Batteries

[bill46]

My house batteries seem tired after 3+ years in FL heat. This is better than my Van - less than 3 years, but even hotter.
What are your experiences with different brands?

The OEM Universal Power Group UB121100 look cheapest, about $190, but are made in China & I have had some bad batteries from China 10 years ago. Has anyone had issues with these?

31 size, 110 AH, AGM Duracell, by West Penn in USA is about same price at Sam's Club.

thanks Bill

 

[Red Raven]

My UB 121100 batteries failed in only 2.5 years. Now have a West Marine branded battery (not sure what they really are) They were the only thing available quick and cost way too much! The Duracell's at $190 sound like a deal.

Curt

 

[knotflying]

Sorry guys, I am a proponent of good old fashioned technology. Walmart dual purpose deep cycle, $87.00 with full one year warranty. I replace them every 3 years regardless of state and if I make a mistake and ruin the batteries, for some reason, it is an inexpensive fix versus AGM. Maintenance is negligible. I top them off with distilled water every six months.

 

[bill46]

thanks Knotifying. I know wet cells are cheapest and hold most energy, but on 31 they are inaccessible, can barely see side let alone top off. Therefore AGMs make most sense.

 

[stwendl]

They make fill caps for those batteries, sold in rv stores, so you can top of all cells remotely in case the batteries are hard to reach. The caps have hoses attached and some mechanism that prevents you overfilling individual cells

 

[baz]

Sorry guys, I am a proponent of good old fashioned technology. Walmart dual purpose deep cycle, $87.00 with full one year warranty. I replace them every 3 years regardless of state and if I make a mistake and ruin the batteries, for some reason, it is an inexpensive fix versus AGM. Maintenance is negligible. I top them off with distilled water every six months.

I agree with Mike on this. I had the liquid filled deep cycle stock batteries on my 2010 R-25 and they were still good after some 6 years. I also topped off the batteries periodically. I would check batteries health every 6 months and IMO would only replace a battery when it's clear they need to be replaced.

 

[Brian B]

They make fill caps for those batteries, sold in rv stores, so you can top of all cells remotely in case the batteries are hard to reach. The caps have hoses attached and some mechanism that prevents you overfilling individual cells

I have been using this system for a couple of years. https://flow-rite.com/battery-watering/ ... /qwik-fill
Couple of pumps and they are topped off to the correct amount. I have it on the two outboard batteries that are difficult to reach.

 

[SGIDAVE]

YES, flow-rite.com is the place. Their system works well. Something like this

This type of system replaces the water fill caps on the batteries then links them together so you can fill ALL the cells from one fill point. The replacement fill caps that come in the kit have a 'float' type valve that prevents over-watering. Elegant solution to a vexing problem especially when battery access is poor.

/dave