Battery Replacement Advice

markcee · 11-29-2021, 04:16 PM

Javi recently posted here about potentially replacing his FLA batteries with AGM. I'm in the same boat, although I have a single battery. I'm curious to hear thoughts on whether going to AGM is worth it for my lesser setup.

Situation: I currently have one dealer provided Group 24 'Predator Night Hawk' battery. It is almost 2 years old and appears to have a bad cell, as although it shows fully charged, I cannot deploy my 3 slides solely on battery power. Voltage drops down to 11.2 or lower after a couple minutes of use. There are no slide deployment issues if plugged in to shore power. The battery water levels are routinely checked and adjusted and it is removed and kept on a maintainer when not in use in the trailer.

I do not boondock...all camping is done at full hookup sites. We camp about 60 nights a year.

Potential Fix:I am leaning towards a Renogy or Windy Nation AGM. Aside from more weight, is there any reason I should not switch from FLA to AGM? Does anyone have any better brand recommendations?

Tnanks!

Javi · 11-29-2021, 05:28 PM

Good luck, I hope you get better response than I did.. I'm less intelligent than before I asked the question...

snoobler · 11-29-2021, 06:36 PM

Less intelligent huh?

Maybe this will help a tidbit...

https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...9&postcount=12

**JRTJH** · 11-29-2021, 06:47 PM

The "reasons for changing to AGM" (to me, anyway) include the ability to not worry about outgassing, so you can feel more comfortable with the battery in a closed, unvented compartment and the ability to use the battery without having to check water level frequently. Every AGM battery "owner's manual" that I've ever seen still states that battery venting is necessary, so take that for what it's worth. Otherwise, the "functionality and capacity" are fairly close with either the FLA or the AGM battery technology.

Downside to AGM is a slightly longer charge time and increased cost.

If you're not "bothered or annoyed" by checking the battery water level and plan to leave the battery in a battery box mounted on the tongue A frame, I'd stick with a FLA battery and go up from the GP24 to a GP 27.

I'd suspect that the battery you're replacing is the "dealer installed OEM battery" ??? If so, chances are very good that your dealer installed the cheapest, smallest battery (maximizing his profits) that he could get by installing. That left you with a "minimally performing battery that was ill equipped to power everything asked of it"... in other words, your current battery is probably woefully inadequate for what you're asking it to do, barely able to keep up, which means it probably is discharged to or slightly over it's recommended discharge level... Doing that repeatedly will damage any battery, especially one that is "undersized for the load"...

Given your trailer's electrical requirements and a GP24 battery, about 2 years is the average life expectancy.... So, don't blame your battery, blame the dealer for not installing a larger battery, in which case, you'd probably get 3 years before needing to replace it.....

I'm not a "battery salesman" but have you got room for two GP24 batteries on your battery tray? If you do, have you considered a pair of GC2 golf cart batteries? They will cost you the same (or slightly more) than a quality GP 27 battery, give you significanlty better charge/discharge capacity and last you probably 5-7 years, all for around $200.

**sourdough** · 11-29-2021, 07:04 PM

If you don't boondock, always stay in a public full hookup sites, I just don't see the need for the AGMs. I used to boondock with 2 grp. 24s and a generator. When I stopped boondocking I never felt the need for anything more that 2 grp. 24s because shore power and good batteries take care of anything/everything we need. I will say this; in the last many, many years of camping I've had 2 incidents with loss of full battery power. Both times it was due to 1) dealer ripping me on a supposedly new battery and 2) not filling a battery soon enough because I thought it was "new" (see #1). Other than that, for our use, 24's have been fine. If I was still going to the boonies 6Vs would be on the trailer.

GHen · 11-29-2021, 07:44 PM

My son converted to AGM, after 6 months he pulled them and went back to FLA.
Reason, took to long to recharge while Boondocking. May not be an issue for you since it sounds like you always have shore power .

I actually have four 6 volt GC batteries from Costco. Been very happy with the setup.

Canonman · 11-30-2021, 07:53 AM

1st, if your showing 11.2 volts you for sure have a bad cell in your battery.
With your stated minimal need for additional battery power, I'd suggest a larger Group 27 AGM or flooded sealed battery. The size is about the same (the 27 is a little larger) but you'll see about a 20% increase in amp hour storage. You might also want to look at a sealed battery for ease of maintenance.

**flybouy** · 11-30-2021, 08:32 AM

FWIW, we have a travel trailer and there's not enough room on the tongue for 2 batteries. We do not boondock however I will run the fridge for a day or two begore leaving on gas. I will also visit the camper while in storage and pavk the camper pre-trip requiring running the slides in and out. When the junk dealer installed battery went belly up I replaced it with a 105 Ahr group 31 battery. Thar required a larger battery box (a minimal expense) but has been well worth it IMO.

Javi · 11-30-2021, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourdough

If you don't boondock, always stay in a public full hookup sites, I just don't see the need for the AGMs. I used to boondock with 2 grp. 24s and a generator. When I stopped boondocking I never felt the need for anything more that 2 grp. 24s because shore power and good batteries take care of anything/everything we need. I will say this; in the last many, many years of camping I've had 2 incidents with loss of full battery power. Both times it was due to 1) dealer ripping me on a supposedly new battery and 2) not filling a battery soon enough because I thought it was "new" (see #1). Other than that, for our use, 24's have been fine. If I was still going to the boonies 6Vs would be on the trailer.

My battery layout is not ideal. There is one that is very accessible in the hydraulic bay, but the other is in the corner of the front storage bay, under the inverter. There is just enough room to slide the top of the battery box out after you remove the cables from the posts on the battery box top, and wiggle your hand and a wrench into the box and under the lid to remove the cables from the underside of the posts that stick through the top and connect to the actual battery.

After you get the top out of the way, you will need a mirror and a flashlight to check the acid level.

Then repeat to reassemble

I'm going to contemplate the chance that one battery might work.

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