Lots of info on this forum concerning batteries, and after reading some of the threads, the process merely opened more questions. So I set out this morning to get some closure on some of the options by going right to the source(s). Here's the story:
The beginning of this season brought failure of 2 out of my 5 batteries. Being they were OE, they didn't owe me anything, so I'm in the process of replacing all 5 batteries due to age. In saying this, and after reading some of the lead-acid vs AGM commentary here, I had some most helpful discussions with both Deka, and Charles industries tech support departments, and have learned the following.....
From the battery side, the AGMs are superior for the HOUSE battery bank, as the AGM equivalent of the OEM lead-acid house battery provides much better deep cycling capability....but they are more expensive. (The AGM equivalent is exactly the same physical size as the OEM Deka group 31.) For STARTING batteries though, the AGM equivalents offer markedly less cold cranking amps than the OEM lead-acids do. Deka says the AGM equivalents for the OEM starting batteries are basically deep cycle batteries, and are not primarily designed as starting batteries, thus the lower CCAs.
As for the charging side, the Charles 5000SP charger on my boat (and I suspect many of yours), is fine to charge both lead-acid and AGMs...provided that you do not mix battery technology on the same bank. The Charles 5000SP has a different charging tap for the house side and the starting side, and this is why the technology can be mixed. On a related note, the Charles charger on our Formulas is a little different than "shelf purchased" Charles chargers. Formula has them manufactured without the Lead-Acid/Gel switch on the back, and they add a meter to the front of the charger. Thus with an OEM charger, it is NOT advised to retro-fit Gel batteries into the system, but AGMs are fine....as long as the constraints above are observed.
Lastly, I have learned that there is a $235 flat fee for Charles to repair a faulty charger. Nice option, considering buying a new one is far more expensive.
Hope this info proves helpful to others when battery replacement time comes.
The beginning of this season brought failure of 2 out of my 5 batteries. Being they were OE, they didn't owe me anything, so I'm in the process of replacing all 5 batteries due to age. In saying this, and after reading some of the lead-acid vs AGM commentary here, I had some most helpful discussions with both Deka, and Charles industries tech support departments, and have learned the following.....
From the battery side, the AGMs are superior for the HOUSE battery bank, as the AGM equivalent of the OEM lead-acid house battery provides much better deep cycling capability....but they are more expensive. (The AGM equivalent is exactly the same physical size as the OEM Deka group 31.) For STARTING batteries though, the AGM equivalents offer markedly less cold cranking amps than the OEM lead-acids do. Deka says the AGM equivalents for the OEM starting batteries are basically deep cycle batteries, and are not primarily designed as starting batteries, thus the lower CCAs.
As for the charging side, the Charles 5000SP charger on my boat (and I suspect many of yours), is fine to charge both lead-acid and AGMs...provided that you do not mix battery technology on the same bank. The Charles 5000SP has a different charging tap for the house side and the starting side, and this is why the technology can be mixed. On a related note, the Charles charger on our Formulas is a little different than "shelf purchased" Charles chargers. Formula has them manufactured without the Lead-Acid/Gel switch on the back, and they add a meter to the front of the charger. Thus with an OEM charger, it is NOT advised to retro-fit Gel batteries into the system, but AGMs are fine....as long as the constraints above are observed.
Lastly, I have learned that there is a $235 flat fee for Charles to repair a faulty charger. Nice option, considering buying a new one is far more expensive.
Hope this info proves helpful to others when battery replacement time comes.
