AGM batteries?

paulss

The batteries in my cart are 6 years old and on their last legs. A friend of mine has access to some DEKA 6 volt agm batteries that are used and were supposedly overcharged. They look almost new but are a little warped because of the heat from overcharging. He says he's used them on carts in the past and while some died in 6-8 months, he's had some last 3-4 years. They all hold a charge and measure between 6.46 to 6.71 volts and do fine on a load test. I can get them for $150 a set (he said they are like $275 per battery new) My question is if there is any downside or danger to using them in a cart and if a regular 36 volt charger will work with them. This is my old project cart and I hate to spend a lot of $. He also tells me that you don't have to worry about corrosion on the terminals and adding water.

Any thoughts from the more experienced?

Thanks in advance

BGW

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mazdawg(Mikey)

I run AGM batteries in my personal vehicles (optimas) and I know from experience that when I don't drive my truck often I have to charge it and it takes a special charger for an AGM and I have to do it on a slow 2amp charge.

lance_214

Wow...$275 a piece...I can by two T 870 8 volt Trojan batteries and almost have a third one for that price. I don't know much about batteries so good luck with which ever way you go.

JohnnieB

My guess is that they are bulged and warped because someone has already used a regular charger on them.

Regular golf cart battery chargers are designed for Flooded/Wet-Cell batteries and push the On-Charge voltage up into the 2.45 to 2.79 VPC (Volts per cell) range, which is 7.35V to 8.37V for a 6V battery.

The max On-Charge voltage for VRLA (valve-regulated lead–acid) batteries, such as AGM and Gel Cells, is in the 2.35VPC to 2.40VPC range, which is 7.05V to 7.20V for a 6V battery.

If they were free, it might be worth buying a charger that has an AGM mode.

lance_214

Geez Johnnie...I've liked reading your posts for the last 6 months or so...I don't understand them but they are very informative. where do you work, NASA?

JohnnieB

Thanks for the kind words.

FWIW: I did attended NASA soldering school in the early '70's, but worked under the operational control of other government agencies during the Vietnam era, and was working as a Clinical Engineer when I retired in '09.

BTW: The battery info I posted is contained in the Trojan Users guide. (Attached)
Specifically in the recommended charge profiles. (also attached)

Attached Images

	Charge curve - Wet Cell.JPG (32.6 KB, 0 views)
	Charge curve - AGM.JPG (32.0 KB, 0 views)
	Charge curve - Gel Cell.JPG (31.7 KB, 0 views)

Attached Files

TRJN0109_TRJNUsersGuide.pdf (689.0 KB, 0 views)

paulss

JohnnieB,

As usual, I am both dazzled and humbled by your knowledge on anything to do with carts. Do you know if the Stanley charger sold at Sam's has the capability to charge AGMs and, if not, what the most economical one would be?

I know my source pretty well and don't think he would jerk me around on these batteries. He swears that he's had good luck using a regular 36 volt charger and the only thing he does religiously is plug in the cart as soon as he's through using it. If an AGM capable charger wouldn't cost and arm and a leg, I'd be tempted to try them. If I find a charger that would work on AGMs, would it work on regular wet cell batteries as well?

Thanks again for all your help.

Paul

JohnnieB

Ah Shucks!!!!

In all honesty, the only golf cart I've actually worked on is the one listed below, plus showing neighbors how to take care of the batteries and cables in their Club Cars.

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It appears the the battery type is user selectable on a Stanley GCBPRO charger.
However, I've heard it defaults to a Wet-Cell when it powers up, so you'll have to select the battery type each time you use it.
I don't know for sure but it might be an issue.

I'm not a 100% sure of this, but Mode-4 on the DPI Accusense charger might be AGM.
It is for batteries made by Full River and I believe they only make AGM and Gel Cell type batteries.
Of course, I could be wrong.

I called DPI, but their tech support people aren't in the office today, so I sent them an e-mail.
I was curious about this before, but never considered using AGM or Gel cells in a golf cart seriously enough to pursue it further.
I guess we will know for sure when they reply to my e-mail.

.

Attached Images

Stanley GBCPRO control panel.JPG (55.5 KB, 0 views)

lance_214

operational control of other government agencies

I did a couple of jobs with operations of certain government agencies when I was a police officer....awwww the fun I had. Nothing like a taser and the smell of gun powder in the mornings!

JohnnieB

I have smelt the smoke, but it had nothing to do with police work.
I was in USAFSS and the initials of the agencies did not contain either an F or a B.
However, most of the time I worked on the stuff contained in the round building in the center of the Wullenweber antenna array shown in attached picture and in the Operations building about a mile down the road.

Attached Images

	usafss2.jpeg (45.9 KB, 0 views)
	chicksands-CDAA.jpg (152.1 KB, 0 views)