I suspect I will have to replace my batteries this spring. I currently have one start and 2 house batteries. I checked batteries at Costco. The marine house batteries are 24 series and their start batteries are 27 series. They are the same manufacturer. Do I ceate a problem mixing the 24 and 27 series? I would install one 27 series start and 2 24 series house batteries. Thanks for your responses.
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You need..
You should know your consumption before buying batteries. If you want an inexpensive and decent battery the MAXX 29 series at Wal*Mart is a very good option. The MAXX Marine 29 (group 29) battery is rated at 125 amp hours and sells for $74.96 and their warranty is also quite good at 18 month non-pro rated free replacement. Sam's club also has deep cycle batteries for marine use. If the group 24's don't say DEEP CYCLE you don't want them! You want a dedicated deep cycle battery for the house bank.. You can mix group sizes, for charging only, but DO buy them all at the same time! Mixing ages is NOT a good idea.. Do NOT mix sizes, brands or ages in individual banks! For instance your house bank batteries must be identical and purchased at the same time!
You should know your consumption before buying batteries. If you want an inexpensive and decent battery the MAXX 29 series at Wal*Mart is a very good option. The MAXX Marine 29 (group 29) battery is rated at 125 amp hours and sells for $74.96 and their warranty is also quite good at 18 month non-pro rated free replacement. Sam's club also has deep cycle batteries for marine use. If the group 24's don't say DEEP CYCLE you don't want them! You want a dedicated deep cycle battery for the house bank.. You can mix group sizes, for charging only, but DO buy them all at the same time! Mixing ages is NOT a good idea.. Do NOT mix sizes, brands or ages in individual banks! For instance your house bank batteries must be identical and purchased at the same time!
No
No I would not replace the house with 24's which are not good for the house bank,they are too small. You are better off using the 27 as a start battery and two 6 volt batteries as the house. I am sure some one else will advise you with even more advice,it all depends on your electrical needs and how you use your boat but the two 6 volt are the best way to go. Nick
No I would not replace the house with 24's which are not good for the house bank,they are too small. You are better off using the 27 as a start battery and two 6 volt batteries as the house. I am sure some one else will advise you with even more advice,it all depends on your electrical needs and how you use your boat but the two 6 volt are the best way to go. Nick
not a good idea to mix batteries
Do not mix batteries in the same bank. If your charger has independent legs and designed to charge at different rates, you can mix them but it is otherwise not accpetable to do so. If they are of differing capacities or levels of charge, one can draw down the other(s) creating more problems for you. Likewise, if the charger is not designed to feed different batteries, it will charge all at the same rate thereby either over-charging or under-charging some. As others have indicated, using deep cycle batteries for your house bank is best regardless of what your energy needs might be as they are designed for repeated discharge/recharge. As far as size, that is solely a function of how much power you typically draw and what your charger and alternator can properly recharge. Simply picking a battery without knowing all the above is shooting in the dark
Do not mix batteries in the same bank. If your charger has independent legs and designed to charge at different rates, you can mix them but it is otherwise not accpetable to do so. If they are of differing capacities or levels of charge, one can draw down the other(s) creating more problems for you. Likewise, if the charger is not designed to feed different batteries, it will charge all at the same rate thereby either over-charging or under-charging some. As others have indicated, using deep cycle batteries for your house bank is best regardless of what your energy needs might be as they are designed for repeated discharge/recharge. As far as size, that is solely a function of how much power you typically draw and what your charger and alternator can properly recharge. Simply picking a battery without knowing all the above is shooting in the dark
Battery selection
is a complex issue, with a lot of variables. Your best bet is to educate yourself, using this forum, but also books and/or magazine articles, and ask your more experienced friends, then make an informed decision.
is a complex issue, with a lot of variables. Your best bet is to educate yourself, using this forum, but also books and/or magazine articles, and ask your more experienced friends, then make an informed decision.
available space
Hello, Before you spend money and start lugging heavy batteries around, take a look at the available space you have and MEASURE the area. Group 24, 27, and 29 batteries are all different sizes. You didn't write what size batteries you have now, so note that you may not have room to install group 27 batteries. It's not fun to carry two group 27 batteries onto your boat only to find out they don't fit in the battery compartment (of course this NEVER happened to me, I heard it from a 'friend'), and then have to carry them back to the store for exchange, and then carry them back to the boat. If you have the space, group 27 batteries will generally have more power than group 24. Is this important to you? I have no idea. So think about your needs, space, and funds, and then decided on what to do. Good luck, Barry
Hello, Before you spend money and start lugging heavy batteries around, take a look at the available space you have and MEASURE the area. Group 24, 27, and 29 batteries are all different sizes. You didn't write what size batteries you have now, so note that you may not have room to install group 27 batteries. It's not fun to carry two group 27 batteries onto your boat only to find out they don't fit in the battery compartment (of course this NEVER happened to me, I heard it from a 'friend'), and then have to carry them back to the store for exchange, and then carry them back to the boat. If you have the space, group 27 batteries will generally have more power than group 24. Is this important to you? I have no idea. So think about your needs, space, and funds, and then decided on what to do. Good luck, Barry
Jack - Your Answer
I have a 124 amp after market alternator made at the time by Ample Power. I think it is distributed now by Power Tap. It is a small frame alternator (not the large frame type made by Balmar). It is the largest alternator recommended for my Yanmar 35 HP HM35F (no longer manufactured), because of the side loads on my fresh water pump. The surface area around the alternator pulley, because of the way my alternator is positioned on the engine, made it necessary that I have double pulleys made and installed to prevent the belt from slipping.
I have a 124 amp after market alternator made at the time by Ample Power. I think it is distributed now by Power Tap. It is a small frame alternator (not the large frame type made by Balmar). It is the largest alternator recommended for my Yanmar 35 HP HM35F (no longer manufactured), because of the side loads on my fresh water pump. The surface area around the alternator pulley, because of the way my alternator is positioned on the engine, made it necessary that I have double pulleys made and installed to prevent the belt from slipping.
Sifting Through the Chaff
Gail, you got some good advice here, and some premature exclamations, but hey: some guys are like that. This solution is as easy as: 1) Knowing what you have now and how much space you have 2) Predicting what your needs will typically be 3) Making sure your charging system can service what you have in mind If your current battery set-up fits your needs, and you just need to replace tired batteries, you have no worries, as long as you know you have enough physical space for whatever you decide to put in. Determine the size of your current house bank batteries and your start battery: a straight swap-out of the same sizes (even if the house is 24 and the start 27) is fine and a "no-brainer". But as long as you're replacing the batteries, you might as well take the time to consider how you intend to use the boat, and what your typical daily/weekend electrical demands will be, and what your charging options are. If I had 24s in the house, and had the room for 27s, I'd go up in size automatically and be happy with more amp hours to use between charges. I'm in a similar position. The two stock 24s on my 30ft. coastal cruiser are tired, but can get me through a spartan weekend on the hook (barely). But I just installed a wheel-pilot, and intend to do some serious coastal cruising. I'm going to go with a larger house bank and a dedicated starter. I know I can drop in three 27s for my house bank with no modifications, and that will be a big jump in itself, but I might be able to shoe-horn four of the 6v deep cycle flooded cells into my available space, even if the Dremel grinder has to come out. That will leave no space for my planned dedicated starter: it will be installed in a separate location. Some will suggest performing an amp-hour inventory to determine daily use, and that procedure is easy to Google. I'm going for largest possible capacity, and if I then can go three or four days without charging, I'll consider myself blessed. Yes, typically a smallish starting battery is plenty adequate: lots of cranking amps for a few seconds is all a healthy small marine diesel needs. Generating the power to replace your use is the last consideration. In my opinion, a three-stage regulator is much more important to have than a high-output alternator. If your regulator is internal (inside the alternator) it's likely to be an automotive single-stage type, and changing to an external, three-stage unit will let you get the best out of your stock (maybe 55 amp?) alternator. Even if I'm able to cram in the over-400-amp-hour house bank, I don't predict having to change my alternator once I install the 3-stage regulator (some folks will differ with me here). But a 55-amp alternator that can bulk charge is more efficient than a 100-amp alternator that is only trickling. I'll stop here: this discussion begins an endless chain of replacement equipment: an upgrade of one component often requires the upgrade or addition of two more; and then since you've gone that far, you might as well add…(a portable generator? solar panels? wind generator? monitoring system?) ad infinitum. Giving you more advice than this without knowing what your needs are would be wasted. Fair winds, Jeff
Gail, you got some good advice here, and some premature exclamations, but hey: some guys are like that. This solution is as easy as: 1) Knowing what you have now and how much space you have 2) Predicting what your needs will typically be 3) Making sure your charging system can service what you have in mind If your current battery set-up fits your needs, and you just need to replace tired batteries, you have no worries, as long as you know you have enough physical space for whatever you decide to put in. Determine the size of your current house bank batteries and your start battery: a straight swap-out of the same sizes (even if the house is 24 and the start 27) is fine and a "no-brainer". But as long as you're replacing the batteries, you might as well take the time to consider how you intend to use the boat, and what your typical daily/weekend electrical demands will be, and what your charging options are. If I had 24s in the house, and had the room for 27s, I'd go up in size automatically and be happy with more amp hours to use between charges. I'm in a similar position. The two stock 24s on my 30ft. coastal cruiser are tired, but can get me through a spartan weekend on the hook (barely). But I just installed a wheel-pilot, and intend to do some serious coastal cruising. I'm going to go with a larger house bank and a dedicated starter. I know I can drop in three 27s for my house bank with no modifications, and that will be a big jump in itself, but I might be able to shoe-horn four of the 6v deep cycle flooded cells into my available space, even if the Dremel grinder has to come out. That will leave no space for my planned dedicated starter: it will be installed in a separate location. Some will suggest performing an amp-hour inventory to determine daily use, and that procedure is easy to Google. I'm going for largest possible capacity, and if I then can go three or four days without charging, I'll consider myself blessed. Yes, typically a smallish starting battery is plenty adequate: lots of cranking amps for a few seconds is all a healthy small marine diesel needs. Generating the power to replace your use is the last consideration. In my opinion, a three-stage regulator is much more important to have than a high-output alternator. If your regulator is internal (inside the alternator) it's likely to be an automotive single-stage type, and changing to an external, three-stage unit will let you get the best out of your stock (maybe 55 amp?) alternator. Even if I'm able to cram in the over-400-amp-hour house bank, I don't predict having to change my alternator once I install the 3-stage regulator (some folks will differ with me here). But a 55-amp alternator that can bulk charge is more efficient than a 100-amp alternator that is only trickling. I'll stop here: this discussion begins an endless chain of replacement equipment: an upgrade of one component often requires the upgrade or addition of two more; and then since you've gone that far, you might as well add…(a portable generator? solar panels? wind generator? monitoring system?) ad infinitum. Giving you more advice than this without knowing what your needs are would be wasted. Fair winds, Jeff
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