Thepipdoc
New member
Last weekend I bought 2 x Varta 185ah batteries from a local battery supplier - He's not connected to the marine/leisure industry I hasten to add, and I paid £160 each for them.
In keeping with the way I operate I've just researched the most appropriate type of battery to get!
The battery supplier told me the was no such thing as a deep cycle battery and it's a myth, apparently such batteries don't exist. He reckoned that the same batteries that manufacturers label as deep cycle are also labelled as a starting battery and vice versa. Now, I'm pretty clueless as far battery types are concerned and I opted to be guided by the expert i.e. the person that sold me the batteries. I did so on the understanding that if I wasn't happy with their performance I could return them for a full refund - (very fair I hear you say) so I bought them.
I realise it's impossible for me to test the performance of a battery in a month (the period he gave me to return them) and only time will tell how good they are, but I was dammed if I was going to pay £260 that the chandlers wanted for a 185 ah battery, albeit a so called, "deep cycle" battery and anyway, I was going away for the weekend and I knew I would be on a swinging mooring and needed decent batteries. The original batteries would not hold a charge of any kind, and given that I'd fried my genny ( that's another story!) I knew I needed to have reliable power source.
Having done my belated research it would indeed seem that my battery man was indeed correct! Either he was correct, or he wrote the in depth article that appears on this website .
http://www.sterling-power.com/support-faq-2.htm
I feel more comfortable that the batteries I've bought are man enough for the job and they'll stand the test of time.
As a matter of interest he also offered me 2 x 180ah Gel batteries for £250 each, but I declined - it would seem that this type of battery is highly over rated - at least by the author of the article.
In keeping with the way I operate I've just researched the most appropriate type of battery to get!
The battery supplier told me the was no such thing as a deep cycle battery and it's a myth, apparently such batteries don't exist. He reckoned that the same batteries that manufacturers label as deep cycle are also labelled as a starting battery and vice versa. Now, I'm pretty clueless as far battery types are concerned and I opted to be guided by the expert i.e. the person that sold me the batteries. I did so on the understanding that if I wasn't happy with their performance I could return them for a full refund - (very fair I hear you say) so I bought them.
I realise it's impossible for me to test the performance of a battery in a month (the period he gave me to return them) and only time will tell how good they are, but I was dammed if I was going to pay £260 that the chandlers wanted for a 185 ah battery, albeit a so called, "deep cycle" battery and anyway, I was going away for the weekend and I knew I would be on a swinging mooring and needed decent batteries. The original batteries would not hold a charge of any kind, and given that I'd fried my genny ( that's another story!) I knew I needed to have reliable power source.
Having done my belated research it would indeed seem that my battery man was indeed correct! Either he was correct, or he wrote the in depth article that appears on this website .
http://www.sterling-power.com/support-faq-2.htm
I feel more comfortable that the batteries I've bought are man enough for the job and they'll stand the test of time.
As a matter of interest he also offered me 2 x 180ah Gel batteries for £250 each, but I declined - it would seem that this type of battery is highly over rated - at least by the author of the article.