My battery of choice is deep cycle dry cell
Hello Douglas, I have never tried the Optima batteries before, but looking at the website they are very interesting. I took a very short look at the website. They seem to be a very viable alternative to the standard deep cycle lead acid. I will have to compare price. There are so many options to consider with all the new batteries. I am sure you can get good service with all batteries if you maintain them as per manufacture specs. ( That is a good dream! ) My idea of a good battery is one that will handle the load and one that will recover without too much work. I am testing a new dry cell battery that boast many of the same features. It is supposed to fully recharged (100%) in 3 hours with a 15amp charger, it only weights 24lbs, and has no charging gases. It can be mounted almost anywhere because of no acid but can not be mounted upside down.( why?) I like the fact that they are very light and is the main reason I am trying them out. I was able to drop 68 pounds of dead weight (dif in two batteries). So far, I am very happy with them. With a fresh charge, they will handle all my needs for a weekend and overnight stay. I do not recharge if just day sailing. They keep a nice charge for long periods so far. Odyssey is the brand name. I just have always disliked lead acid batteries so I went with the drycell. They have surpassed my needs for the first summer. The winter is comming! Good luck, James
