G'day fellow humans. This morning I finally bought a house battery. I read about AGM and Gel and different brands and whatnot till I was blue in the face. I've read stacks of comments from GNs about their experiences with house batteries, and all the confusing stuff about watts and amp hours and regulators and solar panels. So when I finally made the decision to actually buy something, I contemplated asking advice on this forum. Hehe. And then I realized I'd be inundated with opinions that would confuse me even more than I already am. So I did the sensible thing and jumped in at the deep end without consulting the experts.
And what did I buy? A 105ah Power AGM from autoelecau on eBay for $250 delivered. Looked okay to me, and seemed like a good price especially including delivery. But then I had a mate question the brand. "Never heard of it. Probably some cheap crap from China." Well, maybe it is. Then he went on about warranty. "What if you're stuck out in woopwoop and need to claim on warranty?" Is he kidding? I wouldn't bother, not for $250 and not if I was at woopwoop.
So then I got a little nervous and did a search of this forum. Hello? I found a bloke who said he had bought a heap of stuff from autoelecau and had no problems - they were great people to deal with. So there ya go. I can relax again. But the best thing is that it's over. I've done it. No more will I or won't I? No more asking questions. No more uncertainty.
tonyd said
02:05 AM Jun 9, 2013
Gary, not only have you bought a battery, you've retained your sanity by not seeking advice! My forays into the world of 12v electricity have convinced me that it is a puzzle wrapped in an enigma designed to send the average bloke stark raving mad, or to the bottle, or both.
And lifting the damn things, that's another matter . . .
Cheers, Tony
Poppy sore eye said
02:07 AM Jun 9, 2013
Well done, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do it. If it doesn't work, that's ok, we avan all have a laugh and learn from you!! Lol
DeBe said
02:07 AM Jun 9, 2013
Hi Garry, Enjoy your battery as it probably will not give you any trouble. Expensive batterys can also fail out in woop woop & no place to claim a warranty any way. Im like you & use cheep batterys & generaly get up 6 to 8 years out of them, just a mater of looking after them & not completely flatening them.
PeterD said
06:52 AM Jun 9, 2013
It seems that reading about batteries on the forum has done some good. Osmoses seems to have imparted some sense into you. I think too many worry too much over their purchasing decisions and expect the forums to instruct them as to exactly the the decision they should make. Even the experts have made bad decisions, great to see you are taking a relaxed attitude about your decision.
GaryKelly said
02:54 PM Jun 9, 2013
Thanks, Peter. Yep, that's what it's all about. I remember someone on this forum saying something like: when you come to a fork in the road, take one. Hehe.
Mark said
06:41 AM Jun 12, 2013
GaryKelly wrote:
G'day fellow humans. This morning I finally bought a house battery. I read about AGM and Gel and different brands and whatnot till I was blue in the face. I've read stacks of comments from GNs about their experiences with house batteries, and all the confusing stuff about watts and amp hours and regulators and solar panels. So when I finally made the decision to actually buy something, I contemplated asking advice on this forum. Hehe. And then I realized I'd be inundated with opinions that would confuse me even more than I already am. So I did the sensible thing and jumped in at the deep end without consulting the experts.
And what did I buy? A 105ah Power AGM from autoelecau on eBay for $250 delivered. Looked okay to me, and seemed like a good price especially including delivery. But then I had a mate question the brand. "Never heard of it. Probably some cheap crap from China." Well, maybe it is. Then he went on about warranty. "What if you're stuck out in woopwoop and need to claim on warranty?" Is he kidding? I wouldn't bother, not for $250 and not if I was at woopwoop.
So then I got a little nervous and did a search of this forum. Hello? I found a bloke who said he had bought a heap of stuff from autoelecau and had no problems - they were great people to deal with. So there ya go. I can relax again. But the best thing is that it's over. I've done it. No more will I or won't I? No more asking questions. No more uncertainty.
Can't go wrong with an AGM battery Gary, keep it charged and it'll all be good. Don't forget that all leisure batteries have life cycles which are affected by the state of charge and the number of times that you let it go below an acceptable charge, 11.25 volts (I THINK) is acceptable. If you are eventually going to have solar, make sure that you get the best you can afford and a GOOD regulator too. Good luck and keep preparing. Mark
Recoup said
08:35 PM Jun 12, 2013
Don't go below 10%
Hans
State of Charge
12 Volt battery
Volts per Cell
100%
12.7
2.12
90%
12.5
2.08
80%
12.42
2.07
70%
12.32
2.05
60%
12.20
2.03
50%
12.06
2.01
40%
11.9
1.98
30%
11.75
1.96
20%
11.58
1.93
10%
11.31
1.89
0
10.5
1.75
GaryKelly said
01:21 AM Jun 13, 2013
Thanks for that info Mark, Linda and Hans. I've heard that the state of charge shouldn't go below 50% and am prepared to stick to that, but I hadn't realized it was directly related to volts - until now. :) I haven't installed my new battery yet (it's in transit) but there's an ordinary 12v car battery in there (left by the previous owner) at the moment, and the regulator shows 14 volts.
G'day fellow humans. This morning I finally bought a house battery. I read about AGM and Gel and different brands and whatnot till I was blue in the face. I've read stacks of comments from GNs about their experiences with house batteries, and all the confusing stuff about watts and amp hours and regulators and solar panels. So when I finally made the decision to actually buy something, I contemplated asking advice on this forum. Hehe. And then I realized I'd be inundated with opinions that would confuse me even more than I already am. So I did the sensible thing and jumped in at the deep end without consulting the experts.
And what did I buy? A 105ah Power AGM from autoelecau on eBay for $250 delivered. Looked okay to me, and seemed like a good price especially including delivery. But then I had a mate question the brand. "Never heard of it. Probably some cheap crap from China." Well, maybe it is. Then he went on about warranty. "What if you're stuck out in woopwoop and need to claim on warranty?" Is he kidding? I wouldn't bother, not for $250 and not if I was at woopwoop.
So then I got a little nervous and did a search of this forum. Hello? I found a bloke who said he had bought a heap of stuff from autoelecau and had no problems - they were great people to deal with. So there ya go. I can relax again. But the best thing is that it's over. I've done it. No more will I or won't I? No more asking questions. No more uncertainty.
Gary, not only have you bought a battery, you've retained your sanity by not seeking advice! My forays into the world of 12v electricity have convinced me that it is a puzzle wrapped in an enigma designed to send the average bloke stark raving mad, or to the bottle, or both.
And lifting the damn things, that's another matter . . .
Cheers, Tony
Well done, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do it. If it doesn't work, that's ok, we avan all have a laugh and learn from you!!
Lol
Hi Garry, Enjoy your battery as it probably will not give you any trouble. Expensive batterys can also fail out in woop woop & no place to claim a warranty any way. Im like you & use cheep batterys & generaly get up 6 to 8 years out of them, just a mater of looking after them & not completely flatening them.
Can't go wrong with an AGM battery Gary, keep it charged and it'll all be good. Don't forget that all leisure batteries have life cycles which are affected by the state of charge and the number of times that you let it go below an acceptable charge, 11.25 volts (I THINK) is acceptable. If you are eventually going to have solar, make sure that you get the best you can afford and a GOOD regulator too. Good luck and keep preparing.
Mark
Don't go below 10%
Hans