On Jun 17, 12:02 am, Salomon Fringe wrote:
... Everybody I have spoken to has different (sometimes radically different)
AGM/gel experiences than yours, so I figure there must be something special
in your situation that makes these batteries really shine. I would like to
know what it is.

I wish you wouldn't lump AGMs and gels together. I've heard some
horror stories about gels and am still waiting to hear any about
AGMs. They are very different things.

My house bank is 2 Lifeline 8DL's that live in a well vented
compartment in the living area of the boat. For charging I have two
105 amp alternators and four 85 watt solar panels and a 25 amp, three
stage plug in battery charger set to flooded battery mode. I use an
Ample Power Energy Monitor/Controller. The solar is set to cut off at
13.5 volts. Normally the batteries simply live on the solar and every
once in a while when the voltage gets low (3-5 days typically in port
or daily on passage) I charge them up until their acceptance rate is
~1 amp when using the charger and ~13 amps when using the
alternators. They also get charged when we motor for an extended
period. That's it.

...
I have a 24v setup and when I listened around and did the math two years
ago, I settled for Hawker full traction at half the price mentioned in the
Victron article. My second choice would have been semi traction based on
price and power. ...

Cool. How's it been working for you? What's your set-up and what
kind of service have you put them to?

--Tom.