My batteries were all replaced with cranking batteries

[DavidJ]

In my absence my marina in Spain detected an overheating problem with my batteries. I told them to pull them out and replace. They were 6 years old.
Now that I’m here I realise that they have replaced all 5 with cranking batteries.
There is one on its own and four doing the leisure side and the other engine. (Maybe it’s 2 and 3 configuration ?)
Sealine originally put in all leisure batteries Which I’ve followed.
I only spend a few hours at anchor at a time drawing only fridge current.
Do I have anything to worry about other than the life of the cranking batteries if they fall below half charge while I use them for leisure.

 

[Portofino]

Your fridges will turn off below a certain V anyhow.So will not kill them .

The cranking batts should just be for that .ie not used in any way at all for any domestic stuff like fridges , lights , toilets , water pumps , windlass etc .

I mean the set .The ones designated for domestic will be fine

 

[BruceK]

Cranking batteries used for a low draw will not live up to the 100A/hr or whatever they are touted as. Draw 5 amp from them for a couple plus hours and they'll probably be down to 11 something Volts. Mind you modern batteries are proving more and more versatile and sometimes I wonder if the old rules are still valid.

 

[DavidJ]

Thanks chaps
I‘m reassured now.
Also I’m on KAD 43’s so no ECU’s to worry about on low voltage.
I’ll keep an eye on the saloon volt meter and check how it behaves at anchor.

 

[kashurst]

I have only ever used cranking batteries in all my boats - forget it.

 

[Hurricane]

I am in the process of changing from AGMs to cranking (as you put it) batteries.
All the batteries that were supplied by Princess were cranking batteries.
Over the years, I've tried cranking batteries, leisure batteries and AGMs.
They all seem to only last about 4 years except for the leisure batteries which were very cheap and barely lasted a season!!
So this time, I've gone for a well known Varta J2 battery which I have been able to get from a company in Barcelona for a very good price.
137 euros each (for 6) inc tax and delivery to Sant Carles
There was a cheaper alternative from the same supplier but I decided to go with Varta.

This time it is 6 batteries for the house set.
Interestingly, all the others are the same (4 for the engines start and one for the generator).
So, I will probably be using exactly the same battery for all the others as they come up for replacement.

So, I've really come "full circle" - I'm now fitting the same type of battery that was originally installed.
However, my solar panel installation will stay in place - that works well for long periods at anchor/away from the marina/shore supply.
Enables us to run the boat from the batteries with just a couple of hours generator in the morning and evenings.

I did give Lithium another consideration this time but the expense and all the other kit that needs to be replaced along with my ability to "kill" a set of batteries, I decided to stick to lead acid.
I now consider batteries as a "kind of" consumable.
Once yo get into that frame of mind it is much easier to swallow the bill.

 

[DavidJ]

I am in the process of changing from AGMs to cranking (as you put it) batteries.
All the batteries that were supplied by Princess were cranking batteries.
Over the years, I've tried cranking batteries, leisure batteries and AGMs.
They all seem to only last about 4 years except for the leisure batteries which were very cheap and barely lasted a season!!
So this time, I've gone for a well known Varta J2 battery which I have been able to get from a company in Barcelona for a very good price.
137 euros each (for 6) inc tax and delivery to Sant Carles
There was a cheaper alternative from the same supplier but I decided to go with Varta.

This time it is 6 batteries for the house set.
Interestingly, all the others are the same (4 for the engines start and one for the generator).
So, I will probably be using exactly the same battery for all the others as they come up for replacement.

So, I've really come "full circle" - I'm now fitting the same type of battery that was originally installed.
However, my solar panel installation will stay in place - that works well for long periods at anchor/away from the marina/shore supply.
Enables us to run the boat from the batteries with just a couple of hours generator in the morning and evenings.

I did give Lithium another consideration this time but the expense and all the other kit that needs to be replaced along with my ability to "kill" a set of batteries, I decided to stick to lead acid.
I now consider batteries as a "kind of" consumable.
Once yo get into that frame of mind it is much easier to swallow the bill.

You got a good battery deal
The purchasing was a bit out of my control but I have Varta I9’s (120Ah) and they we’re €168 +IVA each.
I notice Tanya do the same at £110 (€129) incl VAT + del
Just looked up your J2’s and Tanya price £130 (€152) incl VAT + del
I normally do this stuff myself but I notice they are 31 kg each so nice sometimes to not have the choice and to have someone else buy and fit them at no extra cost I notice.(well sort of!)
Can you forward your Barcelona company please…..useful in another 4 years time.

 

[Hurricane]

You got a good battery deal
The purchasing was a bit out of my control but I have Varta I9’s (120Ah) and they we’re €168 +IVA each.
I notice Tanya do the same at £110 (€129) incl VAT + del
Just looked up your J2’s and Tanya price £130 (€152) incl VAT + del
I normally do this stuff myself but I notice they are 31 kg each so nice sometimes to not have the choice and to have someone else buy and fit them at no extra cost I notice.(well sort of!)
Can you forward your Barcelona company please…..useful in another 4 years time.

I won't take the credit for finding these people - it was DJEFABS who also posts on this forum. He found them.
Here is a link to their web site
▷ Mejorbaterias | Baterias Online a domicilio ¡Aquí!
WARNING - the website is in Spanish - be advised that Google/Chrome Translate will translate the email addresses as well as the rest of the page.
It took me a while to realise why my emails weren't getting through.
Make sure that you use the correct Spanish spelling of their email address.
EDIT - this is the email address that I used clientes@mejorbaterias.com

A few of us have now used them - good service and speak good English so easy to deal with.
Good prices as well - especially if you are buying more than one battery.
And they shipped them directly to our marina.
I then got our marina office to arrange with the dock masters to put them in the boat's cockpit.
I've not fitted them yet but the delivery went to plan and they arrived last week.
I also fitted a camera in the cockpit so that I can see when deliveries have been made to the boat.
This was last week - the bag and box on the seat were delivered a couple of weeks ago by a friend who drove out.
We are flying out on Sunday.


Thanks also to Timbad for moving them off the teak yesterday.

 

[DavidJ]

I won't take the credit for finding these people - it was DJEFABS who also posts on this forum. He found them.
Here is a link to their web site
▷ Mejorbaterias | Baterias Online a domicilio ¡Aquí!
WARNING - the website is in Spanish - be advised that Google/Chrome Translate will translate the email addresses as well as the rest of the page.
It took me a while to realise why my emails weren't getting through.
Make sure that you use the correct Spanish spelling of their email address.
EDIT - this is the email address that I used clientes@mejorbaterias.com

A few of us have now used them - good service and speak good English so easy to deal with.
Good prices as well - especially if you are buying more than one battery.
And they shipped them directly to our marina.
I then got our marina office to arrange with the dock masters to put them in the boat's cockpit.
I've not fitted them yet but the delivery went to plan and they arrived last week.
I also fitted a camera in the cockpit so that I can see when deliveries have been made to the boat.
This was last week - the bag and box on the seat were delivered a couple of weeks ago by a friend who drove out.
We are flying out on Sunday.
View attachment 122846

Thanks also to Timbad for moving them off the teak yesterday.

Thanks for the contact
Have a good trip next week