View Single Post
Old 04-02-2015, 09:08 PM   #16
DavidM
Valued Technical Contributor
 
DavidM's Avatar
 
City: Litchfield, Ct
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 6,785
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Endless River View Post
David, what are your thoughts on batteries. wet or agm ....Brands? 6v or 12v...i would like to come up with 300-400ah
I am a firm believer in golf cart batteries. There is no question that a GC battery is deep cycle unlike some so called dual purpose batteries. If a battery doesn't have an amp hour rating marked on it, then it is not a deep cycle IMO. I have seen so called deep cycle Group 27 12V batteries fail in 3 months. They were not deep cycle.

GC batteries have more headroom over the plates for electrolyte and they have cell caps for checking specific gravity with a hydrometer. Check them every couple of months at first to develop a pattern, but you will probably find that you only have to add water every 6 months. No big deal.

Also they are the biggest bang for the buck. Two GC batteries from Sams Club cost about $100 each and you get 220 AH from them.

Trojan is the gold standard of GC batteries but they cost 25% more. Sams GC batteries are pretty good though. And there are no bad GC batteries. Anyone who made a bad GC battery would quickly be run out of business.

AGMs are ok for those that simply have to have them or they are installed in a location where checking and adding water is almost impossible. I haven't seen such a place on a boat though. Their one big advantage is that they can be charged at a higher rate than a flooded cell but I wouldn't push it beyond 33% of the AH rating.

David
DavidM is online now   Reply With Quote