Thread: Batteries
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Old 10-24-2017, 08:22 AM   #19
Maerin
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City: East Coast
Vessel Name: M/V Maerin (Sold)
Vessel Model: Solo 4303
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 886
I had a bank of L16-2Volt Lifelines in service for about 6 yrs. As another post pointed out, they require a LOWER charging voltage, and you must have a charging system that will maintain the correct voltages, and that includes an externally regulated alternator, and all the charging equipment should be temperature regulated as the AGM's do not do well with overcharging or with high ambients. Both together are very detrimental. Nor do they like chronic undercharging, as mine were, with extended time at anchor. The solution is solar, it will extend the life of any bank, especially AGM.

I replaced the Lifelines with Full Rivers, and am happy with them, I was a real Lifeline proponent, but now I'm not convinced they're worth the extra money, particularly if there's a chance they might be abused.

The dockside chatter about battery life measured in years is pure claptrap. So what if the guy two boats down "got 12 years outa my Penn's" ? It's purely anecdotal, and has NOTHING to do with the quality of the battery, and EVERYTHING to do with the SYSTEM and how the battery has been maintained. BATTERY LIFE is measured in cycles, and the DOD of each cyle has a direct impact on how many cycles the battery will yield before failure. Years in service is immaterial. Batteries deeply discharged with any regularity WILL fail prematurely. The SYSTEM is predicated on use: a boat that lives on a pier requires a completely different set of parameters than one that spends most of its time away from the cord.

My Lifelines would likely still be in service had I installed solar when the batteries were new. They would have been regularly floated, and not have been chronically undercharged. Had I installed the high amperage alternator that will fully charge them underway, they would have lasted longer. If a bullfrog had wings......

Point being, the batteries are but a part of the SYSTEM. If your system isn't suited to provide the battery the charging profile it needs, the battery life will be disappointing. So, before dumping any additional funds into a high end battery, do a critical assessment of your SYSYEM to see where it comes up short, and improve THAT.

Querying a list like this one or any other about battery brand longevity is simply a way to pass time. Spend it looking at the details of YOUR system, since that has an exponentially higher impact on battery life than the sticker on the battery case, or what brand of battery Joe Schmoe uses.
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