Gel, Lead acid or AGM

[KennyH]

I have a hunter 25 with a 27 size lead acid battery. The previous owner abused it as it had almost no water/acid when I checked it the first time. I use this battery for vhf,lights and a self steering system autohelm 1000. Which battery would make the best replacement. I have a flexable solar panel and small 2-4 amp 110 volt charger for when charging is needed/maintained. I would like to stick to one battery for simplicity. Do I get what I pay for in these batteries. Thanks.

 

[Bing]

AGM

On our 26 foot Ross, we replaced the 100 a/h deep cycle marine battery with a 100 a/h AGM and we haven't regretted it. We have a 40 watt solar panel, 1000 watt Honda 240 volt generator connected to a 25 amp DC output 3 stage electronic smartcharger that we only have to run for an hour in 24. We also have it hooked up to our Honda 10 h.p. outboard which delivers 6 amps 12 volts at half throttle.We run electric toilet, electric keel winch, electric pumps for the water system, instruments, autohelm, refrigerator, lights, VHF and radio CD player.And another thing is with the AGM battery, it is sealed so cannot leak and will run mounted upside down. It takes all the charge you can give it due to its low internal resistance, unlike deep cycle which has a higher internal resistance.It's more expensive but also comes with a 5 year warranty. CheersBing