I have the complete no-touch starter set up
and I have talked about the set up and its benefits on here before. I am very happy with it and in some ways I look at it as the perfect complete, permanent and rugged set-up. http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291994657 But this all comes at a cost, and complexity (Battery, battery box, echo charger, starter cabling, switch, etc) But I do see the alure and the reasons to have one of the all-in-one starter battery packs. They are simple (KISS), Cheap ($50 and your done), portable (as stated can be loaned to someone), self contained (Like an AGM nothing to leak) and from what I've heard they work well for a start. I wouldn't worry about to much about storage, they are not that heavy, nor are they that big and can be placed just about anywhere and kept from rolling around. There are alot bigger, more awkwardly shaped and heavier things that are on peoples boats. The down side is you have to keep a charged, but from all that I have heard they hold a charge a good long time (2-3 months) and you could keep it plugged in when you are on shore power (or even a small inverter could charge it up). The real downside I see is that if your house bank ~does~ die and you need to use this, then you'll have to go to the trouble of removing the engine cover or get to the battery wiring or whatever......but really that is not that big of a deal, considering you wouldn't need this portable starter battery often. If I was to do it again, I think I would seriously consider the portable starter battery and the "KISS" factor. All in all I like having my permanent starter battery setup, and I like thinking "who cares if I run my house bank down - I don't need to do anything, it'll start"
and I have talked about the set up and its benefits on here before. I am very happy with it and in some ways I look at it as the perfect complete, permanent and rugged set-up. http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291994657 But this all comes at a cost, and complexity (Battery, battery box, echo charger, starter cabling, switch, etc) But I do see the alure and the reasons to have one of the all-in-one starter battery packs. They are simple (KISS), Cheap ($50 and your done), portable (as stated can be loaned to someone), self contained (Like an AGM nothing to leak) and from what I've heard they work well for a start. I wouldn't worry about to much about storage, they are not that heavy, nor are they that big and can be placed just about anywhere and kept from rolling around. There are alot bigger, more awkwardly shaped and heavier things that are on peoples boats. The down side is you have to keep a charged, but from all that I have heard they hold a charge a good long time (2-3 months) and you could keep it plugged in when you are on shore power (or even a small inverter could charge it up). The real downside I see is that if your house bank ~does~ die and you need to use this, then you'll have to go to the trouble of removing the engine cover or get to the battery wiring or whatever......but really that is not that big of a deal, considering you wouldn't need this portable starter battery often. If I was to do it again, I think I would seriously consider the portable starter battery and the "KISS" factor. All in all I like having my permanent starter battery setup, and I like thinking "who cares if I run my house bank down - I don't need to do anything, it'll start"
