Leisure battery brand.

geem said:
The same overall weight as my two 560Ah lithium batteries but we have a usable 900Ah instead of your usable 180Ah. 5 times the stored capacity. Just saying 😃
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Suspect like many here the OP has no need of that amount of capacity, nor is the weight differential of any concern. He says the battery box will take what he wants. 180 usable Ah is more than adequate for many marina based cruising boats for weekend and holiday use around the UK.

I suspect if he had a boat like yours and used it in the way that you do, he would do much the same as you, but he does not - so wonder why you are "just saying"
 
Tranona said:
Suspect like many here the OP has no need of that amount of capacity, nor is the weight differential of any concern. He says the battery box will take what he wants. 180 usable Ah is more than adequate for many marina based cruising boats for weekend and holiday use around the UK.

I suspect if he had a boat like yours and used it in the way that you do, he would do much the same as you, but he does not - so wonder why you are "just saying"
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For the same reason that you "keep saying" what you have ?
 
Sneaky Pete said:
Currently looking at a Exide AGM, from Tanya, 180ah enough space to put two in parallel weight around 50kg each.
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I couldn’t even lift 50kg. It’s incomprehensible to me that people still use lead acid. I mean that literally - I just can’t fathom it. (Pun unintentional) Oh well, to each his own I guess.
 
Lithium 100ah can be bought for as little as £100 . Will Prowse (youtube) tests many cheap Chinese lithium batteries and it's got to the point where they are making some really good quality items. Once fully tested he opens them up to see how they are put together and the cheapest one he recently tested was using a high end bms and the connections were of a higher quality than a certain blue brand !
As paul mentions, they are not so simple to fit on a boat as lead acid.
 
I did the swap to Lithium for the house set. Two 100ah lithiums instead of three 85ah lead acid. Kept the LA starter and installed a B2B. Best thing I’ve done as it now allows a full (almost) 200ah of use rather than 130ah. We even have a 1000w inverter to run a kettle as the solar keeps it topped up. This meant that our 3.9kg propane lasted more than 6 weeks cruising on the west coast.

As others have said just get the cabling and fuses sorted.
 
PaulRainbow said:
For the same reason that you "keep saying" what you have ?
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The OP specifically asked about what brands he should look at. Not one mention of changing type, but specifically said he is doing a straight replacement. I would guess he has ignored all those who have made no attempt to advise on that question but have told him he is doing it all wrong.
 
Tranona said:
The OP specifically asked about what brands he should look at. Not one mention of changing type, but specifically said he is doing a straight replacement. I would guess he has ignored all those who have made no attempt to advise on that question but have told him he is doing it all wrong.
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Did Geem tell him he was doing it wrong ?

Anyway, it's perfectly normal and often useful to suggest alternatives. I've seen you do it many times, as i have myself.
 
Tranona said:
The OP specifically asked about what brands he should look at. Not one mention of changing type, but specifically said he is doing a straight replacement. I would guess he has ignored all those who have made no attempt to advise on that question but have told him he is doing it all wrong.
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This is a forum. It's not a private conversation with the OP. Lots of people look for information. For some reason you feel the need to suppress information. I never suggested the OP should install lithium. I simply pointed out the benefit for others of the dramatic weight/space saving if you were to go the lithium route.
 
geem said:
This is a forum. It's not a private conversation with the OP. Lots of people look for information. For some reason you feel the need to suppress information. I never suggested the OP should install lithium. I simply pointed out the benefit for others of the dramatic weight/space saving if you were to go the lithium route.
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I don't disagree but what you posted is a well known fact but unrelated to the OPs question so not relevant to the thread. I am sure if he wanted advice on the pros and cons of changing to lithium he would have asked - although if he did a search on the subject he would find that it has been done to death.

In reality the vast majority of UK coastal cruisers are unlikely to change to lithium as the properties provide little benefit from them. The OP has just bought the boat 9previous threads) mid 30s AWB 15+ years old. Previous owners presumably were happy with their batteries which are typical OE fit and no doubt he will be fine with his replacements for the next 10 years or so.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Did Geem tell him he was doing it wrong ?

Anyway, it's perfectly normal and often useful to suggest alternatives. I've seen you do it many times, as i have myself.
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In this case there is no need to offer alternatives because he is clear what he wants to do which is much the same as what most would do in his situation.

As for doing it "wrong" why post about the supposed superiority of alternative when that has not been asked for?
 
shanemax said:
I have always found if you keep batteries trickle charged they seem to go on forever. I have a spare emergency battery on board, never used, but being trickle charged by a 5 watt stand alone solar panel. It has been like that for years and every time I test it for CCAs and voltage and resistance it comes out perfect. It does not need a charge controller because of the small 5 watts solar panel.
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I have one of these small self contained solar panels about the size of a computer tablet built in controller that keeps the motorhome start battery topped up when idle, great.
 
Tranona said:
The OP specifically asked about what brands he should look at. Not one mention of changing type, but specifically said he is doing a straight replacement. I would guess he has ignored all those who have made no attempt to advise on that question but have told him he is doing it all wrong.
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you've nailed it with that reply, I did ask for a brand AGM of about 200ah but it is interesting to see how others interpret this. Still it will 180 * 2 AGM and a victron monitoring system.
 
Tranona said:
In this case there is no need to offer alternatives because he is clear what he wants to do which is much the same as what most would do in his situation.

As for doing it "wrong" why post about the supposed superiority of alternative when that has not been asked for?
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When were you appointed super moderator, with a remit to tell people what they can and cannot post ?
 
Tranona said:
I don't disagree but what you posted is a well known fact but unrelated to the OPs question so not relevant to the thread. I am sure if he wanted advice on the pros and cons of changing to lithium he would have asked - although if he did a search on the subject he would find that it has been done to death.

In reality the vast majority of UK coastal cruisers are unlikely to change to lithium as the properties provide little benefit from them. The OP has just bought the boat 9previous threads) mid 30s AWB 15+ years old. Previous owners presumably were happy with their batteries which are typical OE fit and no doubt he will be fine with his replacements for the next 10 years or so.
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Even UK coastal sailors would gain significant benefit from lithium. No voltage sag for your electronics. A common problem with lead batteries. Small cruisers can pack more Ah in to a smaller space. Long life. 20% batter charge acceptance from solar. I could go on. You seemed to have adopted the chief ludite position on lithium for YBW. You have no experience of the tech yet you are happy to preach as if you are the guru of everything to do with batteries
 
In 2020 I bought 2 No Leoch AGM batteries 90AH deep cycle. £141-00 each delivered-The manufacturer said that I could drain them well below 50% but I never did
I was surprised how quick they ran down & never ran anything more than nav electrics, nav lights, Internal lights & autopilot. I turned the cool box off unless running the engine. After they were out of warranty I sent them back & to be fair to the manufacturer they did change them after a 7 day test. They paid all carriage costs. I am still not entirely happy with them.
In the winter I disconnect them & charge up if needed.(Victron charger) My health stops me using them to see if they really do give the full output one might expect but I would not recommend them
I had a Red Flash starter battery- That failed just out of warranty & I am not convinced that the current one is much good either so I carry a jump start unit.
 
geem said:
The same overall weight as my two 560Ah lithium batteries but we have a usable 900Ah instead of your usable 180Ah. 5 times the stored capacity. Just saying 😃
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I see my lead acid batteries as very good ballast. Small items adding stability. You only need ballast when things start to get ify. I am not interest in achieving an extra quarter of a knot but want the boat to be stable in the worst weather. For every two kilos you remove from below the waterline you should remove 1 kilo above the waterline.
 
shanemax said:
I see my lead acid batteries as very good ballast. Small items adding stability. You only need ballast when things start to get ify. I am not interest in achieving an extra quarter of a knot but want the boat to be stable in the worst weather. For every two kilos you remove from below the waterline you should remove 1 kilo above the waterline.
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That depends very much on the boat and does not apply to all boats
 
Daydream believer said:
In 2020 I bought 2 No Leoch AGM batteries 90AH deep cycle. £141-00 each delivered-The manufacturer said that I could drain them well below 50% but I never did
I was surprised how quick they ran down & never ran anything more than nav electrics, nav lights, Internal lights & autopilot. I turned the cool box off unless running the engine. After they were out of warranty I sent them back & to be fair to the manufacturer they did change them after a 7 day test. They paid all carriage costs. I am still not entirely happy with them.
In the winter I disconnect them & charge up if needed.(Victron charger) My health stops me using them to see if they really do give the full output one might expect but I would not recommend them
I had a Red Flash starter battery- That failed just out of warranty & I am not convinced that the current one is much good either so I carry a jump start unit.
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The two Varta 95ah batteries that were on the boat when I bought it, and I thought then were probably on their last legs, seemed to have lasted impressively long through, for various reasons, quite a lot of abuse/neglect. The domestic one has died (maybe not surprising, given the circumstances), but the other is still starting the engine fine at perhaps 10 years old.

In the meantime, the two Numax batteries - same dimensions as the Vartas but 105ah - I subsequently bought, one second-hand but newish from a forumite, the other brand new, have both since died (again in part due to circumstantial abuse/neglect).

Based on my admittedly limited and rather non-standard use experience, I have the impression that the Vartas, though more expensive than the Numax and having about 10% less 'brochure' ah capacity for the same physical size, seem to be better in terms of longevity and surviving poor treatment. I am minded to buy a couple of the Varta AGM batteries of the same dimensions and ah capacity. I note these are claimed to be better at coping with repeated discharges, and that though pricey (and money is very tight for me), these have a 4 year guarantee instead of the 2 years on the Varta standard lead acid versions.
 
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