Replacement Batteries

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richardbrennan

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I think it is time to replace my batteries as they do not seem to be holding a charge very well. Currently I have two 110 A/H Lifeline AGM domestic batteries and one Lifeline 110 A/H AGM starting battery. They are almost exactly six years old and it does not seem to me that they have really warranted the much increased cost over normal lead acid equivalents.

I would therefore be grateful for advice on replacements, quality rather than price being the major consideration, and also where to buy them for reliability and at a competitive price.

Many Thanks
 
richardbrennan said:
I think it is time to replace my batteries as they do not seem to be holding a charge very well. Currently I have two 110 A/H Lifeline AGM domestic batteries and one Lifeline 110 A/H AGM starting battery. They are almost exactly six years old and it does not seem to me that they have really warranted the much increased cost over normal lead acid equivalents.

I would therefore be grateful for advice on replacements, quality rather than price being the major consideration, and also where to buy them for reliability and at a competitive price.

Many Thanks
Click to expand...

If you have had them for 6 years & if you have regularly run them down to 50% then i would have thought that they have done quite well
 
People say Trojan t105 6v batteries are good value. 225(?)ah deep discharge. Golf cart jobs and will take a lot of abuse. Couple that to a cheap starter battery?
 
Dear Daydream Believer

The batteries have usually been on constant charge from a smart charger and rarely run down to any degree as I tend to favour marinas for my overnight stops. The original lead/acid batteries lasted rather longer so given the added expense of AGM, they have seemed a rather poor buy.
 
I read an article from David(?) Sterling of Sterling chargers & what have you fame suggesting that the best value for money batteries were basic Lead acid jobs. All the clever stuff just isn't worth the extra cost when you work out the AH per year per £.

That Equation may change as Li-ion batteries become affordable, but IMHO, it's a brave man who goes for the high capital cost of Li-ion over lead acid at current prices unless huge capacity and light weight are important.

My needs aren't very sophisticated, but lead-acid leisure batteries work fine for me. I've killed a couple by forgetting to turn things off and running them down to 2-3v, but, stupidity apart, I expect 6-10 years of use from them. I had to replace my starter battery last year in spite of having treated it pretty well, but it had been on the boat for 8 years and was second hand when I got it.
 
I considered AGM & Trojan 6V & 12V and last time I compared batteries costs looked like this:

Lifeline 220Ah 6V x 2 £650 (£2.95/Ah)
Lifeline 220Ah 12V x 1 £580 (£2.63/Ah)
Lifeline 200Ah 12V x 1 £615 (£3.08/Ah)
Odyssey 214Ah 12V x 1 £515 (£2.41/Ah)
Trojan T105 225Ah 6V x 2 £220 (£0.98/Ah)

I dismissed Trojan 12V batteries on basis that Trojan tech. specs. gave them 50% expected life of the 6V range and they were actually more expensive.

I also dismissed AGMs because of cost vs. expected life. I didn't think that they would last any longer than T105s and cost was approx. 2.5 - 3 times greater. It was a greater financial risk buying AGMs because of the high cost if one battery failed. I could see little advantage for approx. 3 times the cost (T105 £0.98/Ah vs. Lifeline £2.6-£3.1/Ah).

It is important to stress that:
1) I don't mind spending time on battery maintenance
2) The battery box is well ventilated
3) I'd need to spend a lot of money to get uprated alternator & mains chargers in order to benefit from high AGM charge rates.

Others may have different requirements.
 
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richardbrennan said:
...The batteries have usually been on constant charge from a smart charger and rarely run down to any degree as I tend to favour marinas for my overnight stops. The original lead/acid batteries lasted rather longer so given the added expense of AGM, they have seemed a rather poor buy.
Click to expand...
If you didn't upgrade your charging to take advantage of the AGMs then you could have wasted your money. A 100 amp alternator and 100 amp shorepower charger would have made a big difference. Equalizing them could extend their life. Download the new 38 page Lifeline User manual.
 
Do a bit of research as a lot of the supposedly wet leisure batteries are just normal cranking batteries re labeled. There are less than a handful of true leisure battery makers, Banner, Trojan and Varta being three of them.

Do a search for the caravan club battery review. Actually, one of the boaty mags should do one as battery questions are always coming up on here.
 
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