4D Lifeline Battery Alternatives

[ghetto fireman]

Hello all and Happy New Year:

Once again my Lifeline 4D house battery needs replacing. I have 06 EB Sportsmobile. 200 watt Zamp solar panel on top. It seems as if I replace it every 4-5 years. I’m planning on replacing , any alternatives out there ?


Mike

[Tapatio]

I was about to replace my Lifeline for the 3rd time and bit the bullet and converted the entire system to Lithium. Done with lead... Good thread on the topic here.

https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/fo...t-32078-3.html

[bigriver]

I did the same thing as Tapatio after my 2nd set of AGMs. Replaced 220 lb of batteries with one 60 lb LiFePO. You will spend some on dc-dc charger and monitor but the outcome is way ahead of where you are now. The link referenced above spells it out.

[Fitz]

How about AGM options for those of us who don’t want to convert to lithium? My East Penn 4D AGM was installed in 2016 and is still doing its job, but the time is coming….

[Twoxentrix]

Carbon Foam batteries (Firefly) would have been a great alternative since the have twice the life cycles compared to AGM, and allowed for an 80% draw (opposed to AGM's 50%). BUT...now you can barely find them for sale anymore. They moved production from USA to another Country and have since experienced a host of quality issues - to a level that several notable distributors have now also dropped the brand.

[Tapatio]

I thought 4D batteries were cranking batteries, not deep cycle. From what I remember SMB used 2D and 8D batteries.

[bigriver]

SMB installed two 4D AGMs in our build 2003

[ghetto fireman]

Looking through my original build paperwork it does call for a 4D mounted just behind rear axle. I’ve always had Lifeline , maybe this go round I’ll switch to Oddessey ??

[AndrewInSeattle]

Originally Posted by Fitz

How about AGM options for those of us who don’t want to convert to lithium? My East Penn 4D AGM was installed in 2016 and is still doing its job, but the time is coming….

Ditto. Our energy needs are modest, mainly just a fridge, fans, and microwaving water for coffee in the mornings, for which we do see a big voltage drop and occasionally start the engine to compensate for. Our 2017 AGM is still running fine, although it does seem to shift from green to yellow quicker than before, so I want to be ready for the imminent catastrophic failure. But upgrading to lithium, with its added complexity and temperature-dependence, seems like massive overkill.

Originally Posted by Twoxentrix

Carbon Foam batteries (Firefly) would have been a great alternative since the have twice the life cycles compared to AGM, and allowed for an 80% draw (opposed to AGM's 50%). BUT...now you can barely find them for sale anymore. They moved production from USA to another Country and have since experienced a host of quality issues - to a level that several notable distributors have now also dropped the brand.

Good to know! I bookmarked them at a local marine retailer years ago in anticipation of the eventual replacement, and was wondering why it's been saying out-of-stock for quite a while now. They also didn't seem to be pursuing a 4D form factor, I was hoping to avoid any complicated rebuilds of the battery cage. Any intel on whether these might become available and reliable again soon?

[JonBertsch]

After replacing an AGM battery in 2019 I faced having to do the same thing again last year. A year of two after the replacement I found that the battery would discharge way faster than seemed useful. I weighed things up and I decided to go with Lithium instead of another 4D AGM battery.



The conversion requires some research into the system updates you need to make, but I am confident that over the long term you will find it a bonus.


Tapatio added a link above that references information about the conversions required after I made the decision to switch.


Jon