New battery - Generic - 250 Ah

[crabbey1]

Hello everyone! I am on the search for a battery or batteries for my new electrical system. I ideally would need 400 Ah, but I just cannot afford or have the space for that...

So I am thinking of building a battery box in the location of the current battery compartment and just not using the door anymore (the battery won't fit through it anyway).

So I came across this deal for a 250 Ah generic battery for $435.

Has anyone ever came across this brand before? Can anyone beat this deal some other way and get me closer to the 400 Ah mark? My research shows that it costs approx $2 per Ah on average. Does that seem about right?

Thanks for the help!!!
Chris

[DKB_SATX]

I think that battery is a Universal. They're decent batteries in my experience, though my experience is with someone smaller ones.

Please note that it's a MONSTER. It weighs nearly 170 lb. Consider the fact that you might be better off with 2 or 4 smaller batteries so you can a) use just one if one dies and b) lift the bloody things in and out of the battery box.

AGM is an expensive way to get your amp-hours. If you're abandoning the original Argosy battery box in the first place, you can do pretty well with flooded batteries on a $/amp-hr/year basis.

[DKB_SATX]

Full disclosure: I have a big honking Universal I use to power my CPAP when I'm boondocking, so I can charge it inside the trailer. I went WAY overboard by actually believing the specs on my CPAP and the inverter... based on those I thought it would barely run the CPAP for 8 hours. I've run it 3 consecutive nights without recharging, I wish I'd bought a battery half the size/weight/amp-hours. The battery, by the way, has been flawless so far.

[crabbey1]

Good point about the weight.

Should I just shop locally? If I could find a 200 Ah battery that would fit in the current battery box, I would go that route for the time being. But I can't find anything that size... Approx. 12" L x 9" W x 10 1/4" H

[Phoenix]

It seems like 167 pounds would make it very difficult to install and remove. I'm not sure two people could handle it in close quarters, which means that you would need to use an engine hoist or something to move it. Just my opinion, but the weight alone makes this battery impractical for me.

Similarly, that's why I bought two Honda EU2000i's instead of an EU3000i. The heavier single generator was just too heavy for me and my wife, and we aren't getting any younger.