Another battery enquiry, sorry.

Sneaky Pete

Sneaky Pete

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There has been a great deal on here about batteries recently. I suppose it is that time again of do I don’t I. I have been looking on battery megastore for 2 replacement batteries rated equal to or greater than the 70Ah ones on the boat. These two are 88Ah and would fit into the battery box. Both have a similar spec apart from terminal orientation but are of different price. Why the difference in price of a XV and a DC type, is Alphaline a good quality make of battery.

http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/XV24/

http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/DC24/
 
Sneaky Pete said:
There has been a great deal on here about batteries recently. I suppose it is that time again of do I don’t I. I have been looking on battery megastore for 2 replacement batteries rated equal to or greater than the 70Ah ones on the boat. These two are 88Ah and would fit into the battery box. Both have a similar spec apart from terminal orientation but are of different price. Why the difference in price of a XV and a DC type, is Alphaline a good quality make of battery.

http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/XV24/

http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/DC24/
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The second one is rated as a deep cycle battery - so more lead, more dosh. Not the absence of a CCA figure too.

I've never used Alphaline so can't comment there, but a four year warranty does imply some confidence in their product (or a lot of get-out clauses).

I have to admit I'm wary of higher rated batteries that are the same size and weight. Implication is that they've used a more optimistic set of measurements.

But they both look good value for money.
 
The product descriptions do say that the XV is a dual purpose battery and that the DC is a deep cycle battery.

Up to 250 cycles are suggested for the XV. 550 for the DC

Alphaline is Battery Megastore's own brand
 
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noe hat Battery Megastore sell both on their website and on ebay. Often the price for the same but of kit is significantly less on one site than on the other (it varies, bizarrely, which is cheapest) I saved £50 a battery by buying on ebay rather than direct. I know it was the same product as I collected it and initially they tried to charge me the higher price!
 
Most Alphaline are made by Atlas BX in Korea, Bat Mega is the UK distributor. See http://www.alphalinebatteries.co.uk/leisure-batteries.html and look under "contact".
See http://www.atlasbx.co.kr/eng/product/product_list/Product_View_SC.do under the "marine" tab.
Atlas describe the DC as "for starting and cycling" and the XV as "for starting".
Nevertheless Batt Mega describes the XV as "deep cycle". Trade descriptions act comes to mind...

I would regard them as pretty much bottom of the market, but I bought them because at least you know who makes them and it is quite an established firm. It's impossible to know who makes most of the other similarly priced own label ones.

(Having said that, the one I have to use because of its height - the XV110 - does not appear on Atlas BX's website so may be made by someone else.)
 
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All I can say, I have two Alphaline batteries and XV and DC and both have been working fine now for at least two years. Best to buy on ebay from the same supplier as they are usually cheaper.
 
Scubadoo said:
All I can say, I have two Alphaline batteries and XV and DC and both have been working fine now for at least two years. Best to buy on ebay from the same supplier as they are usually cheaper.
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Two years is nothing to write home about. Come back and tell us how they are doing after another 8 years or so.

One of my cars, originally my wife's car, is over 10 years old and still has its original battery. Renault badged but made by Yuasa. The other has a 10 year old battery in it. A Halfords' calcium battery, also I think made by Yuasa.

(My boat battery is a Varta "professional dual purpose" battery but that is only 18 months old and was not used last year anyway)
 
Scubadoo said:
All I can say, I have two Alphaline batteries and XV and DC and both have been working fine now for at least two years. Best to buy on ebay from the same supplier as they are usually cheaper.
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You say they are working fine but how do you know how much they have deteriorated? Presumably in normal use you don't discharge them anywhere near full capacity. Unless you do a discharge test, you won't know they have deteriorated until they fail to meet what depth of discharge you do work to, which for many people is 50% or less, particularly if it's occasional rather than liveaboard use.

I bought Alphaline because something like that is the economic solution for my sort of use. For heavier use I would go for Trojan T105 or similar. If the Alphalines last more than 3 years I will consider it pretty good.

Same goes for VicS's car battery - it probably has little reserve capacity now. Park for an hour or two with lights on and try then! Not knocking Yuasa, good batteries, but 10 years is not a realistic typical life expectancy. (On a grudge note, the Welsh Development Agency did huge damage to a previously very successful English based industry when they subsidised Yuasa to set up in South Wales.)
 
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Battery suppliers

Plevier said:
I bought Alphaline because something like that is the economic solution for my sort of use. For heavier use I would go for Trojan T105 or similar. If the Alphalines last more than 3 years I will consider it pretty good.

Same goes for VicS's car battery - it probably has little reserve capacity now. Park for an hour or two with lights on and try then! Not knocking Yuasa, good batteries, but 10 years is not a realistic typical life expectancy. (On a grudge note, the Welsh Development Agency did huge damage to a previously very successful English based industry when they subsidised Yuasa to set up in South Wales.)
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Have you looked at Tayna? http://www.tayna.co.uk/T-105-Trojan-Battery-Deep-Cycle-T105-P9449.html
They are quick & well priced (I speak as a satisfied customer)
 
I would have thought the issue here is the risk of sudden and catastrophic failure rather than gradual deterioration. Cheap batteries my last half the time of the more expensive brand but if they are one third of the price it makes economic sense UNLESS there is a risk of sudden failure. Given that many (most?) boats have two batteries as a minima, so long as you don't replace them both at the ams time with the same model, the risk of a sudden dual failure is pretty remote. Even if you do, it's still pretty remote because each battery will have different utilisation and charging throughout it's life.

I have always believed that you get what you pay for so long s you stay away from the extremes. Armani jeans are not worth £500 a pair. Tesco jeans at £3 a pair are ****. in between those extremes you probably more or less get what you pay for.

I suspect the same rule of thumb works for most things
 
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