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Post Info TOPIC: Batteries


Veteran Member

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Batteries


hi all,

My fullriver battery has died after 3 years ,although kept charged and generally in a van park when travelling.

re purchasing another battery, I will only be travelling in 6 to 8 week blocks then parking up the van , majority in parks

as the wife is happier, I feel a  cheaper AGM battery would suffice rather than the $450 app fullriver.

crikey I travelled Australia for two years 30 years ago l/cruiser and trailer with two deep cycle wet batteries never even came near a flat battery.obviously different with a van.

suggestions please.

,

 



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rbudnick


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I have only ever owned one AGM battery, dead after 18 months, ended up like a football. I reckon it had an internal short.
All my other storage type batteries have been wet cell in vented compartments and have very little trouble
cheers
blaze

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My previous battery, was Gelcell, mainly because . I was not using the van much, and it lasted 8 years, not saying all do that, but they are cheaper, and can handle a bit of rough roads. If it wasn't for the fact, that we started using the van more and staying out free camping all the time, I would have stayed with a new Gel, but went with a Century 105ah AGM. It has lasted 4 years sit's mostly only 12.6 -7 volts, happy enough with it, and it was only 320 dollars fitted, because I couldn't lift the old battery out or put the new one in. Gel's are cheaper again.



-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Friday 10th of January 2020 08:18:08 PM

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Ric - The Eccentric One



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I have had 2 sets of Fullrivers.
The first lasted 5 years before capacity had dropped of a little. That 5 years was spent free camping for 8 months per year.
The second set was replaced, still working, after 9 years of less months per year, but all free camping.
I also use an AGM as a crank battery.
My third set were much cheaper than Fullrivers and purchased from here.. www.batteryvalue.com.au/
It is my guess that good quality AGMs that die after just a few years may not have been treated appropriately.
Cheers,
Peter

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OKA196, 4x4 'C' Class, DIY, self contained motorhome. 960W of solar, 400Ah of AGMs, 310L water, 280L fuel. https://www.oka4wd.com/forum/members-vehicles-public/569-oka196-xt-motorhome
 

 



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Id be interested in what sort of charging equipment is used by the two pisters reporting short lives, and what charging parameters are set

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Thanks Blaze I think I will return to deep cycle wet cell also , I used a marine battery switch in the cruiser to switch between them and if required turn both off it worked well,simple and extremely efficient as one electricIan told me that saw it.



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rbudnick


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Tony LEE wrote:

Id be interested in what sort of charging equipment is used by the two pisters reporting short lives, and what charging parameters are set


 mine was a stand alone battery that was never fitted for its intended use. Sat in the back of the vehicle or in the annex and used via Andersen plugs when required. Charging was via a ctec charger when required, never seen under 12 v. Only thing ever plugged in was a fridge.

cheers

blaze



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Rasty wrote:

Thanks Blaze I think I will return to deep cycle wet cell also , I used a marine battery switch in the cruiser to switch between them and if required turn both off it worked well,simple and extremely efficient as one electricIan told me that saw it.


Hi Rasty smile

I would think as a general statement that if you have had a short life out of a quality battery then before you just replace it, I would look at the things which control the life.wink

The charging device used and its suitability for the battery. All chargers for lead acid batteries of any type, must have a multi stage regime to get proper life out of the battery.

The current draw from the battery, and if the battery is being regularly discharged to a voltage which is too low. This kills batteries. ie whether the capacity of the batteries is large enough for the job. A usual problem.

Lack of some monitoring device to allow you to know what is happening to the battery day to day. no

Jaahn

  



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I would be checking the voltage control unit ? Seems like its over charging ? Also check the manu date on battery . Was in a store yesterday. Some floor stock was 3 years old ! My guess they dont sell old first ? Check dates .

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Whats out there


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Fullriver batteries are stamped on the day of purchase here in Perth not sure where the op is from but if he is in Perth he should take the battery back to challenge batteries they will check it out and may be able to refresh it for you. My battery was recently checked by them i think they do a full discharge then charge it up again it was then delivered back to my place with a report all for no cost mine is almost 7 yrs old and still performing as a new one.

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Top shelf batteries like full river dont just die after 3 years. Like a few others have suggested, I would say they have been mistreated. The place we get our industrial batteries for my place of work also mark batteries with the date of purchase. Thats when the warranty starts. Regards Pete

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For all the beat up about Full River quality, they are the same made in China box as every other brand.
As far as I am aware, Century Yuasa is the only brand manufacturing lead acid batteries in Australia.
The FullRiver parent, US based International Battery Corp, is just a Californian international wholesaler that owns a manufacturing plant in China.


A lot depends on the DOD.
Whilst some folks do get more, expect approx. only 300 40% DOD cycles for lead acid batteries regardless of brand or type, and if you get 400+ you are doing exceptionally well.

These days, for $500 you can go good quality 100AH Lithium and with inbuilt BMS they are a straight swap out.
Double the usable capacity, at least 2000 100% DOD cycles (8000 30% DOD cycles), and save 25kg of weight per 100AH.

Yep, they do cost maybe $100 more than a good branded AGM but usability and lifespan make it a no-brainer, IMHO.

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Ok hylife. You have something to backup all those wonderful lithium stats ?? And if you can buy lithium for those bargain basement prices I bet they are made in a Chinese getho as well. Got to love lithium tragics hehe. Regards Pete. Ps I only have acess to this forum on my mobile. I click menu, then recent posts. This afternoon you were offering your expert opinion on all 10 of the subjects on the first page of the forum. Alarm bells ringing for your credibility.

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Hylife wrote:


These days, for $500 you can go good quality 100AH Lithium......


 Yeah,right.From my (limited) experience with 100ah Lithium batteries,"Good quality" and "$500" do not belong in the same sentence.Perhaps T1Terry,or Peter 'n' Margaret,or Jaahn would like to comment? After much research I bought 8x90ah Victron,and they were WAAAY more expensive than that.Are you sure that you don't know somebody who sells cheap Lithium batteries,and you are helping to market them? Cheers



-- Edited by yobarr on Friday 17th of January 2020 04:30:44 PM

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v



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I think he is on commission from that other bloke?
Cheers,
Peter

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OKA196, 4x4 'C' Class, DIY, self contained motorhome. 960W of solar, 400Ah of AGMs, 310L water, 280L fuel. https://www.oka4wd.com/forum/members-vehicles-public/569-oka196-xt-motorhome
 

 



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Hylife wrote:


For all the beat up about Full River quality, they are the same made in China box as every other brand.
As far as I am aware, Century Yuasa is the only brand manufacturing lead acid batteries in Australia.
The FullRiver parent, US based International Battery Corp, is just a Californian international wholesaler that owns a manufacturing plant in China.

A lot depends on the DOD. Whilst some folks do get more, expect approx. only 300 40% DOD cycles for lead acid batteries regardless of brand or type, and if you get 400+ you are doing exceptionally well.

These days, for $500 you can go good quality 100AH Lithium and with inbuilt BMS they are a straight swap out.
Double the usable capacity, at least 2000 100% DOD cycles (8000 30% DOD cycles), and save 25kg of weight per 100AH.
Yep, they do cost maybe $100 more than a good branded AGM but usability and lifespan make it a no-brainer, IMHO.


 Hi Hylife smile

We all know that lots of stuff is made in China good and bad quality. BUT the difference is the quality control. If the materials selected and the staff are trained and the production is overseen the end product will be of high quality. If the factory accepts home made or products bought on the cheapest price and then assembled by casual day labour, the product will be poor quality. So Australian made is just the same story.

IMHO to generalise about all batteries coming out of China are the same, is foolish talk. But deciding which are good is the sensible discussion to have. Back years ago when Taiwan was the cheap place to shift manufacturing to, a friend of mine went there as an engineer to bring up the quality to the previous standard. He oversaw a staff training program and others didquality control etc. In two years they had the quality up to the Aussie made standard and sold under their brand. hmm Progress ??  

As for Lithium batteries. I am not qualified to comment. I have some a few years old that were expensive. They seem to be good and do their job. Whether the 'cheap drop ins' will do what they claim is yet to be proved. But they are all made in China so by your standard they are all the same quality ? No ? The well know brands can deliver the life so far and some early users have been pleased with the life in home storage in off the grid use. Occasional single cell early failures sometimes. They usually monitor them closely and do not just let the batteries look after themselves. no

Jaahn 



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Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

I think he is on commission from that other bloke?
Cheers,
Peter


 Hi Peter...obviously you have picked up on my inference,as those were my thoughts too! Always,you get what you pay for.There are some cheap "4x4s" around,but you'd never use them for 4 wheel driving.Cheers



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v



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yobarr wrote:
Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

I think he is on commission from that other bloke?
Cheers,
Peter


 Hi Peter...obviously you have picked up on my inference,as those were my thoughts too! Always,you get what you pay for.There are some cheap "4x4s" around,but you'd never use them for 4 wheel driving.Cheers


 Totally agree with that Yobarr. In the case of Lithium you do get what you pay for, if you cant afford the better quality stick with AGM imo. 

Tony



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AGM batteries should be charging around 14.4V, Float at around 13.8V, fully charged 12.8V. Place on charge (240V) every 2 weeks if possible.



-- Edited by Cassie63 on Wednesday 29th of January 2020 03:57:24 PM

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I charged my earlier Fullrivers at 14.8V boost, absorb at 14.4V and floated at 13.8V.
My current AGMs are boost 14.4V, float at 13.7V, all on solar.
None have ever seen a 240V charger, ever.

This morning before they went onto float, Margaret defrosted the fridge with a hair dryer on the inverter for about 15 minutes continuous. There was 30A of solar charge at the time and 100A of load from the 40Ah of AGMs that cost $1,000 total. Two compressor fridges were running plus other odds and ends. The minimum battery voltage during this task was 12.5V.
Lithium batteries have their very specific advantages, but they are "just batteries". They are not magic.
Cheers,
Peter


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OKA196, 4x4 'C' Class, DIY, self contained motorhome. 960W of solar, 400Ah of AGMs, 310L water, 280L fuel. https://www.oka4wd.com/forum/members-vehicles-public/569-oka196-xt-motorhome
 

 

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