Is there a Best 12V Battery

[Alley-Kat]

Whether the leakage is into a box or onto the linoleum floor, the hazard from any (albeit rare) AGM battery leakage is not from the small amount of fluid, but from any gases that might vent through the crack in the battery shell. A battery box doesn't reduce that hazard at all unless the box is vented to the outside of the camper. If the battery box isn't vented, it is just taking up extra room, IMO.

The fluid is pretty toxic and damaging.

The Lifeline guy sent a mini-hazard clean up kit consisting of gloves, absorbent wipes, and a heavy bag for me to put the gloves and wipes in to return to him.

He was glad I had the battery box to contain the fluid and that my pets didn't get in contact with the fluid as pets have the same attraction to that fluid as they do to engine coolant (according the to Lifeline guy), which is deadly to pets if ingested.

I was glad that the other stuff I carry on the floor and near the battery box, such as, my clothes duffel bags and my expensive sleeping bags didn't come in contact with the fluid, as this fluid doesn't just wash out, those items become unusable. Nor did my flooring (outdoor carpet and the under vinyl) have any contact with the fluid, as I would have had to replace them according to the Lifeline guy.

As far as I know, a battery box is to contain any fluid leakage, not contain any gasses.

As far as I know AGM's seldom vent much gas, that's one of the reasons to purchase such a battery.

My battery box is approximately 1/2" wider on all four sides, so I don't see much space saving going on. Plus, I now put some hard cell foam around the battery, inside the box to make the battery a tight, non-moving fit inside the battery box. And, the battery box protects the top of the battery and the wire connections to the battery terminals as well. My battery box is not inside any cabinet, it's just as low as possible on the floor, so that additional top protection is desired, as well.

I'll go for the fluid protection versus the extra few inches of "wasted" space that the battery box uses up.

 

[Central Toast]

At the risk of turning this into a battery box thread...we all have our preferences; one other preference I have for not using a battery box is that with most battery boxes, the box is strapped or screwed down but the battery is bouncing around in the box--not a good situation for the battery on or off road. That could be why that battery cracked. Without the box you can strap the battery straight to the floor, pen it in with some small wood blocks around the base and it doesn't budge. Maybe the best solution is a battery tray to contain fluids, with attached hold-downs. Of course most trays like that are plastic and will fail, or have drain holes in the bottom. Regardless, batteries generally don't crack if they are properly strapped down.

For me every mm was critical for fitting the larger size 31 battery in the foreward bay next to my water tank, in the same location where FWC originally installed the smaller, stock battery without a box. Any battery should be in such a protected space anyway so that gear is not coming into contact with it.

 

[ntsqd]

What the Optima tech guy told us when we put 26 yellow tops in the school's EV was that if we caused the batteries to vent that we were hurting them with our charge regimen.

I agree that most battery boxes do a poor job of securing the battery(ies), ours is no exception. Been pondering what to do about that. But ours is also designed to (mostly) control any gasses and vent them outside. The challenge will be to secure the batteries w/o ruining either the acid containment function or the venting function.

 

[craig333]

I'm not concerned about leakage from my agm. So far I've only heard about a single occurence. On my rig my battery sits by the water tank. I used 4x4 blocks to wedge it in and then ran a piece of threaded rod with a piece of rubber hose across the top. Its not moving.

 

[captainphx]

My original batteries on my 2012 Raven just died. So I did some research and found this thread. I wanted bigger batteries than my size 24's. 31's wouldn't fit. I went with 27's. They are 92 A/H. The 24's were 79. These new ones are the same brand that FWC installed, Deka Intimidator. One of the things I did not want to have to do was change the type of terminal ends. I went to their distribution warehouse here in PHX. The guy said no battery box was needed with an AGM. So I did trays with straps. He suggested these foam pads to use as spacers to keep things from shifting. The first pic below is the original setup. The second is the new batteries.

 

[chnlisle]

Moving out AZ would probably help. I got about 3 years out of the first Interstate in my cougar. 4 years out of the current Interstates. The pair of OEM's in my CTD lasted 7 years living half their lives at the beach and they have heat blankets on them. I've replaced them with these;
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/SSBQ/65PLT/07053.oap?year=2006&make=Dodge&model=Ram%2B2500&vi=1432341&ck=Search_C0423_1432341_2650&pt=C0423&p

Or......I don't know.

 

[Ethergore]

Thanks to all for advice. I don't have space for a 2 6V set up. And in fact, the Diehard Platinum 31M will not fit into the 11" x 7" x 8" plastic battery box. The Diehard 34M would just fit. But it isn't AGM. Is that critical? Hard to compare 31M and 34M, since specs on later are rather incomplete.

I don't understand not having enough space. There is always a way and 2 golf cart batteries give so much more power than one group 27.

I gave up the space in my hawk and I'm so glad I did it. I don't have to worry about power at all now.

 

[chnlisle]

Moving out AZ would probably help. I got about 3 years out of the first Interstate in my cougar. 4 years out of the current Interstates. The pair of OEM's in my CTD lasted 7 years living half their lives at the beach and they have heat blankets on them. I've replaced them with these;
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/SSBQ/65PLT/07053.oap?year=2006&make=Dodge&model=Ram%2B2500&vi=1432341&ck=Search_C0423_1432341_2650&pt=C0423&p
Or......I don't know.

Well whataya know both truck batteries committed suicide yesterday after 8.5 months. O'Reilly replaced them free without even testing them. Hmmmmmmmmm

 

[Spitfire]

My original batteries on my 2012 Raven just died. So I did some research and found this thread. I wanted bigger batteries than my size 24's. 31's wouldn't fit. I went with 27's. They are 92 A/H. The 24's were 79. These new ones are the same brand that FWC installed, Deka Intimidator. One of the things I did not want to have to do was change the type of terminal ends. I went to their distribution warehouse here in PHX. The guy said no battery box was needed with an AGM. So I did trays with straps. He suggested these foam pads to use as spacers to keep things from shifting. The first pic below is the original setup. The second is the new batteries.

photo 2.JPG

photo.JPG

Any reason why your original batteries only lasted two years? Doesn't seem like a long time.