A.G.M. Batteries v Lead Acid.
Due to unfortunate circumstances we have had the opportunity to directly compare the performance of lead acid batteries against amalgamated glass matt.
Our van was fitted with three Power Dive AGM batteries, the early model, one of the first types available through
Bushtracker.
When travelling the Buchanan Road on this trip I disconnected the power plug to the F250 in camp one night and lost all power in the van.
When I reconnected the plug the van powered up again, ergo, van operating off truck auxiliary battery.
After various tests we found that one battery had totally failed, maybe a broken internal connection, and this had caused the other two batteries to fall below 11 volts.
The Power Dive batteries will not recover from this extreme discharge.
The 2 “good” batteries actually showed 13.1v, the voltage dropped to 6v as soon as any load was applied. Took a while to work that one out.
The only batteries available in Kununurra were 3 x 100 AH maintenance free lead acid so we fitted them.
Now the comparison.
The AGM batteries would allow us to camp in poor solar conditions for 3 to 4 days without requiring a charge from the generator.
They re-charged quite quickly of a morning, the voltage came up nicely.
The lead acid batteries when fully charged would drop to 12v overnight, 24 hours was about the best service in poor solar conditions.
They were very slow to re-charge via the solar system, (4 panels).
So now we are down the Qld SE coast we are off to
Bushtracker to get new AGM batteries.
Steve can have the lead acids for the forklift or something, they, in my opinion just do not do the job as they should.
So for those of you who are undecided about the type of battery to fit, I hope that this post assists in your decision making.
Regards to all.
Bob