Has anyone tried one or have any experience with this type of battery. My leisure battery has seen better days so I'm considering what to replace it with,
They are much better at holding charge for a long time and handling more charge cycles. Why they are used in stop-start engines these days. But they do need a higher charging voltage than wet cell and so you might need a Sterling Digital alternator charge controller to boost the alternator .. have one on my boat where I used to use AGM batteries . Without that they will never charge 100%. They are also very vulnerable to sulphating and may not survive being left flat for even one day. Unlike wet batteries that might survive. There is also a thermal runaway where they will overheat and vent if the charging temperature exceeds 40 degrees C.. because the normal gassing from charging releases hydrogen and oxygen which recombines under pressure in the cells which makes them hotter which makes the cells gas more. Then you get that horrible sulphurous smell and a hot and dead battery. After trashing three sets on the boat I now use the cheapest wet cells I can buy because i can buy about six for the price of one AGM battery (which used to be cheaper until they started fitting higher spec ones to cars .. I used to use PC uninterruptible power supply batteries to start a 330cc diesel..)
Very vulnerable to sulphating even if they're flat for as little as a day!! That's a big negative for me then as I'm not very good at remembering to charge them as soon as I get back from a trip away. Also, as I'm not very disciplined with my batteries, I'm probably better off just getting another standard wet cell one and hoping I can keep it working for more than my usual two years.
