Duracell House Bank not doing it...
- Thread starter jefndeb
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
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ranger58sb
Guru
Ah. Lost track of that. Edit my note accordingly. 
-Chris
-Chris
jefndeb
Guru
I have been watching the technical seminar videos that Jeff Cotes (from Pacific Yacht Systems) has done on Marine Batteries, and from what he is saying its OK to use an AGM battery as both a starting and house bank....of course its not ideal, in a perfect world, but it is considered an acceptable comprise if extensive re wiring would be necessary.
firehoser75
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Ranger42C,
I follow Rod as well. Good info. Yes, battery life is very dependent on how they are used. Deep discharges, partial recharges will lead to an earlier than normal death. Using marinas regularly will definitely help and even maybe eliminate these problems. It all depends on how you are set up and how you use your boat, and how often you are OK with having to replace batteries.
Jeff,
My comments related to AGM are not intended to say anything bad about them per se. Just that it is my understanding that they can be more sensitive to PSOC operation than flooded batteries (more expensive too). So if you operate that way regularly, you may be spending more money than you need to for little or any gain. For my house bank, I replaced AGM with flooded as I could not see any real benefit (for the way I use my bank) and could only see an added cost. I don't mind checking the electrolyte once per month and equalizing them 2 times per year.
If you have access issues for fluid checking, and/or mounting issues, then the added cost makes sense. Just an opinion, your call for your boat (obviously)
I follow Rod as well. Good info. Yes, battery life is very dependent on how they are used. Deep discharges, partial recharges will lead to an earlier than normal death. Using marinas regularly will definitely help and even maybe eliminate these problems. It all depends on how you are set up and how you use your boat, and how often you are OK with having to replace batteries.
Jeff,
My comments related to AGM are not intended to say anything bad about them per se. Just that it is my understanding that they can be more sensitive to PSOC operation than flooded batteries (more expensive too). So if you operate that way regularly, you may be spending more money than you need to for little or any gain. For my house bank, I replaced AGM with flooded as I could not see any real benefit (for the way I use my bank) and could only see an added cost. I don't mind checking the electrolyte once per month and equalizing them 2 times per year.
If you have access issues for fluid checking, and/or mounting issues, then the added cost makes sense. Just an opinion, your call for your boat (obviously)
FF
Guru
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The "dual purpose" batts are great for what they were created for.
Start a big outboard operate a 12v trolling motor and bait well pump for hours and still be able to get the outboard started.
Anything else there a poor choice.
Start a big outboard operate a 12v trolling motor and bait well pump for hours and still be able to get the outboard started.
Anything else there a poor choice.
FBoykin
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THANKS for the link! What a great resource. His website has lots of videos on how-to's, theories, installs, etc. Well worth the time to go online and check out his site!!
FBoykin
Senior Member
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I see you're in Savannah. I'm in Atlanta area and boat is in Ft. Myers. My flooded lead acid 8D batteries are about toast. So this is a very useful conversation for me to follow.
I checked some prices online for the Northstar model you mention. Have you decided where you're getting your pair from (& the cost)?
Thanks.
Nepidae
Senior Member
Duracell Batteries
I think 1st you should decide or review 2 things.
1st, how do you plan to use the boat in respect to battery use? 2 of any battery might not be enough so the type of battery isn't at this point important.
2nd, how are you going to charge your batts? Do you want to use the generator or are you going to charge the batts off of your engine(s)?
Thinking of your intended use of the boat is important. Are you going to be doing mostly cruising for long periods of time or weekend jaunts? Long runs or short?
Are you planning on anchoring out extensively or just occasionally?
Do you have the ability to put more batts on your boat, weight & size of a location is important?
With usage questions answered, you can plan on batts from there, but batts are only part of the equation. How you will charge them is a bigger part of the equation.
Providing power for a boat is a large investment (maybe I should say an expense) but to get your boat to a point where you can leave the dock, go for a couple of hours and stay a couple of days on the hook takes heavy deep cell batts.
I'm not going to answer your questions until I have more info, answers to the questions above and then I can offer some advice to help you accomplish what your goals are.
I will offer this. Go online and find an energy usage estimator sheet. This will help you see, other than a refrigerator, what power you use and what size batt bank you need to meet your needs.
We have 6-L16 AGM batts. We can stay on the hook, running our refrigerator the whole time, make coffee, cook dinner, basically live a normal life for 2+ days without recharging (we don't have a built-in generator).
Send me a private message and we can start a conversation.
Good luck in your pursuit.
I think 1st you should decide or review 2 things.
1st, how do you plan to use the boat in respect to battery use? 2 of any battery might not be enough so the type of battery isn't at this point important.
2nd, how are you going to charge your batts? Do you want to use the generator or are you going to charge the batts off of your engine(s)?
Thinking of your intended use of the boat is important. Are you going to be doing mostly cruising for long periods of time or weekend jaunts? Long runs or short?
Are you planning on anchoring out extensively or just occasionally?
Do you have the ability to put more batts on your boat, weight & size of a location is important?
With usage questions answered, you can plan on batts from there, but batts are only part of the equation. How you will charge them is a bigger part of the equation.
Providing power for a boat is a large investment (maybe I should say an expense) but to get your boat to a point where you can leave the dock, go for a couple of hours and stay a couple of days on the hook takes heavy deep cell batts.
I'm not going to answer your questions until I have more info, answers to the questions above and then I can offer some advice to help you accomplish what your goals are.
I will offer this. Go online and find an energy usage estimator sheet. This will help you see, other than a refrigerator, what power you use and what size batt bank you need to meet your needs.
We have 6-L16 AGM batts. We can stay on the hook, running our refrigerator the whole time, make coffee, cook dinner, basically live a normal life for 2+ days without recharging (we don't have a built-in generator).
Send me a private message and we can start a conversation.
Good luck in your pursuit.
jefndeb
Guru
Yes, I would like to do like you as far as having ample battery power,.. and have at least 500 AH as to allow 2 days at anchorage.
Yes, I would expect to run the genset in the morning to top off a little and if needed a little at sundown. if not necessary that would be a plus of course...
I think 225 AH a day is a conservative power budget.
I was considering 2 each Northstar 8D AGM at 250 AH, and 1800 CCA in support of the thrusters if needed.
Thanks for your comments and suggestions....
Yes, I would expect to run the genset in the morning to top off a little and if needed a little at sundown. if not necessary that would be a plus of course...
I think 225 AH a day is a conservative power budget.
I was considering 2 each Northstar 8D AGM at 250 AH, and 1800 CCA in support of the thrusters if needed.
Thanks for your comments and suggestions....
McDan
Veteran Member
Consider all aspects before changing batt types; you’ll need to change or modify your alternator(s) for the different charging voltage Gell Cells need, and your Battery Charger may or may not be re-configurable.
