Fitting mobility 12volt AGM battery.

Or this one?

Ritar 12V SEALED AGM Lead Acid Battery | eBay

 

I should have bookmarked it. It appears that I may have been mistaken about the manufacturer.
I assume that most that advertise as a replacement for the Ritar part are similar in characteristics.

 

Ba

Batteries Plus has lots of mobility batteries and there's one of these stores in just about every major city and town in the USA. Here's the equivalent BatteriesPlus battery that Orginal Poster of this thread recommended to me: WKA12-55C/FR 12V 55Ah Werker AGM Flame Retardant Battery - STEEPCLIMBER - Solo Wheelchairs - Wheelchair or Mobility - Batteries Plus

 

Assuming you were willing to adapt terminals something like this would probably be quite satisfactory:
Amazon.com: Battery for Universal Battery UB12350 [Electronics]: Camera & Photo

The same thing from a more informative source:
UPGu1 AGM Battery

 

I'm on the fence here. I found both Ritar battery's in your post. Do I buy the smaller and OEM equivalent for $60 or the bigger Ritar for $140...Hmmmm

 

Each must decide what their condition needs. I have no additional demands on my battery like inverter or additional sound equipment, though I do have SKS smart key and I may add an inverter at some point, but based on the equivalency to the OEM, I'm currently thinking when it is time I will go with the smaller one and expect it to last at least twice as long as the OEM or typical replacement for a third of the price. YMMV.

Working out good solid connections and ensuring there is adequate venting are the biggest considerations to me.

 

I don't want to create any frustrations, but I would not recommend using those batteries in the Prius. Please stick to the OEM recommended batteries.

The charge-discharge characteristics of the Valve Regulated AGM batteries offered on this forum are very misleading.

A lot of R&D goes into the design of such batteries and trust me, a car with specifications such as the Prius will not work well with a battery designed for wheelchairs...

Regards,

Monius

 

Since John is well known for this knowledge and experience with the complexities and intricacies of the Prius and he has used one of the mobility batteries for a year in his own Prius it seems that it does in deed work well.

 

I'm glad to stumble upon this thread.
A few days ago I was thinking I needed to replace my battery in my recently purchases '09 Prius with 28,500 miles.
I had not yet seen any "negativity" about the Optima Yellow and even went so far as to chat with the gentleman in the office.
Now it's back to the drawing board to see what to do when I eventually do need to replace the battery.

Thanks again

 

Oh no!!
Now I see the 2 most recent quotes above mine and the "controversy" continues.
What's a new Prius owner to do?
I have clearly spent much more time reading about my Prius than driving it.
Hope that changes soon...

 

Hi SteveLee,

It's ok, I just wanted to provide my professional opinion on this subject. You wouldn't believe how many people worldwide are trying to get warranty out of irregular or out-of-spec usage of batteries! Most of the time, all they wanted to do was save a few dollars, and they ended up damaging systems worth hundreds of thousands of dollars...

I've been actively doing R&D in collaboration with multiple universities in North America on this particular type of battery. This is why I thought I could give my 2 cents' worth of advice. I just do not agree with the charge-discharge cycling information provided and the cycle life expectations.

I usually do not comment on this forum, but I find it extremely helpful when doing mods on my car!

Take care,

Monius

 

If you have been doing R&D on this particular type of battery then your professional opinion is most certainly appreciated. Some facts to support it would be most helpful in weighing the pros and cons. I believe John has provided quite a bit of information. Could we see some from your research that does not support the use of the mobility battery? We are all just trying to make fact based decisions in this matter.

 

One related question and one unrelated.
1. Did I read somewhere that Gen 2 Priuses with SKS have the larger battery installed?

2. Please give a little more commentary on the gel vs the acid battery.
I believe the dealer service consultant made a point of mentioning the gel quality of the OEM battery.
Is it important to use the"gel technology" when replacing the OEM?

Thanks

 

I love it... He says he's a "professional" and he's seen "ended up damaging systems worth hundreds of thousands of dollars" and then he offers "2 cents worth of advice." No facts no details no substansive information of any kind but says a mobility battery is wrong? What a wack job!