House battery purchase advice?

[Tomcor]

I am planning on attending the Flagstaff RTR. Should I wait to purchase a battery from The solar company in Flagstaff? I am installing my 100w flexible panel next week. I am looking to just purchase a single China made 100ah AGM from Amazon. I will using a Dometic CF25, Fantastic fan with upgrades and remote, charging phone and tablet, limited led light use.

I do plan on running a cable from a solenoid in the near future also. I am not full timing yet but possible in the next few months. That is why I would like to attend the RTR. i do realize that 200ah would be better. My fiberglass roof only has room for one 100w.

I have an expensive solar controller i will be using. Samlex 30A. Are the china made AGM's worth the money? I know FLA batteries would be better but I would need to build a vented battery box also.

Also is it ok to install the solar panel without being hooked to anything? I will make sure the end of the cables are protected from shorting against anything.

Thanks for any help.

 

[akrvbob]

They carry mostly high end batteries that are fairly expensive. You can get their prices here:
http://www.solar-electric.com/batteries-meters-accessories/batteries.html

But they also sell Universal Battery. The model in the picture is $182 in the store here, so no shipping.

I have a friend with a bigger Universal Battery, so far he's pleased with it. He got it here in Flagstaff, they sell Universal Battery and would also handle warranty work. You can get their battery prices on Universal Battery here:
http://www.solar-electric.com/batteries-meters-accessories/batteries/unba.html
Bob

 

[SternWake]

The UB batteries do not have the super low self discharge of other AGMS, nor the ability to accept huge charge currents, like it might be able to pull, when depleted, from a well wired cool alternator spinning fast. But this might not be an issue for you depending..

My chief concern would be how long they have been sitting on a shelf before placing order if ordering from Amazon, and perhaps a brick and mortar too. How long does that slow boat from china take? How long to the warehouse? how long before they sell?. Old batteries are not really desirable unless heavily discounted and the owner does not care about achieving maximum cycle life, like some nut jobs around here.

Without that low self discharge the battery could be under 80% charged in 1.5 to 2 months from self discharge. When a lead acid battery rests under 80% charged, the rate at which it loses capacity increases, and is mostly unrecoverable. So a 100 AH battery 4 months old, after a full recharge after purchase, might only have 92 AH capacity by the time it is put into service. Perhaps even less. many variables.....

Really, in the cheap AGm department, the Deka Intimidator is often rebranded in COstco and Sams Club and some other outfits who decided to have special stickers made up for them. East Penn/ Deka is American made, and likely to be a fresher battery that will likely outperform the UB battery in the same usage/recharge regimen if you can find a retailer carrying fresh stock.

https://www.google.com/search?q=dek...ved=0ahUKEwjPla654urMAhVN2GMKHdgDCx8Q_AUICCgD

The case design is a dead giveaway when rebranded


Regarding the solar controller, some manufacturers will say do not disconnect it from battery when the sun is shining, and might have specific order of hooking it up, so read that samlex manual closely. If in doubt then hook it up after sundown or cover the panel for some safety buffer/just in case.

Regarding just the solar panel leads dangling unattached to anything, just cover them.