I have fork lift batteries in my Gozzard 44. The bank is 1200 Ahrs. I've had them since 2002, that makes them 15 years old. There is one cell a little weak but I'm quite happy with their longevity.
Replacing the House Batteries -- Choices??
- Thread starter viamalu
- Start date
Keep what you have sounds like a god setup, plenty of power for your size boat fridge uses the most current. I recomend switching to leds. keep them charged, I would ratter use wet cells to agm for cost issues. they may last longer but if you go with agm you will need to upgrade your charger and then what about the charging the alternator puts out ? the key is not to let them go to low.
Read what Maine and Stu said. Check out your charger, if all of them had no water they were likely boiled away by a bad charger.
And just replace with golf cart FLAs. They're fine and by far the best bang for the buck for your purposes. The Sam's deal is a great deal.
And just replace with golf cart FLAs. They're fine and by far the best bang for the buck for your purposes. The Sam's deal is a great deal.
I was looking at these golf cart batteries in a Canadian Costco, are they the same as the ones Mainsail recomends?
Monitor West Marine. They always run sales on batteries in March/April. Consider a deep cycle for your accessories and a dual purpose battery for both starting and as a back-up. I think they're the Group 27 batteries, if your battery box or holder will accommodate them.
Barn-dog
Barn-dog
This may help some of you under stand why so many boats are using 6V or 12V golf car or sweeper/scrubber batteries.
What is a Deep Cycle Battery? (LINK)
Inside a Group 24 "Deep Cycle" and a 6V GC2 "Deep Cycle":
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/deep_cycle_battery
What is a Deep Cycle Battery? (LINK)
Inside a Group 24 "Deep Cycle" and a 6V GC2 "Deep Cycle":
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/deep_cycle_battery
Worst place to buy batteries, even on sale. They are only re-branded (paper labels) of other makes, and horribly overpriced for the very same stuff you can find elsewhere. Even on a 50% off sale!!!
Currently the East Penn / Deka GC-15 is on sale at Sam's Club, as a relabeled Duracell EGC2, for $92.00 each (reg $117.00)
The same Deka GC-15 at West Marine, relabeled as a West Marine 6V 230Ah, is $249.99
Even on sale West Marine is a very, very expensive place to buy batteries. At today's prices, WM is selling the identical battery Sam's is for $157.99 more, per battery.
A bank of four Deka GC-15's at West Marine is going to run you $999.96 and at Sam's Club $368.00 for the identical bank of batteries with the only difference being a 32 cent sticker....
Heck even Trojan T-105's cost $121.00 less, per battery, than West Marine sells the East Penn / Deka's for.
I'm sure there's a reason for there success, but I've never understood the attraction to order online from West Marine. I'm happy with the prices I find elsewhere. That said,the WM brick and mortar locations are like candy stores! I always visit the one in Destin/Ft Walton when we vacation there.
It's fun to vacation places that have a marine infrastructure. We were excited to be able to take our headsail on the plane with us, drop it off at the local loft to convert to furling and pick it up when we left.
It's fun to vacation places that have a marine infrastructure. We were excited to be able to take our headsail on the plane with us, drop it off at the local loft to convert to furling and pick it up when we left.
Ok most important thing is how are you sailing by that I mean do you go out on weekends or sail up and down the coast. if you are just a weekend sailor. then 4 golf batteries are over kill, remember each battery is over 100 $ times 4. do you need that much. two deep cycle 27 will last a weekendeven with a fridge just have to remember to keep them charge to 75%. wether you have a solar or wind gen, I run 2 4D,s on my boat for house and a 31 for starting all deep cycle.if you dont need all that wieght then why bother. add up how much power you use and size up you battery needs
The only advantage that I can see in buying batteries from West Marine, when they are on sale is that there is free shipping to the store. If you happen to live in an area where there aren't many choices to purchase batteries, West Marine's free ship to store policy is pretty good. It will cost you a bunch in freight charges when purchasing online as you cant ship batteries via UPS---has to go freight.
I'm curious but why would anyone buy batteries that vent and have to be topped off on a sailboat? I'm very new to sailing as an owner (have some time on other peoples sail boats). My used O'Day 25 has a single sealed deep cycle marine battery for starting the outboard and the very limited 12V items on board. It is setup for shore power and a charger when pier side, which is also new to me. It has the 120 outlets in the cabin and a small AC unit again for shore power only. The wiring is not great but not a total disaster either, I plan to enlist my father in-law (retired Sea Ray electrical engineer) to clean it up and make it neat and organized.
Costco or Duracell at Sam's will work fine. I replaced two 12V 4D's with four 6V Sam's Duracell Golf Cart batteries last year. I also put in a computer charger as I'm at a dock and plug into shore power. A standard charger will eventually boil out all the water. My two 4Ds went dry in less than 2 weeks. Put in the batteries with the cells running fore/aft. My batteries are wired in series / parallel for a single bank. I'm working on room to add a starting battery.
John,
The primary reason that individuals use flooded batteries is reduced cost. Personally, I have AGM batteries; however, the cost is twice that of comparable flooded batteries.
When your father-in-law redesigns your electrical system, you might want to consider adding switching for a dedicated starter battery and a dedicated house battery to run all accessories. Definitely nice to have a backup in the event that the starter battery fails. Both batteries should be new and of the same chemistry. Also, If you are using sealed batteries, either gel or AGM, you definitely need a microprocessor controlled charger and set it for the specific battery type that you are using. A standard charger will overcharge a gel or agm battery not only decreasing the life of the battery, but potentially causing a fire hazard. You are very fortunate indeed to have an experienced father-in-law that knows the correct way to design and install your system.
The primary reason that individuals use flooded batteries is reduced cost. Personally, I have AGM batteries; however, the cost is twice that of comparable flooded batteries.
When your father-in-law redesigns your electrical system, you might want to consider adding switching for a dedicated starter battery and a dedicated house battery to run all accessories. Definitely nice to have a backup in the event that the starter battery fails. Both batteries should be new and of the same chemistry. Also, If you are using sealed batteries, either gel or AGM, you definitely need a microprocessor controlled charger and set it for the specific battery type that you are using. A standard charger will overcharge a gel or agm battery not only decreasing the life of the battery, but potentially causing a fire hazard. You are very fortunate indeed to have an experienced father-in-law that knows the correct way to design and install your system.
Each battery type generally has some pros/cons to it. Improper charging kills all batteries, quickly. If your charger is boiling your FLAs, it's a bad charger. (LiFePOs do worse things on a bad charger 
)
Flooded batteries are generally the best bang-for-buck you can get, particularly the golf car batts. They handle abuse pretty well, best $$ per AH, easy to maintain, widely available, and generally long life if treated well. They need to keep charged and don't overdischarge for best lifespan. Obviously, they outgas and must be in the proper orientation.
"Maintenance Free" FLAs (i.e. ones that don't need to be watered) are generally low capacity, not deep cycle, and they do outgas too. These are different beasts than AGM or GEL.
AGMs have much better charge acceptance rates than FLAs. They'll die quick if not kept charged. They can be mounted in any orientation. They cost 2x for same capacity, most folks do not get 2x longevity out of them.
LiFePOs and Carbon Foam are great for the intended uses, read what Mainesail says for more info.
I'm a big fan of "one big house bank" with primary charging sources going to the house, and then a smaller 'back up' or a 'start' bank charged with an ACR or similar.
)Flooded batteries are generally the best bang-for-buck you can get, particularly the golf car batts. They handle abuse pretty well, best $$ per AH, easy to maintain, widely available, and generally long life if treated well. They need to keep charged and don't overdischarge for best lifespan. Obviously, they outgas and must be in the proper orientation.
"Maintenance Free" FLAs (i.e. ones that don't need to be watered) are generally low capacity, not deep cycle, and they do outgas too. These are different beasts than AGM or GEL.
AGMs have much better charge acceptance rates than FLAs. They'll die quick if not kept charged. They can be mounted in any orientation. They cost 2x for same capacity, most folks do not get 2x longevity out of them.
LiFePOs and Carbon Foam are great for the intended uses, read what Mainesail says for more info.
I'm a big fan of "one big house bank" with primary charging sources going to the house, and then a smaller 'back up' or a 'start' bank charged with an ACR or similar.