Help pse re which battery

[tarik]

Evening all - a Christmas poser for you !

I will have to get a couple of new Heavy Duty batteries for the Jester Jaunt. Having been researching e bay today etc I am now totally confused as to which is the best buy.


Would appreciate some advice.


Happy Christmas to everybody.

David

 

[VicS]

What do you mean by Heavy duty?
Presumably you won't be starting the engine numerous times per day like say a delivery van.

Deep cycle perhaps?

What capacity ?

Good range of deep cycle Trojan batteries HERE

or HERE

 

[tarik]

Heavy Duty

What do you mean by Heavy duty?
Presumably you won't be starting the engine numerous times per day like say a delivery van.

Deep cycle perhaps?

What capacity ?

Good range of deep cycle Trojan batteries HERE

or HERE

Sorry Vic I should have made myself clearer - by HD I meant 2 batteries that would be a reliable and big enough to start the engine, run the Computer/ Nav light/AIS/Radar/ Bow Thruster/ VHF Radio/ interior lights - obviously not at all once !

I need them to be man enough to stand long periods of inactivity - when away from boat, and start the engine first time, without me having to swear at it.

Incidently I do have a 40w solar panel which puts in a smallish charge.


Kind regards


David

 

[sailorman]

VicS gave you the premium end as he thought thats what you wanted
http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/products/group/?c=Battery&a=Boat

 

[mitiempo]

A true deep cycle battery will have no problems starting the engine or powering the bow thruster. Starting or leisure batteries will not be very tolerant of cycling though.

Get true deep cycle batteries. Trojan is an excellent choice.

 

[VicS]

I assumed that deep cycle batteries will be the best choice and picked on Trojan because they have a good reputation I believe.

You might also consider an additional battery either as a dedicated engine starter battery or as a reserve battery to use if the main batteries become too discharged to start the engine.
If space is limited but funds allow perhaps a Red Flash starter battery or an Optima Red top.

Take care not to mix batteries that are not compatible with each other from the charging point of view.

40 watts sounds a bit small for the solar panel but only by calculating a typical day's power consumption and comparing it with a typical day's output from the solar panel can you be sure.

In order to minimise the engine running time when you have to run it solely for battery charging you might consider some form of advanced alternator management / charging system.

 

[ostell]

I used these people for my new batteries. Excellent service.

 

[mitiempo]

Any battery with a cold cranking rating is not a deep cycle battery. Notice the Trojan T-105 at the bottom of the page does not have a cold cranking rating.

 

[VicS]

Any battery with a cold cranking rating is not a deep cycle battery. Notice the Trojan T-105 at the bottom of the page does not have a cold cranking rating.

Very difficult to be sure just was is a deep cycling battery and what is not

For example Trojan describe This one as "Cycling AGM" and also give CCA ratings

but this battery as deep cycle on their own website but also give CCA ratings!

 

[vyv_cox]

I recently bought two XV31 batteries by Numax, shown here. They are supposedly capable of delivering a healthy starting current but also will accept deep cycling. Three year warranty. I have yet to use them in anger but I anticipate good service based on testimonials from other users and the boatyard.

 

[GrahamM376]

agreed, lead acid technology is lead acid technology is lead acid technology, nothing much has changed in 100 years yes we have AGM but they are still lead acid acid technology with very little advantage and vast extra cost. Stick to a good quality basic CHEAP battery and you wont go far wrong, the label wont help much in your choice however (for different applications they just change the sticker - don't tell anyone this is a secret)

happy christmas

edit: these guys know what they're doing

http://www.lincon.co.uk/

Having tried expensive AGM's (Exide Enersol 130) and found they last no longer than 110AH "leisure" batteries, I've gone back to the latter. Cheaper and can be sourced almost anywhere. As for engine start, I use bog standard unbranded car batteries and have never been let down.

 

[tarik]

Batteries

Thanks for all your advice everybody.


David - Happy and Prosperous New Year to all.

 

[Shearwater]

Nice thing about Battery Megastore is that you can enter your available dimensions into a table and they will tell you what batteries they have that will fit. The app only tells you what they have - so if your entry doesn't get a response then you have to change your inputteddded dims, probably by entering lower figures. Free delivery, most surprisingly even with the Spanish site. Yes, I know the delivery isn't actually free, but at least they're trying!

 

[mitiempo]

VicS

Trojan's SCS series are hybrid starting/cycling batteries. They are not as good at cycling as true deep cycles and their intended use is smaller boats that use one battery for everything. They state this on their site somewhere.

True deep cycling batteries have much thicker, heavier plates - Because of this their cranking capacity, were it measured, would be much less than a thin plate battery. Compare the weights of a battery like the T-105 to the flooded VicS linked to and you can see the difference. Of course a deep cycle bank should have no problem starting a small diesel even though not really designed for it.

As far as AGM batteries - they do have advantages but at a price. The biggest advantage to my mind is their ability to accept well over capacity in bulk charge mode. But this means a complete re-do of the charging system usually. They are also very particular in charging. If not charged fully after each use their life will be not much more than one year.

 

[KellysEye]

>start the engine

Cranking battery generally 100 cranking amps but subject to engine size, ours are Gel (generator, engine and winch).

>run the Computer/ Nav light/AIS/Radar/ Bow Thruster/ VHF Radio/ interior lights

Trojan deep cycle 2X 6 volt lead acid batteries wired in series. Ours total 220 amps.

Issues: If you have two types of battery you ned a smart charger that you can set to each type. If you don't have one or don't want to buy one I'd go all lead acid. Also check your battery box can fit two Trojans or can be extended. If not I think Trojan sell 12 volt deep cycle batteries.