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Good value spiral leisure battery? - Optima alternative for less than 1/2 price?

It's really hard to say without having experienced one. However, I will say (again) that if you go with an AGM you must find out what sort of charging regime the manufacturer recommends. The Optima versions that I have (5 of them) do need higher voltage charging from something like a DC/DC charger or they start to fail. I had 2 on my 80 - one being fed by the alternator through a split charge and one being fed by a CTEK. Within a very short time the one getting the lower charge around 13.8v once the car was warmed up started to drop in performance. I removed it in the end and put a wet battery in its place. I then used the Optima in my trailer with another CTEK and it recovered and is still working today. The CTEK pushes out 14.45v. I'm not saying that all AGM batteries require this - I'm just saying make sure you find out if you go for the one you listed
 
Chris said:
It's really hard to say without having experienced one. However, I will say (again) that if you go with an AGM you must find out what sort of charging regime the manufacturer recommends. The Optima versions that I have (5 of them) do need higher voltage charging from something like a DC/DC charger or they start to fail. I had 2 on my 80 - one being fed by the alternator through a split charge and one being fed by a CTEK. Within a very short time the one getting the lower charge around 13.8v once the car was warmed up started to drop in performance. I removed it in the end and put a wet battery in its place. I then used the Optima in my trailer with another CTEK and it recovered and is still working today. The CTEK pushes out 14.45v. I'm not saying that all AGM batteries require this - I'm just saying make sure you find out if you go for the one you listed
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Good to know, thank you.
 
I'm going for the Odyssey range for mine which does need the higher charging voltage. You do get what you pay for with batteries and one method of comparing batteries that appear like for like on paper is how much they weigh. A heavier battery generally has thicker lead plates in its construction which stand up much better to deeper discharges and subsequently will have a longer service life if you discharge to the manufacturers recommendation.
 
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And remember that when they say discharged to 10% for example they do NOT mean down to 10 % of the volts - ie 1.2. Deep cycle batteries are very commonly misunderstood and flattened. That's not what they mean. You should not go below 11.8v
This is where having something snazzy like a Victron system is so helpful in managing your batteries.
 
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The Intervolt DCC Pro is a neat system. It gives options for voltages and AGM is listed as an option. The AGM voltage climbs to 14.7v for bulk charge and the unit shows you what of the 3 stages it's doing.
 
CTEK is cheaper.
 
The newer Ctek 250S A does the whole AGM voltage ranges
 
The Smartpass unit really isn't necessary. I have both - twice and you rarely see the amps climb to 20 other than when the battery has had a real pounding. If you can supplement with say solar, a DC charger will keep pace with LED lighting and a fridge.
 
Another vote for the ctek. I have only the Base unit, so max out at 20A but that has been enough to keep things going 24/7 for a 110ah running a fridge, water pump, bunch of lights and charging phones, laptop etc for 12 day stretch, driving 3hrs on avg perday.

Will be using the solar panel this year, but might also add another battery ( since i will be adding a freezer as well to compliment the fridge ).

But this is my story. Not yours AM. The thing you really need to do is sit down and work out exactly how much of electric you will need, when, and how you intend to replenish it. And build yourself a system to match (ofcourse you will be thinking through some future goals too ). Remember you don't actually need a split charge or solenoid or anything. depending on what batteries you get, just wire them up in parallel put a switch between them. Make connection 10 min after setting off. Break connection when you stop. Just don't forget the switch ;)
 
GeekOKent said:
...The thing you really need to do is sit down and work out exactly how much of electric you will need, when, and how you intend to replenish it. And build yourself a system to match (ofcourse you will be thinking through some future goals too ). Remember you don't actually need a split charge or solenoid or anything. depending on what batteries you get, ...;)
Click to expand...

I was sold on the T-Max Split Charging System and I've just bought one for what appears to be a bargain at £75.

I'll be running a fridge and an LED strip light when not moving. Not much else really. If it gets to the stage where we need to run more for longer, I'll add a third battery (second leisure/deep cycle).
 
All the T max does is switch current. It's not an intelligent charger. OK it's an intelligent switch, but all you get out of the relay is the same as that which goes in. On a DC/DC charger you get a ramping up - like a transformer of sorts. An intelligent charger like the CTEK, ABR Sidewinder or Mastervolt thingy does some magic with volts and amps so that when you put 12v in from the car, it gives out 14.45 when needed. These DC/DC chargers effectively have a split charger built into them plus the other trickery.
 
The Ctek is a fantastic fit and forget unit. On longer charge cycles it does the whole 5 stage battery management stuff including desulphation, If you want to go solar it already has the MPPT solar regulator built in (it's just a 2 wire connection) and if you want to expand your battery bank then it will "see" up to 300Ah before you need the Smartpass.

I have 4 X 120Ah batteries in my caravan and use the 250S and Smartpass with 150W of solar panel, I can off grid indefinitely with that setup for my electrical needs.

My view is buy once and you can grow into it's capabilities if you need to.
 
rather counter intuitively a higher AH does not mean a better battery. for a given physical size manufacturers increase the AH by having more plates, which means they have to be thinner. A more durable, better battery will have less Ah because it has thicker plates.
 
Not sure about the weight factor but deep cycle batteries of given size will have thicker plates than starter batteries to better withstand being heavily discharged. The downside is they deliver less peak current than a starter battery which has more and thinner plates for higher peak delivery.
 
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