Battery replacement

[blackpete]

I have a leisure battery which is shot. Its a 100ah EZA AGM that looks pretty new so leads me to surmise that this is at least the second AGM in less than 4 years.
I don't want to start hacking and slashing (LIFEPO4) just yet and have read a lot of threads about battery suitability but can anyone offer a definitive answer to which lead acid technology is best from the basic - flooded, gel, agm - herd.
I know and understand the benefits of LIFEPO4 having built my own home solar energy system with DIY 12kw LIFEPO4 battery but knowing how delicate the charging voltage has to be tuned (I never go over 14v)
I want to stick with a simple one or two battery old school replacement.
So will the Elektroblock 119 handle a starter battery?? (cannot see label) plus 2 x 200ah leisure batteries and which of the old technologies charges fastest (if there is any such thing as fastest?).
Thanks again and sorry if the post is badly positioned?
Peter

 

[GeoffnDee]

blackpete ,You may find the EBL and Battery-Technology sections at www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk useful .

 

[Jim]

Hi Pete, I too have had bad experiences with AGM. I've had bog-standard LA last me 7 years plus. If you can't be talked in to LiFePO4 then any Victorian technology LA leisure battery will do. Lots of them have guarantees not worth the sticker on the side, but on that front, I've found Halfords to have the best no quibble guarantee.

 

[Lenny HB]

Mine was a bad experance with AGM's a pair of them lasted 18 months.
Before and after I've only used Gels until upgrading the Lithium

I'm a big fan of gels but your charger need to support them.

 

[StillGoing]

The EBL 119 supports lead, Gel and AGM. The starter battery should be charged when on EHU. The EBL can charge at up to 18A so you may want to plug in a Schaudt additional charger to the EBL if you are looking at 2 x 200 Ah for the leisure batteries and about 90 Ah for the starter battery.

The manual is at http://www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk/resources/Schaudt Elektroblock EBL 119.pdf

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[Lenny HB]

The EBL can charge at up to 18A so you may want to plug in a Schaudt additional charger to the EBL if you are looking at 2 x 200 Ah for the leisure batteries and about 90 Ah for the starter battery.

I missed the EBL 119 bit.
Additional charger not really necessary unless you are going to be often charging them from a low SOC. I've had 3 Hymers 2 with two batteries last one with 3 batteries on the standard charger.

 

[blackpete]

Super information thank you! Will definately go Gels.
Is there any truth in different charging speeds or is it Snake Oil?

 

[blackpete]

Oh and are Gels suitable for long term EHU or would they be compromised?

 

[gus-lopez]

 

[Lenny HB]

Oh and are Gels suitable for long term EHU or would they be compromised?

Yes they will be fine.

Super information thank you! Will definately go Gels.
Is there any truth in different charging speeds or is it Snake Oil?

Gel need a long absorbtion to fully charge but you can discharge then 20% without problems.

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[Reallyretired]

Only thing to bear in mind if relevant to you is that gels are a lot heavier than flooded lead acid.

 

[Lenny HB]

Only thing to bear in mind if relevant to you is that gels are a lot heavier than flooded lead acid.

They are the same weight as a decent quality LA.

 

[AdrianChen]

I have a leisure battery which is shot. Its a 100ah EZA AGM that looks pretty new so leads me to surmise that this is at least the second AGM in less than 4 years.
I don't want to start hacking and slashing (LIFEPO4) just yet and have read a lot of threads about battery suitability but can anyone offer a definitive answer to which lead acid technology is best from the basic - flooded, gel, agm - herd.
I know and understand the benefits of LIFEPO4 having built my own home solar energy system with DIY 12kw LIFEPO4 battery but knowing how delicate the charging voltage has to be tuned (I never go over 14v)
I want to stick with a simple one or two battery old school replacement.
So will the Elektroblock 119 handle a starter battery?? (cannot see label) plus 2 x 200ah leisure batteries and which of the old technologies charges fastest (if there is any such thing as fastest?).
Thanks again and sorry if the post is badly positioned?
Peter

From my experience, AGM charges fastest and has high output, but is the most fragile. I have had one bad experience with a large AGM setup - and a couple of friends have had the same experience, all of which were premium brands - The only brand I know of that are robust, and will allow/benefit from desulphation/cell equalisation are Lifeline. Probably more expensive than LiFePo4. Even if other brands have recirculation valves to maintain the electrolyte levels, they are not perfect by any means.

Gel are best for leisure in my view, Exide/Sonnenschien are good brands, gel seem more robust for leisure, and will tolerate lower levels of discharge, and storage in partial state of charge better than AGM, at least in my experience. They are slow to charge fully, and often take an absorption time of 8hrs to get the last few AH in. These would be my choice if LiFePo4 wasn't around, and I would expect 10years service (based on lower than 80% capacity being acceptable) if properly sized for the job 400ah on a MH should be fine Id have thought, but heavy, around 140kg. Similar cost to LiFePo4. I think they are safe enough to put in the accommodation part of a van, although our builder still vented them outside as with AGM, just in case.

Flooded LA, Proper deep cycle and or traction types such as Trojan are also heavy say 110kg, will last almost as well as gel, but will require regular maintenance/topping up. They therefore need to be ventilated, and in sealed battery boxes as they will gas (Hydrogen) and smell! T105's were for a long time the goto long distance cruising battery for many sailors.

Sealed Leisure batteries - Depends a lot on brand as to how robust they may prove to be, they get round most of the issues of flooded batteries, they obviously work, but have a lower lifespan. Cheap lightweight ones are in my view less suited to motorhomes since the plates will be lightly constructed and may not handle the shock/vibration of UK roads too well.

So if any of that makes sense, then you will see that fast charging/high discharge vs longevity is the defining difference between gel and AGM. For me after £1200 of AGM's crapped out in 18months, well I'm biased, and favour robustness, and easy charging regimes, so chose LiFePo4, which are maintenance free, don't gas, and in reality once the chargers are set up, easily managed, and have a bms to look after them. If not available I would go with Gel.

The carbon modified versions of Gel and AGM I have no personal experience of, but I do remember firefly coming up with them, and many folk went for them, after a couple of years I read some threads of wo on the same forums, but my starter battery is a carbon flooded LA, so.........

As for the EBL there are more knowledgeable folk on the forum to comment, but can't see there would be any issue.

Sorry its a bit wordy......