Great Plains AGM batteries for Pans...

[Kuda]

Well, I hate to do this, but I've got some bad news for those of us who've corrupted our older pans to 12 volt. The highly-praised (by some) 12 volt AGM battery sold by Great Plains has once again failed me, this time with no excuse at all. To review, I bought a brand new Great Plains battery, charged it overnight with a Battery Tender Plus charger, then left on a 9 day trip. End of the first day, it was dead as a stone, shorted internally. I chalked it up to the fact that I was running it hard/hot and the vibrations killed it. (Incidently, I run a Cycle Electric 12v gennie with built in low-voltage regulator.). Bought a cheap Walmart lawn tractor battery and carried on. To thier credit, Great Plains said if I returned it they'd ship me out a new one, which happened. Got it a few weeks later, put it on the same trickle charger, but didn't trust it and kept the Wally-mart battery in there. Well, 7 months later, the Wally-mart battery gave up the ghost, so I pulled the other one off the charger and tested it: 2 volts. Switched it to another known good charger: no change. Without ever being installed/heated/vibrated, it's toast. I won't be returning it, no real point. Just posting this as a warning to others who're thinking of taking the plunge...

-Kuda
'49 panchop

[Tony the torch]

the one bad thing about AGM batteries is they don't handle vibrations very well. I think the glass mats break up and the plates short out, there are other sealed gel cell batteries that may work better, look at ATV batteries, they are small, 12 vt. and sturdy.

[GJWILEY]

I didnt have any luck with the Great Plains battery either.

Went back to lead acid 6 volt. Not a problem since last Sept.