How do you choose a new 130/135AH AGM Battery?

Thanks Glenn,
Will have a look at them.
Cheers, Simon

There are many members of other forums who deal with batteries who tell us that if you have enough material in a battery to deliver the required power that a 100 Ah battery will weigh 32 kg per 100 Ah. On that basis the battery advertised as 130 Ah is really a 100 Ah battery in an oversize case.

Thanks Bigfish,
A mate has a couple of these and reckons there not bad as well. Ill add them to my short list.
Simon.

Thanks Phil,
A third to add to my short list, good to hear from people that actually have had them for some time.
Cheers, Simon.

Battery has just ticked over 3 yrs, when not in the car (connected via Projecta IDC25) it gets a periodic trickle charge at home. The fridge does run off it but I notice one day less running on our last trip away. My only concern is having it completely go whilst away and having to drink warm beer....
Cheers, Simon.

Where batteries simply loose their capacity their terminal voltages do not change much. The loss of capacity happens because some of the plates simply fail to work, not because the whole of the plates change their characteristics. In the flooded batteries the active material actually fell off (that's the reason for the wells at the bottom of the battery.)

The effect is often described as having a square tank. shifting one wall across reduces the capacity of the tank However it does not change the height of the water (the height of the water is analogous to the battery voltage.) If a battery is loosing its ability to maintain regular voltage levels there are more problems than just simple loss of capacity.

Thanks PeterD, the drop in static charge means the 130ah is really a 91ah if all goes well with the battery, but the back of mind says something else is wrong and maybe it doesn't have long to live...
Cheers , simon.

That I haven't done....Interesting, I possibly made a big mistake by assuming it was working OK. Will check that out over the weekend before I spend any dollars.

Thanks.

Only check battery performance after giving them a full charge first.

Yeah mate it should be floating somewhere around 13.8 volts whilst the charger is connected.

Well checked the charger, does the job as it should but battery still showing a low static-resting charge, bugger must be the battery.
Oh well, time to review batteries , cost etc.
Simon.

Agreed Allan, over my career batteries have been a necessary evil to deal with, and I have come to one very outstanding conclusion after having dealt with many different brands and types (remember the good old days when in automotive there was only one type, and specific gravity told the Real story to state of charge).

My conclusion is that price has pretty much nothing to do with battery quality, LUCK is what you need.

There are many different processes involved in making a battery and these days they are carried out by different companies and countries to produce one battery, there is no one quality control over the whole production.
If all these steps go perfectly and come together in one battery, you will get a brilliant battery regardless of the price, if something has gone slightly pair shaped on any of the steps you get a less than brilliant product, even with the most expensive battery on the automotive market.

Go with Allan's suggestion, Dollars wont guarantee a good battery, crossing your fingers might help more.

.
Yes Qldcamper, what you say applies to most manufactured products. A retailer selling at dirt-cheap prices is probably selling just that..... 'dirt'. Unless he is discounting a superseded model etc. But paying 3-times the price will not guarantee a product of 3-times the quality.

In general, a retailer wishing to stay long-term in business will not only source quality merchandise but will also provide long-term service. He relies upon referred and repeat sales for not only a reasonable income, but to stay in business.

A high-end provider may well do the same, but by hell, you will pay not only for the product, but also for his "Cost of Sales"....... advertising, fancy website and video promotions etc. And he will expect to make more than a reasonable profit from you.

Yep, if you want a cheap screwdriver, go to eBay and pay peanuts. But if it is a $200-plus product, the benefits of a well-established, ethical local retailer provides value. Annnd, you are spending within your community.... always a good thing.

I shop much as I drive........ middle of the road. lol

I agree Allan, I never get the cheapest or most expensive, always figure somewhere in between is a good compromise.
Will head this way with the battery as well.
Cheers, simon.

Yeah I noticed these those, I have bought a lot of gear from them for various electrical jobs, will keep them on the short list.
Cheers, simon.

I know what you mean, I've had that with some lights like that as we'll, just waiting for the cheapy to die but they won't.