House battery recommendations

[artleyt115]

@artleyt115, you can take some of these comments about anchoring etiquette with the grain of salt. Some of us have this notion that pristine anchorages populated only by quiet sailors are everywhere and you will stand out like a sore thumb if you play your radio or TV, or heaven forbid, run your generator. Well, maybe if you trailer to some remote lake in the Adirondacks or find yourself in some secluded location on Lake Champlain ... but I really doubt you will be disturbing anyone on Lake Wallenpaupack if you turn up the volume during a summer evening! I'll bet you already have at least a basic sense of etiquette, and you may be a complete delight to be anchored next to for all I know, so you can just dismiss the browbeating over the generator in my opinion.

The simple answer to your question is that your relatively simple needs on an Oday 26 are probably best served by a pair of Group 27 or Group 31 FLA batteries giving you up to 200 ah of capacity. Be sure to measure the location where the batteries will be placed because space is usually an issue. As many say, 6V Golf Cart batts wired in series for 12V and parallel for efficient capacity will provide the most capacity at the most economical price. I've found that 6V golf cart batts are taller than Group 27 batts and therefore on my Starwind 27, I couldn't fit them in the space available.

AGM batteries are far more expensive and may have some advantages over FLA batteries (you can find discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of AGM very easily on the internet) but they have different charging requirements and it will probably cost you more in related expenses to upgrade your charging system. Is it worth it? In your case, probably not. I've read Mainesail's opinion about AGM batteries and he basically says that with the existence & advantages of LiFePO4 batteries, there is really no reason anymore to consider AGM batteries. I just bought an AGM battery for my start/reserve battery, but that's because I have an existing AGM house bank that came with the boat, and my charging system is already set up for it. You'll spend SO much more for LiFePO batts and related systems that I can't even imagine how you could justify the expense based on your simple needs.

So my suggestion is that you purchase the most ah capacity that you can reasonably fit with FLA batteries and be sure to set up a charging system to keep them charged & topped off while you have the boat on a trailer. Use the generator whenever you must ... I suspect there will never be any complaints! There really is no need to make this too complicated!

Thank you Scott, That makes alot of sense. I kinda figured I might not need LiFePO batts (though how nice it would be to have them) I'll stick to the basics and see how much I'll need later on. For now I have plenty of space. I used to have a inboard motor that the pervious owner took out (Which from what I heard is fairly common to do on O'days because the motor was super under powered and filled the cabin with diesel smell.) So I am trying to balance out the boat a bit too. We'll see just how many FLA batts I can fit.

 

[FastOlson]

I used to have a inboard motor that the pervious owner took out (Which from what I heard is fairly common to do on O'days because the motor was super under powered and filled the cabin with diesel smell.)

On this one point, a friend had an ODay 26 with the swing keel, a nice trailer, and an inboard Yanmar single cylinder diesel (shaft drive). None of the problems that you "heard" about. Zero problems.
When he moved up, the boat sold readily, as well. It was a great "pocket cruiser" with all the traveling options you might want, and of course the little diesel barely sipped fuel.
As for 'smell' any boat with an inboard engine can have a fuel smell, IF the owner does zero maintenance or upkeep.
Never a problem on our boat, for a quarter of a century.....

 

[MikeHoncho]

Back to the basics……I don’t think these questions have been answered although I didn’t read the massive drift posts….how many days do you anticipate being self sufficient without 120 power ( without using the generator) what is your planned propulsion engine charging amps? A lot of posts on the monitor and dvd. I agree that these are power sucks on your system but the portable refer will be the majority of your draw being it is on all the time ( plugged in) and your inverter on. These units are well know for being less efficient than installed or converted Ice box system due to limited insulation.

 

[Marmalade]

26ft boat... weekends, flexible to power extras... what about a portable power station? They have a built-in inverter, integrator battery monitor, and simply take-home and charge after the weekend. And it gives the flexibility of using for other adventures or as an emergency background at home.

There's bigger names and imports... but you can get 1000Wh plus for less than the $800 budget. There's on on Amazon right now 1100Wh (which is 90Ah of 12V)... for $500. Has USB/12V/120V outlets... can use to supplement the house battery for the 12V hardwired and run your cooler and DVD.

There are others... bigger and smaller capacity... with options to add solar to supplement... and some that can be daisy chained to allow you to increase your capacity in the future.

 

[jssailem]

@Marmalade
An interesting suggestion. I had not heard about this little miracle device. Looking in to the details I suggest caution concerning use on a boat.

The unit details about the design identify the use of a Ternary Lithium cathode. This provides the advantages identified in the marketing script, More power, lighter weight, etc.

What is not identified is the stability and safety of the battery components.

The devil is in the details. Here is a link.

What is ternary lithium battery?

This article will introduce the concept, advantages and disadvantages of ternary lithium battery for you.

www.takomabattery.com

Cliff notes: battery is less stable, less safe, can become a fire hazard than a Lithium iron phosphate battery design.

Encourage reading the details, understand the issues and making your own decision. You are the skipper of your boat.

 

[Marmalade]

@jssailem - thanks for the info on ternary lithium... I learned something. Most of these portable power stations are LiFePO4 powered... so apparently I picked a poor example. This one is LiFePO4, over 1200 Wh and currently $530.

@artleyt115 - don't know if it's a solution for you or not... and I'm not here to be a know-it-all or remind you that your the captain of your ship or tell you how to solve your problem. I know you asked for recommendations for house battery brands/etc... just thought the portable power station idea might give you something to consider. You seem more than capable of making your own decisions.

 

[Hayden Watson]

I agree with @jssailem . The chemistry in a lithium pack is very important. I am a very big fan of the power available in lithium batteries and have 560Ah in my boat and 920Ah of LFP in my motorhome. The LFP cells are very safe with no safety warnings. (see below)
The NCA, NMC, LTO and LMC not so much. For me, LFP is the only chemistry I feel safe to use on a boat because all of the others like to do bad things like catch of fire when they get wet.

 

[Tin Kicker]

Definitely start with a power consumption budget and also would recommend LiFePo4 due to weight for smaller boats. A note on use of lead acid in either 6 or 12V is to remember that you really only get to use half the rated amp hours. Repeated deeper discharging will quickly reduce capacity and kill wet cells or AGM. For a 26 foot boat, 6V batteries can impose a big weight penalty.

Interesting to see mention of the GB/T standards, as Green Blue Technical are Chinese versions of the Western UL, SAE, and ISO. At this point the Chinese are ahead of the West in EV adoption and experience so it's good the GB/T are online (GB/T 36276-2018: PDF in English.).

When they are cited, also look up the equivalent Western standards as some of the Chinese ones are rather generic. For example, note that nothing in 36276 prohibits thermal runaway or profuse smoke generation, just "...no fire and no explosion." The hot smoke can ignite paper or other flammables. That said, the Chinese have some requirements for EV car batteries which are better/stricter than the US & Euro are when it comes to floods and water intrusion (IP65, IP67, etc).

btw - Those other chemistries won't necessarily catch fire if wet, it comes down to how well the hermetic seals hold up. For example, up to 3,000 EVs were flooded after Hurricane Ian, most of which had the hotter chemistries, yet there've only been something like 17 fires. (0.5%)

Bob
www.HowItBroke.com

 

[O’Day 222]

I’m outfitting a 1984 22’ O’Day 222 for a solo 6000 mile journey on America’s Great Loop.

I’ve estimated 800-900 watt hours (67-75 amp hours) daily power consumption Including refrigeration.

The 300 amp hour house battery bank (~270AH usable) consists of 3 x 12V 100AH Ampere Time LiFePO4 lithium batteries in parallel.

Paid $350 for each battery on Amazon with free Prime shipping.

2 x 100 AH FLA batteries will give you 100AH of usable capacity which may be all you would ever need.

I‘d recommend LiFePO4 batteries to anyone replacing or upgrading their house battery bank.

Yes, there is a big initial investment…yes, there is a bit of a learning curve with LiFePO4 batteries…and yes, you will probably need a new battery charger….but I would personally never go back to FLA batteries.