how long can a agm sit

[BACAMICK]

how long can a agm sit with out charge ?
im wanting to buy my 2x agm batt now but i might not use them for a yr ,
will they be ok or would i be better of conecting them to a charger 24/7, there would be no power being used out of them

[BruceS]

Is there a reason to buy them now? I doubt they will go up in price much.
With proper management it wouldn't be a problem I guess.

[BACAMICK]

Is there a reason to buy them now? I doubt they will go up in price much.
With proper management it wouldn't be a problem I guess.

just want to get it all fitted up and ready to go once we sell our business

[BruceS]

Probably wouldn't hurt in that case. Maybe a few weekend 'shakedown' trips to try out things & see what breaks!!
As long as you don't let then run right down.
If it takes 5 years to sell your business ............... (I hope not!)
You'll probably get 5 or so years out of them. A year sitting doing not much may lose a few months or so.

[generdawg]

just want to get it all fitted up

Why not get some same size dummies or even nail some ply together for a mockup. Then a week or two before cast off you call Diamond Chopsticks battery division (you ring, we bring) for delivery and drop them in ready for a nice slow full charge? Just a thought.

I believe that Lithium would even have a good shelf life with little drain. Certainly be far less weight too. There may even be a bonus of them becoming cheaper by the time you are ready for them. Hey, that's another thought.

dawg

[T1 Terry]

if you leave AGM batteries on a float charge with very little going out and being put back in, the electrolyte will stratisfy, recombine hydrogen and oxygen form water and this drips back on top of the mat, the acid slowly sinks to the bottom.
Leave an AGM uncharged for 12 mths and you have a heavy and expensive door stop, the capacity will be well down as the plates will sulphate. Fully charge, leave for 6mths, fully charge is one method, fully charge and float charge at 13v is the other, but neither will give you factory fresh batteries after 12 mths.
UPS AGM batteries are designed differently, they will last 10 yr on a float charge, but they don't cycle well, not suitable as house batteries.

Lithium ferrous batteries left at the 50% SOC they came from the factory with will stay that way for years, I have recently used some that were manufactured 03/07/2009, they appear to be as good as the day they were made, they were discharged to 0%SOC quite a few times on our 4 week trip due to an alternator issue, they have recharged each time without issue.

My advice, if you want to run AGM batteries, fit them just before you head off, they will still have warranty then and will probably be even cheaper than they are now. If you want to fit lithium ferrous batteries, I'd get them real soon, before the Aussie $$ starts to fall, if you are a gambling man abd think the A$$ will be high a while before you really need them, then hold out till then, they only come with a 12mth warranty too, not that I've ever heard of a warranty claim due to a faulty product, it's generally operator error or a dodgie BMS that kills them.

[BACAMICK]

thanks for the feedback guys ill wait n dummie it up ,