 200ah lithium batteries the lithium probably has 5 times the USABLE AH. So I could have just had a 50 Ah lithium for equivalent storage. My 80 ah Agm was too small for me but your 210ah may well be sufficient. So on price as you say 100ah lithium could be plenty.

 

[barlicker]

Ive been studying batteries a bit since I thought mine was bust but it turned out I was just playing Smash Karts and watching youtube too much probably and it seems a lot of us might have the wrong sort of charger for these AGM Batteries which seem one of the better options these days. I was going to order a 130ah AGM battery designed for off grid use from Alpha but then I started reading their very useful guides and with an AGM your charger needs to be able to charge up to 14.6-14.8v. Most chargers pre 2017 only charged up to 13.8-14.4 it says and that kind of fits in with what my current 240v charger and MPPT controller deliver.

So if you bought an AGM battery and did not have the right charger you will only get up to 80% capacity out of it and it will remember that and never go above. So it says. My current Alphaline is sealed calcium I think and 125ah but I reckon its the same as it was never as good as my original lead acid 110ah banner.

My thinking when I get home is an AGM battery and a new 240v charger but then I may also need to change my MPPT Controller.

A Detailed Guide to AGM Batteries - Alpha Batteries

With AGM products becoming more widespread in their use, knowing when you can or should use one and how to look after it properly is all the more important - our guide is here to help.

www.alpha-batteries.co.uk

I have been to Alpha on Friday 1/10/21 and bought two 115 amp AGM lead CARBON batteries. I was asked what charging system I had and told them Victron 12/50/1200 and that I had a B2B charger. Both can be adjusted to the AGM charging criteria. I live in my van and hopefully these batteries will be last ones for awhile. Sick of buying so called deep cycle batteries only to find out they last 6 to 9 months.

 

[barlicker]

My 2 105 amp batterys are about 5 years old so expecting them to fail any time soon deciding what to buy is information overload , 100 amp lithiam would be ideal .any point in buying lithium when they will last much longer than me .another vote for the cheap ebay battery monitor it dose everything it says on the tin .

Have a look at AGM Lead CARBON batteries they might suit and they are considerably cheaper. Just bought 2 115 amp from Alpha, I am hoping these will do for me as I live in my van.

 

[trevskoda]

I have been to Alpha on Friday 1/10/21 and bought two 115 amp AGM lead CARBON batteries. I was asked what charging system I had and told them Victron 12/50/1200 and that I had a B2B charger. Both can be adjusted to the AGM charging criteria. I live in my van and hopefully these batteries will be last ones for awhile. Sick of buying so called deep cycle batteries only to find out they last 6 to 9 months.

Many are just rebadged starter batteries, varta/bosch stop/start for sealed l/acid

 

[molly 2]

Have a look at AGM Lead CARBON batteries they might suit and they are considerably cheaper. Just bought 2 115 amp from Alpha, I am hoping these will do for me as I live in my van.

Good choice , wrong charging profile for me .