Hi Vwillis,

One of the reasons for going to AGM batteries for me was that I have the current batteries in a ventilated box on the A frame. This has added too much weight to the ball load and with AGM batteries I can move them to another part of the van to fix this problem.
I was told by an auto electrician that he had several Gel batteries returned for warranty claims. Maybe he had more AGM batteries in stock that he wanted to move. Suspicious person aren't I - I have been caught before by sales people looking after themselves and not me.

Cheers CHONGA

Hi Chonga,
Sounds like you have a good charging system so I would expect more than two years from your batteries but when I had the normal lead acid deep cycle battery I found that once past the two year old mark you could get another day or another year just luck of the draw.
I must admit I am surprised how long my AGM has lasted but it also has a good charging system and never gets below say 12.2volts.

As said the only way to really test the batteries is to do a discharge test on each battery and to do that the batteries would need to be on the bench for more than a day assuming they are OK if not may only need Xhours to find out.

P.S. The AGM battery is not a totally sealed battery but close enough to do what you require.

JR

Hi Chonga

I'm glad that you are going for AGM's. You won't be disappointed.

Hi JR

I emailed Fullriver (my AGM batteries) and asked them "I have 2 Fullriver DC series AGM batteries in my caravan. Are these batteries fully sealed?"

Their reply is "Yes, your Fullriver batteries are completely sealed.
They are non-spillable, non-gassing, maintenance free batteries that can be mounted in any position and fluid will not escape."

I only know enough about batteries to be dangerous however Fullriver's response instills enough confidence that they will do the job good enough for me

Hi Vwillis,
Thanks for the info on the Fullriver AGM battery.

I was under the impression that AGM batteries do have some small torturous track for the gas to escape if needed but sounds like they don’t.

Chonga, I retract that last P.S. statement sorry about that.

JR

Vince, I do not know the background of the person who sent you that reply. I think he must be just a salesman.

Download http://www.fullriver.com/products/admin ... chures.pdf - You will see on page 3 under the heading "Key Features" a dot point that says

" Self Regulating Pressure Relief Valves"

This indicates to me that they are not totally sealed. They are VRLA (valve regulated lead) batteries. A totally sealed battery would be dangerous in a van. All lead acid batteries (this includes flooded, gel and AGM) are subject to thermal runaway when charged incorrectly. If a charger is set up incorrectly or develops a fault that increases their charge voltage all three types of battery will overheat and thermal runaway takes place. There is enough reactive acid material in gel and AGM batteries to rupture a battery case if the regulating valves block up. (That is the reason VRLA batteries should not be inverted.)

Thanks for the info Peter.

JR

Hi PeterD

I did quote in my last post that "I only know enough about batteries to be dangerous " I might need to change that to Lethal

I can only state the reply I received from Fullriver and I do realise that they may be justifying their batteries for caravan use

I agree with what you and JR have stated. I just prefer AGM batteries for Vans and would try to convince others to choose AGM's over lead Acid

G'day All,

Ordered 2 X 135 amp hour AGM batteries today at the cost of $249 each plus $12.50 each insurance with free delivery. They turned up 2 days after ordering. The internet is an amazing place to shop.
I was impressed when asking questions about the batteries. When I said one of the three batteries was under the bonnet of the car they advised me against putting an AGM battery there and consequently lost the sale of one of three AGM batteries. They haven't really lost a sale because I will contact them at a later date to replace this one.
Looking forward to having more useful power.

Cheers CHONGA

Hi Chonga,
That is a great price for a 135AH AGM!

I run an AGM battery under the bonnet for my vehicle auxiliary battery and was told the same thing four years ago but it is still going OK. Only problem is it really needs a hit of about 14.5volts to get fully charged and my vehicle hardly ever gets to 14V and most times it sits at 13.5volts. When camping I sometimes plug the vehicle into the van and feed the van charging system into the vehicle AGM.

I think the reason they don’t advise to use them under the bonnet is because of heat and the AGM’s housing is more a plastic material and if they need to release any pressure build up they may not be able to release it quick enough. I did see one AGM more the shape of a balloon than a box but the battery place I seen it at could not say if it was due to heat from the motor or heat from overcharging.

JR

G'day JR,

The reason they gave for not putting an AGM battery under the bonnet was heat related. They did say that they had a heat shield to suit the AGMs. I will further investigate this at a later date.
Yes $249 for a 135amp AGM battery was the best price by far and from the supplier and was $40 cheaper than the 120amp AGM they had on offer. The issue here is that the 135amp is 410mm long and will not suit a lot of battery spaces - I will be installing these in a new location so this problem will be overcome.
Looking forward to having reliable power.

Cheers CHONGA