Two 6 year old AGM leisure batteries to replace ... and would Lithium be better?

Vanman

Vanman

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Hi - I have two 95Ah AGM batteries under the drivers seat. Not sure how long these typically last but I'm thinking that at six years old they are probably on borrowed time.

Being a bit of a numpty when it comes to Electrickery I'm tempted just to replace them like for like, although more Ah would be highly desireable if the physical size was the same. So, can anyone recommend me two new (high capacity?) AGM batteries or tell me how complicated it would be to replace with Lithium and what the advantages would be?

I currently have -
Solar controller LTD 1210D
100w Solar Panel
EBL 119

Thanks!
 
Give it a couple of minutes and someone will say anything is better than AGM, including a couple of AAAs.😀.

Personally I prefer Gel and Lithium to AGM but it might involve a few other alterations.
 
If you have been coping sufficiently with what you have had then I would go with Gels, it would give a little more useable power without an expensive upgrade of lithium… if your charger has a gel setting..😎
 
Definitely think of gels , as most chargers will have a setting for them. Lithium great but expensive as you will probably need to change other bits to make use of them.
AGM not usually good as although they are often fitted, a lot of chargers can't charge them correctly and they fail early.

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If your budget allows go for the biggest AH Lithium you can, ideal for underseat fitting as orientation doesn't matter. Quite a few companies make under seat specific ones. Check your MH battery settings, unless you have a Lithium setting you may have to upgrade.
 
Looks like the EBL only has Gel or AGM settings, so Lithium is probably off the table because of the cost of battery purchase and other bits required.
 
Vanman said:
Looks like the EBL only has Gel or AGM settings, so Lithium is probably off the table because of the cost of battery purchase and other bits required.
Click to expand...

Look at Exide batteries at Tayna batteries, good reputation, Exide are excellent. I’ve recently bought two from them..😎

www.tayna.co.uk

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Lead carbon? Don’t know that much about it and have forgotten what cha4ging profile it needs as I can’t satisfy it but seems to have a growing following. Hope someone in 5he know will corr3ct me if I’ve inadvertently pointed you down a dead end. I’m think it has a deeper level of sustainable discharge than lead acid but cheaper

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If you're keeping the van I would make some enquiries from someone like AshVanBitz for a professional opinion and potential estimate for a lithium upgrade. It may or not be a viable option, but at least you will get to understand what is needed
 
Hi Vanman, changing to lithium would massively increase you capacity but it will come at a cost.

The first to change is the solar regulator. An MPPT alternative with a Lithium profile is what is required.

Secondly we would look at the standard EBL119 charging system which I believe is 18A. You could flick the dip switch over to the gel setting and this would provide the correct parameters but it would be massively underpowered especially as you are looking to increase the battery capacity. Also as Lithium’s work like a sponge, the current charger would be working flat out so you run the risk of it burning out.

Then we would need to look at the front end of vehicle. Does it have a DC-DC charger fitted? For example, Hymer (Fiat models) prior to 2021 generally don’t have one installed (unless it was retrofitted). Their Mercedes models on the other hand frequently had a Votronic DC-DC charger installed that could be more than adequate to work with the lithium batteries. Latest models (both Fiat and Mercedes) come with the Schaudt Booster.

And finally we then look at the batteries themselves. If you current batteries dimensions are the standard low profile type 355x175x190 (L/W/H) then we have a lithium that matches that perfectly but it has 150ah capacity. The majority of our customers have two fitted which is more than enough for what they need.

If you want to know more information specifically designed to your motorhome please PM me or give me a call on Monday when I am back in the office.
 
Thanks for all that info Ash (AshVanBitz ).

Given the age of my van and myself, another good pair of 110+ Ah Gel or AGM will probably see at least one of us off 😉

The existing ones are XDC25MF (AGM - discontinued?) and on the Tanya site at least I'm struggling to find replacements 190mm high that are more than 100Ah or other than AGM. Not too worried about AGM as the last ones have lasted 6 years ... it would be good to compare a Gel one if anyone has a link though ... Reallyretired ?
 
You have been very lucky with the AGM two year life is more normal.
As you don't want the expense of Lithium I would go for Gels and change the solar charger for one with a proper Gel profile like a Votronic or Victron.
 
Lenny HB said:
You have been very lucky with the AGM two year life is more normal.
As you don't want the expense of Lithium I would go for Gels and change the solar charger for one with a proper Gel profile like a Votronic or Victron.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I'm struggling to find any Gels at 190mm height, any links?

Thanks again

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Lenny HB said:
You have been very lucky with the AGM two year life is more normal.
As you don't want the expense of Lithium I would go for Gels and change the solar charger for one with a proper Gel profile like a Votronic or Victron.
Click to expand...
Is this the solar charger that I need?
Thanks
 
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Lithium if you off grid, anything else if you use hook up as you power source whilst overnighting...
 
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Vanman said:
This seems to be the next one up (on Amazon at least), if I change the charger then it would make sense to build in a bit of spare wattage.
Click to expand...
That is the 430, there is also a 250 & 350.
If you think you might at some point go to Lithium best to avoid the 430 there have been a few problems on the Lithium profile others are OK.

If you went for the 165 and increased your solar you could then fit a second 165.

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Last edited:
This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
Vanman said:
Thanks for all that info Ash (AshVanBitz ).

Given the age of my van and myself, another good pair of 110+ Ah Gel or AGM will probably see at least one of us off 😉

The existing ones are XDC25MF (AGM - discontinued?) and on the Tanya site at least I'm struggling to find replacements 190mm high that are more than 100Ah or other than AGM. Not too worried about AGM as the last ones have lasted 6 years ... it would be good to compare a Gel one if anyone has a link though ... Reallyretired ?
Click to expand...
Exide G80 are 190mm high but only 80Ah. Gels can cycle deeper than AGM though so similar capacity to 100Ah AGM.
 
Vanman said:
Thanks for all that info Ash (AshVanBitz ).

Given the age of my van and myself, another good pair of 110+ Ah Gel or AGM will probably see at least one of us off 😉

The existing ones are XDC25MF (AGM - discontinued?) and on the Tanya site at least I'm struggling to find replacements 190mm high that are more than 100Ah or other than AGM. Not too worried about AGM as the last ones have lasted 6 years ... it would be good to compare a Gel one if anyone has a link though ... Reallyretired ?
Click to expand...

Reallyretired said:
Exide G80 are 190mm high but only 80Ah. Gels can cycle deeper than AGM though so similar capacity to 100Ah AGM.
Click to expand...

This is your solution, I would have found this info for you but I was unable at the time of my previous post…👍🏼😎
 
I have the Votronic 250 MPPT and am very happy with it. Charges both the leisure and vehicle battery and also comes with an ES facility to power the fridge when solar production is high and unneeded. Haven't set it up for that yet though !
 

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