AGM batteries in 2006 340 DA

[jff]

I'm posting this for a friend of mine who is offline at the moment. He's got a 340 DA and recently had AGM batteries put in. His local MM guys are telling him to not use the battery charger because they don't think the charger will charge AGM batteries and bad things could happen. Specifically they told him:

"Remember I asked sea ray and they said they do not recommend the use of gel batteries. The charger company had told us how to make it compatible as right now your boat won’t charge the batteries."

Does anyone out there have a 2006 Sea Ray 340 DA running with AGM batteries? If so, did you need any type of converter/interface or did you just go with the factory charger and AGM batteries. Thanks!

Regards,
Jason

 

[Four Suns]

First off, AGM batteries are NOT the same as gel batteries. Those are two different types. Did your friend buy AGM or gel?

You may want to go look at this post:

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10005&highlight=charger

AGM are lead acid batteries and have charging characteristics very close to the wet cell batteries he replaced. That is not true for gel batteries though.

 

[280 SeaRay]

I would look at the charging specs for the batteries... and then the charging specs for the charger..... do they match? If not changes are required.

 

[Hampton]

Highly likely there will no problems whatsoever for all of the reasons posted above.

 

[dpvandy01]

Check the back of the charger, on mine there is a switch for different types of batteries.

 

[jff]

The batteries his dealer put in are Optima Yellow Top batteries SC34DU:

http://www.vichubbard.com/auto-part-detail/optima-yellow-top-deep-cycle-battery-sc34du.html

from what I can tell, they are not AGM batteries, everyone agree? His charger is a Inteli-Power Marine PD2040 made by Progressive Dynamics, the dealer is telling him not to even try and charge the batteries until they can verify it will work.

Regards,
Jason

 

[ezwoo]

I just had a Xantrex 2000 Inverter installed with two AGM batteries. They do not off gas so they are ideal for storage in a below salon deck storage area. The inverter has a setting for AGM batteries!

 

[280 SeaRay]

From the Optima Website on chargers:

http://www.optimabatteries.com/discover_optima/battery_care_q02.php


Here are the specs for this Optima:

http://www.optimabatteries.com/_media/documents/specs/D34_082104.pdf

I have the 30amp Progressive Dynamics (installed at the factory) on my boat which has worked very well in charging my D31 blue top Optimas (same battery just bigger). I have had to make no changes. The output of the charger is 13.72v tested with my multi-meter which is under the 13.8 max charge voltage. The charger restore batteries quickly to a fully charged condition quickly and I have not noted any degradation in performance in 2 seasons. Batteries are kept on the charger full time when the boat is not in use.

 

[Woody]

The batteries his dealer put in are Optima Yellow Top batteries SC34DU:

http://www.vichubbard.com/auto-part-detail/optima-yellow-top-deep-cycle-battery-sc34du.html

from what I can tell, they are not AGM batteries, everyone agree? His charger is a Inteli-Power Marine PD2040 made by Progressive Dynamics, the dealer is telling him not to even try and charge the batteries until they can verify it will work.

Regards,
Jason

I disagree. These Optima yellow tops are AGM batteries. From the information I've read at this site and the Optima site it is clear that any charger suitable for his old lead acid batteries should also be suitable for these AGM.

As stated earlier in this thread these yellow top Optimas are not the same as Gel batteries. The dealers advice is likely correct as far as GEL batteries go but AGM are a different type with different charging requirements.

 

[Four Suns]

Check the back of the charger, on mine there is a switch for different types of batteries.

You really do need to check the charger manual/specs before doing that. I noticed on the new version of the charger that's on my boat (I pointed this out in that link above) that the "AGM" setting does not match the battery specs and the "Wet Cell" setting does.

think if one goes with a true gel battery, there are going to be more charging issues and not just with the converter/charger but with the alternators when the engine is running as well. Gel batteries seem to require lower voltage settings than AGM. Based on that, I would assume a gel battery setup is more suited for something like a house battery on a sailboat that is always charging from the same source (wind, converter, etc.)

 

[Bounty]

First off, AGM batteries are NOT the same as gel batteries. Those are two different types. Did your friend buy AGM or gel?

You may want to go look at this post:

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10005&highlight=charger

AGM are lead acid batteries and have charging characteristics very close to the wet cell batteries he replaced. That is not true for gel batteries though.

Exactly. The beauty of AGM batteries, besides being the best choice, is that they have essentially the same charging characteristics as conventional wet cells. IMO they are the only way to fly.