Battery Supplier in Dodecanese Islands, Greece. Recommendations sought

[affinite]

I need to replace my house battery bank.
Looking for either 4 x 130Ahr or 5 x 100Ahr
I'm not too choosy but I want SLA Deep Cycle rather than the starter batteries that Leros Marina are offering me.
(The boat is currently on the hard in Leros)
Anyone got any recommendations for a supplier in the Dodecanese ?
Thanks

 

[grumpygit]

You could try a mainland supplier of deep cycle batteries. A lot of the marine suppliers quite often prepared to ship over what you need by ferry.
There was George an independent marine engineer of type at Leros that did get replacements shipped out from the mainland, in my case a fridge compressor. I don't now have any info on him but you could always ask around.

P.S. I just looked through my contacts and found a number 697 744 6033

 

[vyv_cox]

There is a big market in Greece for solar power batteries. Mine are Winner Solar, could be worth looking for a supplier. I guess that Pothia might give you more options than Leros.

 

[vyv_cox]

This looks like a possible. winner battery - Μπαταρίες & Αξεσουάρ - Skroutz.gr

 

[affinite]

Thanks Grumpy and Vyv
I've used both of your suggestions and I now have a quote for Winner Solar M31 and E-NEX DC31MF Deep cycle batteries.
Multiplied by 6 there's a big price difference between the 2 options (300 Euro for my House bank)
In fact the Winner prices are almost those of a bank of Trojan T-105's

The only difference in the spec is the "number of recharges" which is specified as being 550 and 120 respectively
The Winner is probably a superior battery but is it worth the extra cost Do you think that the "number of recharges" figures are realistic or just marketing hype?

Opinions welcome

 

[grumpygit]

Thanks Grumpy and Vyv
I've used both of your suggestions and I now have a quote for Winner Solar M31 and E-NEX DC31MF Deep cycle batteries.
Multiplied by 6 there's a big price difference between the 2 options (300 Euro for my House bank)
In fact the Winner prices are almost those of a bank of Trojan T-105's

The only difference in the spec is the "number of recharges" which is specified as being 550 and 120 respectively
The Winner is probably a superior battery but is it worth the extra cost Do you think that the "number of recharges" figures are realistic or just marketing hype?

Opinions welcome

I don't know if this is intentional but the E-NEX batteries are a 12v battery, the Winner 310 and the Trojan T105 are 6v ? If you have a choice I would say 6v is definitely to way to go. Trojan have been around for ever and are a market leader, Winner I know nothing about although Winner is better spec'd

 

[vyv_cox]

It is cycling below about 12.2 volts that kills batteries. These days my voltage rarely goes that low but it seemed worthwhile to guard against it. Presumably cycling to somewhat higher voltages, e.g. 12.4, which is very common for us, also reduces life.

 

[affinite]

I don't know if this is intentional but the E-NEX batteries are a 12v battery, the Winner 310 and the Trojan T105 are 6v ? If you have a choice I would say 6v is definitely to way to go. Trojan have been around for ever and are a market leader, Winner I know nothing about although Winner is better spec'd

Winner M31 is apparently 12v

I might have gone for Trojan T105's but the foot print (for 4) is too large for the battery box

 

[grumpygit]

Around 12.4volt (75%) is at the top end of the best to expect. We all know the culprit that destroy's the domestic bank . . . . . . . the beer and wine cooler, aka refrigerator(s)

 

[grumpygit]

Winner M31 is apparently 12v

I might have gone for Trojan T105's but the foot print (for 4) is too large for the battery box

In that case go for the cheapest that will fit and expect to replace within a couple of seasons, tops. Nothing worse than non performing batteries!

 

[Chris_Robb]

I need to replace my house battery bank.
Looking for either 4 x 130Ahr or 5 x 100Ahr
I'm not too choosy but I want SLA Deep Cycle rather than the starter batteries that Leros Marina are offering me.
(The boat is currently on the hard in Leros)
Anyone got any recommendations for a supplier in the Dodecanese ?
Thanks

This guy runs a large set up in Thesoloniki - they ship batteries all over Greece


Display Name: Panos Konstantinidis - GRK BATTERIES
Email: info@gr-kiros.gr
Home
shop.grkbatteries.gr
PhoneMobile: 0030 697 824 4250Work: 0030 235 107 5613
Email him with your requirements and he will suggest what you should get.

When are you getting out there?

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

I need to replace my house battery bank.
Looking for either 4 x 130Ahr or 5 x 100Ahr
I'm not too choosy but I want SLA Deep Cycle rather than the starter batteries that Leros Marina are offering me.
(The boat is currently on the hard in Leros)
Anyone got any recommendations for a supplier in the Dodecanese ?
Thanks

Have you tried Tayna? They seem to deliver to most places. In my experience in Greece it's nearly always easier and cheaper to have stuff shipped out from the uk.

 

[Chris_Robb]

Thanks Grumpy and Vyv
I've used both of your suggestions and I now have a quote for Winner Solar M31 and E-NEX DC31MF Deep cycle batteries.
Multiplied by 6 there's a big price difference between the 2 options (300 Euro for my House bank)
In fact the Winner prices are almost those of a bank of Trojan T-105's

The only difference in the spec is the "number of recharges" which is specified as being 550 and 120 respectively
The Winner is probably a superior battery but is it worth the extra cost Do you think that the "number of recharges" figures are realistic or just marketing hype?

Opinions welcome

I had a set of those enex batteries, they are in fact (as are most of those batteries) basically the same construction as a starter battery. They are NOt deep cycle as indicated by the recharge cyles. Mine failed after 2 years - but I think that was caused by over winter solar charging through a Steka controller - which is not very clever - and blatted the batteries every day with an initial overcharge. The same almost happened to my next set of Boshe and after 1 winter they would deliver no current - not enough to start the fridge. Equalising the batteries some 10 times saw everything come back to normal - I really dont understand why. Bosche responded by say that the PMW regulators must be used with an over night discharge mechanism using the Dusk to dawn facility - I installed a 18 inch strip of LEDs. Next year there was no problem. It seems it is standard practice in Turkey to do this. Next year I changed to a much cleverer Victron, and have had no issue (2 winters) waiting to see what September will bring! So my standard so called deep cycle starter batteries are now 4 years old.

The key to the choice might be your electric daily consumption with the fridge the main cause of discharge. If it is inefficient (most are) and you find the voltages below 12.2 each morning, then you will nacker these batteries sooner - so perhaps the winner would be worth doing if they fit.

You can only ship AGMs from the UK as they cant be spilled. And dont be tempted to by the new type AGM developed for restarting car engines every time you stop! they are definity not right.

So you can definitely get standard "leisure" batteries from almost everywhere in Greece and the ones at Leros will probably do.

If installing expensive batteries they need looking after so you need to check out the charging regime or you will waste your money. Because of the short period I sail each year (2 months) I can stick to leisure sla, but then my fridge uses only about 15 amps overnight as its got 4 inches of insulation all round.

If consumption is the issue, you may reasonably decide to just expect to change batteries every 2 years, and just build that in.

 

[Mistroma]

+1 for Panos.

I bought a set of T-105s from him and mainland delivery charge was really silly. I think it worked out at either 1.50 or 2.5 euro per battery. I was expecting poor service but company delivered very quickly, direct to the boat and took away the old batteries when I asked. They even called to apologise for a 4 hour delay, I thought I'd moved to Greece in an alternate universe.

Panos replied promptly to all my queries even late in the evening. I bought another battery later and delivery worked out more expensive as it was the same for 1 battery as for 4, still very cheap. Delivery wasn't quite as good as first time but well above expectations.

NOTE: It took me a while to spot the option for English on the web-site GRK BATTERIES. I think it is a little Greek flag icon near top left. I also remember a glitch when paying and used PayPal. Panos did not realise that the credit card options don't work if you have a non-Greek credit card. He might have fixed that by now but should know about the problem.

 

[Mistroma]

Winner M31 is apparently 12v

I might have gone for Trojan T105's but the foot print (for 4) is too large for the battery box

I had the same problem but managed to make the box larger. It wasn't too difficult as one bulkhead could be moved slightly and the base cut-out. There was a big space underneath and I sat the new base on chocks with sealant and fibreglassed the base and sides.

Then I discovered that my T-105s were very slightly smaller than the specs. said and would have just fitted the original box.
Aaaargh.