Deep cycle battery

[LeonS]

Morning all

Has anyone on this forum bought batteries from Gary in Centurion?
He advertises on gumtree and i think junkmail.

[Bassaholic]

Are those the Royal batteries?

[LeonS]

Yes Royal and Delkor.

[Bassaholic]

I use the royal deep cycle ones myself as they are really well priced and have not had any problems with them so far. I think they are really good value for money.

[LeonS]

So you bought from this Gary guy? Did you collect from him or did they deliver?
I''m just a bit skeptic, as he wants proof of payment .....then he will order and deliver battery.

[Bassaholic]

Sorry I cant remember the guys name, but I collected and paid cash at their offices.

The phone number I have is 0129411609, so I am not sure if this is the same place you are talking about.

[LeonS]

I bought 2 batteries from them.....looks good, will see how they
operate.

[Kassie]

I'd like to revive this thread by asking the guy's who have contributed so far what they think of their Royal deep cycle batteries....

How have they been holding out?
Do you use them often - ridden hard and put away wet? :eusa_shifty:
What sort of charger are you using?

Why I'm asking is that Bidorbuy has several for sale.
One is going for less than R1200 and the other for R1500 plus courier fees.
And I'm interested in acquiring one as a back-up unit that probably won't see too much heavy usage.

Then. I have a question on another brand.
Anyone know of the ECCO brand of deep cycle battery.
Also on BoB -for less than a grand plus courier.

Thanks
Any experiences - good or bad?

[Navrik]

http://www.bassfishing.co.za/bassingnews...f=5&t=9816

I got the following recommendation this morning from a friend who does a lot of work on renewable energy projects:

"Buy a Meanwell charger Model: PB-300-12
Reasonable prices and reasonable product. You will need to make your own charging cables. The charger is a decent industrial grade unit.
CTEK is good but over priced."

[Kassie]

.....CTEK is good but over priced."

You are very right about that Nav.

I have also seen the Hawkins 1210 ABC smart charger 10A going for R1400 plus postage. Good brand name association and potential back-up service. Built in SA too.

Meanwell - Some online research has a price of R1350 plus postage for a 12.5A charger. Doesnt specifically say that it can be used for AGM batteries...bummer.

[Navrik]

I got some pricing on a C-Tek yesterday and almost fell of my chair when I realised it was not only very expensive but excluded VAT as well...

[Bassaholic]

I have been using my Royals now for about six months and really put them through its paces as I use it to compete in The Bass Challenge comps, which means that we are on our trolling motors the entire day as you are not allowed to use Petrol motors.

So far they have served me well and perform just as good as the Deltecs I had previously and still going strong. I use a Benton bx2 charger and have had no issues to date.

[Kassie]

Thanks for that Bassaholic - exactly the type of reply I was looking for.

The BX2 - is that a 5A charger?
Do you leave the charger continuosly connected to the battery?

[Riprap]

Sorry for throwing a spanner in the works but mention was made last year of wet cell vs gel vs AGM (absorbent glass mat) batteries and how agm outlasts wet cell 100:1.
Anyone have any reliable info on the newer technology?

[Kassie]

The internet is a great place to search for information.
But you can also find a LOT of contradictory information - basically, there is a site out there that will tell you what you want to hear.
So that 100:1 is maybe being a bit too ambitious.
But the general consensus is that AGM technology is better than flooded cell construction.
One could compose a substantial list of pro's and cons for choosing an AGM battery over a flooded cell battery.

Bearing in mind it is not simply the case of "Well I have an AGM battery and it will do everything I want it to and I can treat it however I see fit"
The human component is guaranteed to create room for a bugger-up.

Finally - although an AGM is supreme quality (generally) - consensus is that such a battery requires proper investment in an equally supreme quality AND capacity charger.