New batteries and confused

[Stockie]

Hi this may be conjecture but leisure batteries currently use two AGM. And we do a lot of wild camping off grid.

We are getting a new van soon and we are getting
Excide AGM EP800 batteries fitted and that’s not changeable for now ( if anyone has any experience of these batteries and can advise them please add a comment) but we are getting a solar panel ( yet to be decided) and a mttp regulator (again yet to be decided) but I also want our new system to be feuture proof and I eventually want to put either twin gel or lithium batteries in when they become more affordable and these AGM have gone caput
AGM
Gel
Lithium

Opinions please ........ Go!!!!

 

[Lenny HB]

AGM's are about the worse possible choice for a leisure battery, I ditched the standard fit AGM that came in my van and fitted 3 Gels.

Gel are a good choice they can be discharged to 20% DOD so you get more use able power from an 80a/h Gel that up get from a 100a/h flooded cell. They do take longer to fully charge. Treated with respect they often last 6 to 10 years or more.

Lithium is the way to go if cost is not an object, you can discharge them even lower than Gels, can stand very high discharge currents. Can take high charge rates so can be charged faster and as as they do not require an absorbstion phase they even charge quicker from solar. With the number of cycles they can handle. they will have a very long life.

 

[ChrisL]

Exide are a good make in my experience, but the EP800 is a dual purpose battery, will you need it to be used as a starter battery? if you don't have a battery to battery charger then it would help to get one to keep AGM batteries in good condition, it's important to keep them charged at the correct voltages, also there is a newish lead carbon AGM technology which should give better performance then previous AGM batteries, I've just bought one so I will report back once it's been in for a while.

This link might help with the pros and cons of different deep cycle battery technologies.

Deep cycle batteries - Flooded, AGM, Gel & Lead carbon — Clean Energy Reviews

Introduction into lead-acid deep cycle batteries, how they work, their benefits and limitations.

www.cleanenergyreviews.info

 

[autorouter]

If you are thinking of lithium batteries in the future, make sure the MPPT solar controller has a lithium setting. Also for lithium it's important for the MPPT to have a battery temperature sensor, so it can avoid charging when it's below zero degrees C.

Some MPPTs have dual output, so you can trickle-charge the starter battery as well as charging the leisure batteries. Useful for long stays in one place, or during winter storage without mains hookup.

A battery-to-battery (B2B) charger is useful for boosting the charging from the alternator for any battery type, but it's essential for lithium batteries for several reasons. Get one with a lithium setting and a temperature sensor.