AGM Batteries for my 2016 Minnie Winnie 22R?

[bcoldpro]

I need to replace my (2) House Batteries on my 2016 Minnie Winnie 22R. My almost 5 year old flooded batteries bit the dust.

Has anyone gone from old school flooded batteries to AGM batteries.

Opinions?

Any issues with additional weight on the battery tray for mounting?

 

[creativepart]

Bcoldpro, AGMs are usually no heavier, to speak of, than FLA batteries. Maybe a little but not enough to worry about.

AGM batteries have many advantages over FLAs but the main one is the zero maintenance aspect.

Also since your Motorhome is a 2016 model year it is very likely that your Converter is set up for charging either FLA or AGM batteries. This isn’t always the case, especially on much older models, but the charging profiles of both types is very similar. The main difference between the two types is that AGMs don’t use the equalization phase of charging that FLA batteries use.

 

[Morich]

Battery tech is changing and almost too fast to keep track!
Lead acid of the standard type has some things I really don't like, so I am willing to pay a bit more for the next step up as it works for the way we do things.

One big thing for me is that the change to AGM requires little changes in other parts of the system while changing to the next level up from AGM does require lots of thought, work, and expense.
The next level can be great but only if you need it enough to make it worthwhile.

I like to cut work when I can and part of that is knowing that the required work will make the battery of any type last longer!
Some basic thought on battery construction is a start. Lead acid of older types have six cells and each cell has water and acid with a fill cap. Then those six cells are connected together. When we say a battery has failed, it is often just one of those six that have failed, not really the whole battery! But we have six cells and each of those cells tends to spew out fumes to corrode anything metal in the area!
It's a bummer to keep things clean and keep the corrosion knocked off the connections. Then we also have to be very obsessive to keep the fluid level correct! too high and it ruins everything nearby but too low and it ruins the battery if the plate tops come out of the water!
I loved AGM when they hit the industrial work I did as I could stop being a slave to battery checking, cleaning, and being a baby sitter after any power failure!

For my car and RV use, I moved to AGM very quickly as a way to cut my work. It also cut my cost as I could run them far longer without replacement when compared to older. I have to admit that I never reached the level of care on my RV to keep the batteries at their best. I tended to shoot more for five years than for the twenty years that I got at work!

AGM means far less work and far less corrosion to fight! It may also last much longer as most of us are not really into being obsessive on cleaning and preventing battery trouble. I buy RV to enjoy and cleaning batteries is NOT fun!
I found this site which meets what I think of as good info on AGM, even though it IS a sales site which always makes them suspect!
I don't feel like I'm totally blinded by the smoke when I read the info!
https://www.autobatteries.com/how-batteries-work/anatomy-of-car

Lots of info and lots of tabs to look under but the battery tech tab is one I like as a way to see what is inside.
Overall I liked AGM as an "in between" that fit what we liked. We have always tended to buy, swap, and sell RV pretty often as our life changed. That meant spending big money on something the next buyer is not likely to understand was not a value to us!

 

[Morich]

And then there are several different levels of alternates to add to the thinking!
Just as an idea to consider, there may also be a way to get lots more battery capacity by adding more of the AGM, rather than the bigger step of going to lithium.
Maybe kind of an in between that is relatively simple and may be enough to get all you want. Some more expense to buy more batteries but the install becomes much more simple. Neither the only way to go but an option, perhaps.


I think you may have a compartment just to the left of the existing battery compartment?
If one wanted to add AGM in that space, it is close by for ease of wiring and since AGM are much less prone to gassing, maybe the lack of lots of free air is not a problem, if it makes install easy?
There shows a mode solenoid as I marked on this drawing. That is the gizmo which has contacts that pull up to connect coach to chassis as we drive or if we push a boost or aux switch on the dash. That switch works to give us a "jump start" when we get a weak start battery and use the coach for jumping with cables! So it has two big lugs on each side where coach and chassis are connected.
That big lug might give a handy place to connect in as many more coach batteries as you want to deal with adding.

One of the little hassles with changing to lithium is this solenoid connection! Lithium can draw more current than the RV alternator may handle without overheating if we leave this solenoid to connect while we drive. So one of the small issues of lithium upgrades is how we may want to disable this connect! Not hard to take a cable off to kill it but then we may want it for the jump start at some point and it is good to get the charging done as we drive. Just not so much that we burn out our alternator!
Little details to figure on how you want to go!
Four cheaper AGM or 2 more expensive lithium and other parts to go with the change?

Options to consider what fits YOU best!

 

[bcoldpro]

Bcoldpro, AGMs are usually no heavier, to speak of, than FLA batteries. Maybe a little but not enough to worry about.

AGM batteries have many advantages over FLAs but the main one is the zero maintenance aspect.

Also since your Motorhome is a 2016 model year it is very likely that your Converter is set up for charging either FLA or AGM batteries. This isn’t always the case, especially on much older models, but the charging profiles of both types is very similar. The main difference between the two types is that AGMs don’t use the equalization phase of charging that FLA batteries use.

How do I determine if the Converter on my 2016 Minnie Winnie 22R is compatible with AGM Batteries?

 

[MadMaxWinny]

How do I determine if the Converter on my 2016 Minnie Winnie 22R is compatible with AGM Batteries?

The charge algorithms are similar enough to ignore. Certainly close enough that you need not be concerned about your alternator output. If your charger (converter) has a setting for AGM, then by all means switch it. If not, no real harm done. I've been running them in my cars, boats, a remote cabin, and the motorhome for many years.

 

[fanrgs]

I replaced the one dealer-installed FLA battery in my 2016 fifth wheel with two AGMs in 2018. Didn't have to worry about changing converters as it could be set for FLA, Gel, or AGM. But those two AGMs were more than twice as heavy as the single FLA.

I now have two LiFePO4 batteries in my MH that replaced two factory AGMs. The Li batts weigh 34#/ea as opposed to 75#/ea for the AGMs. And you can use all the A-hrs in an Li battery, not the 50% of an AGM. If saving weight is as important as A-hrs, buy LI batteries. Twice the usable power at half the weight in exactly the same size case!

 

[K. Daniels]

I need to replace my (2) House Batteries on my 2016 Minnie Winnie 22R. My almost 5 year old flooded batteries bit the dust.

Has anyone gone from old school flooded batteries to AGM batteries.

Opinions?

Any issues with additional weight on the battery tray for mounting?

I have had no issues. This year I changed to lithium
ion. Best move ever but you have to upgrade the charging modem.

 

[Mosnowman]

I replaced mine with Duracell AGM's from Sams Club. Working great!

 

[Bobn1957]

I need to replace my (2) House Batteries on my 2016 Minnie Winnie 22R. My almost 5 year old flooded batteries bit the dust.

Has anyone gone from old school flooded batteries to AGM batteries.

Opinions?

Any issues with additional weight on the battery tray for mounting?

I would go with Lithium. Even if you have to change the converter/charger, it's not that expensive anymore, and you will lose some weight while gaining capacity!

 

[l1v3fr33ord1]

bcoldpro-

1) I replaced flooded lead-acid batteries (FLA) on both my coaches with LifeLine AGM batteries. Cons: Expensive. Pros: No maintenance. I cleaned the dirt off the tops and inside the storage compartment once or twice a year- that was all the attention they got for the combined 10 years I owned the coaches.

2) Specs on battery makes and models should include weights. I may be incorrect, but I believe it unlikely that there is a significant difference in weight between FLA and AGM. My 6V LifeLine GPL-4CT (220Ah) models weighed 62 pounds each.

If you consider replacing with lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, do your research first. As with FLA/AGM batteries, quality varies, as does price. Also, there are some changes that may need to be made in the charging systems for your coach. Finally, there are some technical limits (such as low-temperature charging) about which you should be aware. On my coach it would not have been a no-extra-effort replacement of the FLA/AGM batteries.