Its that time - I have two Lifeline 4DL 210 aH AGM batteries that now need to go.......anyone have any recommendations or experience with other brands, such as Rheology ? The Lifelines are pretty pricey
House Battery Recommendation
- Thread starter spadaforaj
- Start date
I presume you mean Renogy?
Lifeline is a premium brand known for very good quality AGM’s. Renogy, not so much.
We’re also replacing our AGM’s now. We had two Deka Intimidator Group 31 AGM’s that lasted 8 years. (One went flat dead in the last few weeks, the other is still doing quite well, but we’ll replace both.). We figure 8 years is good enough for our use, so we’re replacing with the same model. The Deka’s are $340 per Group 31, and the lowest cost Lifeline I could find was about $460. Deka AGM’s are not very well regarded, certainly not as well as Lifeline, so YMMV. Ours spend lots of time on shore power, with a couple day-sails per week and a few nights on anchor per season, so a pretty sheltered life for AGM.
You should also look at whether replacement with more AGM’s is really the right option for you. Quality flooded lead acid can definitely be found for lower cost, and they can be more tolerant of some types of use, like sitting partially charged for longer than AGM. We like the maintenance-free and low wintertime self-discharge aspects of AGM, and they can accept faster charge if your charging capacity is higher, but they’re certainly not best in all cases.
Lifeline is a premium brand known for very good quality AGM’s. Renogy, not so much.
We’re also replacing our AGM’s now. We had two Deka Intimidator Group 31 AGM’s that lasted 8 years. (One went flat dead in the last few weeks, the other is still doing quite well, but we’ll replace both.). We figure 8 years is good enough for our use, so we’re replacing with the same model. The Deka’s are $340 per Group 31, and the lowest cost Lifeline I could find was about $460. Deka AGM’s are not very well regarded, certainly not as well as Lifeline, so YMMV. Ours spend lots of time on shore power, with a couple day-sails per week and a few nights on anchor per season, so a pretty sheltered life for AGM.
You should also look at whether replacement with more AGM’s is really the right option for you. Quality flooded lead acid can definitely be found for lower cost, and they can be more tolerant of some types of use, like sitting partially charged for longer than AGM. We like the maintenance-free and low wintertime self-discharge aspects of AGM, and they can accept faster charge if your charging capacity is higher, but they’re certainly not best in all cases.
You can replace 400 ah AGM with 300 ah LiPo due to the ability to discharge to 75% - 80%. The weight savings is remarkable. You could replace the 2 ridiculously heavy 4D batteries with 3 easy to lift replacements. I'm in the same boat with 2 4D AGM's from 2015. Not sure how much longer I will use them.
Lithium batteries are a great solution, but you likely cannot just drop in lithiums in place of AGMs on a given system. The shore charger and alternator regulator (and you have to have one) have to be compatible with lithiums, and there's other hardware and considerations in a lithium setup or you'll end up with a very expensive set of burned up batteries. Not trying to discourage you from going that way at all - but its not a drop in situation. You'll see a recent thread in the New Posts of someone designing their lithium setup - great place to start, and then read up on MaineSail's thinking on this as well.
You get what you pay for the discharge graph below was a brand spanking new Renogy 100Ah AGM that could only deliver 72Ah.....Renogy has a horrible reputation for quality and even worse for customer support..
Be aware that Amazon reviews are not really an accurate source of information...
I have had Amazon delete no less than 8 Renogy 1 star reviews (multiple failures , one fire(semi-flex solar panel), one melted MPPT(near fire), three dead dc to dc chargers, multiple dead inverters.. I have written these reviews with images, testing data etc. Because Renogy complained, and Amazon makes money off their sellers these important reviews were deleted because I was not technically the purchaser. We were the installer and are actually trained in this stuff.
Read some of these reviews and these before you buy anything Renogy..
Brand new 100Ah Renogy AGM = 72Ah...
.[
I think LiPo's are too dangerous for boats. When I charge LiPos for R/C planes I do it outside in fireproof bags!
I think LiFePo4 is the way to go for boats and RVs.
The place to start is not which battery to buy. The place to start is with a simple question, what kind of sailing will I do over the next few years? Then, ask how will the batteries be charged? The answers to those 2 questions will guide your decision.
The third question is how much energy is consumed on a typical day and how much on a high demand day? The answer will guide you on the size of the battery bank.
Right, I was not distinguishing between the 2 chemistries. I didn't intend to mislead toward the wrong chemistry. It seems that lithium batteries for the marine industry are universally LiFePo4.
Agreed. It is a systems commitment to be sure. I've already gone down that road in preparation for lithiums. Financially, though, that last step will be a doozy!
If you are staying with lead acid, have a look at Main Sail's deep cycle battery page before selecting your next batteries. It is well worth the read.
Battery selection should be based on load use as well as your charging system. AGMs really have an advantage if you want to charge them quickly, for instance if you are charging mostly off your engine or a generator and are trying to keep run time down. They are also low maintenance. If you are charging mostly at the dock, solar or wind and don't mind a tiny bit of maintenance then AGMs are not necessarily any better than flooded cells, only more expensive.
If you have the height available, consider gulf cart batteries instead of 4D. You will get better deep cycle performance in an easier to manage form factor.
What is a Deep Cycle Battery? - Marine How To
Light Cycle vs. Deeper Cycle NOTE: This article deals with FLOODED marine batteries, not AGM or GEL batteries. The Problem: The problem, as I see it, is one of dishonest marketing where multiple battery types wear the same clothes (sticker) and will perform differently when
marinehowto.com
Battery selection should be based on load use as well as your charging system. AGMs really have an advantage if you want to charge them quickly, for instance if you are charging mostly off your engine or a generator and are trying to keep run time down. They are also low maintenance. If you are charging mostly at the dock, solar or wind and don't mind a tiny bit of maintenance then AGMs are not necessarily any better than flooded cells, only more expensive.
If you have the height available, consider gulf cart batteries instead of 4D. You will get better deep cycle performance in an easier to manage form factor.