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2016 Fleet Replacement Batteries -- AGM 24 DP

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#1 New Man

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Posted 12 February 2023 - 09:07 PM

Sorry if I've missed earlier discussion of this (I have a helluva time finding specific things like this on WTW).

 

My 2016 Fleet came with two Exide Edge AGM 24 DP batteries. As the date shows, they've lasted six plus years, and they served my purposes well, but they are on their last legs.

 

As I measure them they are about 9 3/4" x 6 1/2" x 7 1/2" (l x w x h) [I didn't pull them, so these are approximate, especially the height].

 

I don't need (that is, don't want to spend the money) on lithium.

 

Question: Any suggestions on AGM replacements? I really don't want to mess around rebuilding the battery compartment (two plastic boxes, and the cables custom fit) unless I absolutely have to. Looks to me like FWC built the battery compartment in this Fleet to custom fit these batteries. As far as I can tell, this particular battery isn't around any more, and the Exide Nautilus 24 DP at Home Depot that seems to be its replacement appears to be too big to fit in my existing boxes.

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. John

 

PS: I haven't called FWC yet; in previous interactions they've been really great on a lot of things, but on stuff like this I've gotten the vibe they expect owners to figure it out, and the website is no help.

 

 


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#2 Wandering Sagebrush

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Posted 12 February 2023 - 09:17 PM

ATC uses the Deka Intimidator Group 24 batteries.  So far, I’m very happy with them.  They were also in my Bobcat.


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#3 Jon R

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Posted 12 February 2023 - 11:16 PM

Isn’t the whole idea of battery “group” number to standardize on exterior dimensions? Be aware there are group 24,24F, and 24R batteries with slightly different standard dimensions. You can easily find a table of the group dimensions on line. I would think any battery of the same group and terminal arrangement would fit.

Edited by Jon R, 12 February 2023 - 11:17 PM.

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#4 New Man

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Posted 12 February 2023 - 11:59 PM

Yes, a standard size I've found for "Group 24" [only, no letter modifier] is 10.25 x 6.8125 x 8.875 (inches L x W x H), but there are variations "24F" "24H" "24R" and "24T" (at least), all different sizes. It looks to me like this version of "Group 24" would be too big for my slots, thus my question: "Has anyone replaced their Exide Edge FP-AGM24DP batts [which FWC put in my 2016 Fleet] with something that will fit in a 2016 Fleet?"

 

I've been bouncing around the web (Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, etc), and -- for me at least -- it is a nightmare trying to find something 1) the right size, 2) in AGM dual purpose (DP), 3) for a reasonable price. I plug in my search criteria, and they give me a thousand choices, none of them what I am after.


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#5 breakinstuffzfun

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Posted 13 February 2023 - 01:28 AM

New Man
Welcome, I find myself in your shoes today also. I am currently trying to determine if Costco has something that will work. I’ll be sure to update you as I can.
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#6 Vic Harder

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Posted 13 February 2023 - 02:31 AM

You actually want to avoid dual purpose if you can get a single purpose, solar type battery. Dual purpose - aka marine - battery is designed for both starting and long discharge. We need long discharge batteries.

That said, you got a nice long life out of your old batteries, so anything that fits will likely work for you.
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#7 New Man

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Posted 13 February 2023 - 02:38 AM

Thankz, Breakinstuffzfun.

 

Further details on the Great 2016 Fleet Replacement Battery Hunt: I went on the FWC website and looked at what they are currently offering in the "2nd 12 Volt Deep Cycle Battery" option ($450 [!!!]) for the current Fleet Side Dinette build. The picture isn't clear, but looks like they are now using what seems to be the Exide Nautilus 24 (Home Depot $149), which seems to be Exide's replacement for the Exide Edge batts that I've got. I'm going to pull one of my old batteries tomorrow so that I can measure it properly. Clearly, the devil is in the details when one is wandering in the wild west of rv batteries, and it's real easy to get one that won't fit -- the "standard" sizes seem to be fuzzy in fact.

 

(Strangely[?], in the current standard equipment [no extra charge] battery picture on this web page FWC shows a Deka Intimidator...)


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#8 New Man

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Posted 13 February 2023 - 02:47 AM

Thanks Dr. Electric [Vic], I was wondering about that, and your comment makes sense. I'll continue my quest, including looking for long discharge models. I had long wondered if in an emergency I could pull one of my camper batteries to use to jump-start my truck in case the truck battery died in the boonies. I'm guessing the DP batteries would be better for that, but I've never had to test that theory, and I'd much rather get longer service time out of the camper batteries.


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#9 New Man

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Posted 13 February 2023 - 11:30 PM

Follow-up and (Hopefully) Final Post on 2016 Fleet Replacement Batteries

 

1) I pulled one of the old, dying Exide Edge AGM batteries and measured it: W 6 5/8" x L 10 1/4" x H 8 3/4" (H includes the terminal posts). So that is in fact pretty standard "Group 24," as far as I can determine. The twin plastic battery boxes FWC installed in my 2016 Fleet battery compartment offer a (very) little wiggle room; not enough to install anything significantly different than a standard 24 without seriously monkeying-around with the battery compartment.

 

2) Brenda Cary at FWC very promptly responded to my question about replacement batteries. In brief, she said FWC now offers US Battery AGM 24 for $245/ea that would fit my 2016 Fleet, but they don't ship them, so no help unless you are going to go to the factory. I looked these batteries up on the web: US Battery; AGM Deep Cycle 24. All the specs look good, but good luck finding them! I went through the US Battery web site, got sent to the dealer nearest to me (Tucson AZ at the moment); called them up; very helpful guy explained that that particular battery is gosh-dang hard to find (took him ten minutes), but confirmed that the FWC price of $245 is what they would sell it for if I gave them at least three weeks to track some down. Fugedaboutit.

 

3) My current plan is to go with the Exide Nautilus 24 (Home Depot $149). Their specs aren't as good as the US Battery AGM 24: the Exide is "dual purpose" whereas the US Battery is "deep cycle" and as Vic pointed out the latter is typically better for camper use. But for $100/each cheaper I hopefully can live with that. Also, I assume if have problems it will be a lot easier dealing with Home Depot than US Battery, an outfit whose web site does not engender a lot of confidence. (Insert the sound of wishful thinking...)

 

4) How many PhDs does it take to change a battery? Well, it's taken this one a whole lot more time than he expected. If I was independently wealthy and/or liked to spend my time rewiring my truck and my camper, messing with electronic components, and rebuilding my battery compartment, I'd have taken the plunge and gone deeper into studying the vast WTW literature on converting to lithium. I started it, and I have the greatest admiration for you dudes that know the difference between Amps and Volts, but its Greek to me. (I know Sanskrit, Tibetan, Hindi, and some German, but I flunked high school algebra three times.) To anyone who has read this far, hope it is useful. Now for me it's back to staring at the desert, the reason I got my camper. I'll post a follow-up follow-up if the Exide Nautilus does not work out, and this saga continues...

 

 

 


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#10 Beach

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Posted 14 February 2023 - 12:40 AM

As Vic said, avoid the dual purpose battery for a house battery. Using a deep cycle battery to jump your truck isn't going to hurt the battery unless you make a regular practice of it. Have you thought about doing away with the dual battery setup and going to a single larger capacity battery like a 27 series?


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