New Battery

It would have been easy to pick up a new series 24 deep cycle battery at O'Reilly's for a very competitive price, under $90, but I was thinking for a long time of finding something that doesn't weigh as much as a five HP outboard motor (over 50 lbs) now that LED lights are available that use only a fraction of the power that incandescent bulbs use, One marine supplier mentioned "Series 26" (the guys on Venice Blvd, Venice, CA) as an alternative. I think their price was about $86.00 This is what I found on Amazon. It puts out 36 amp hours (vs. 80 AH) and weighs less than half as much, something over 23 pounds. Not only that, it's both sealed and an absorbed glass mat, and maintenance free. Since I have no need to start a motor, (tho it certainly could) it should be all I'll need. It's called a deep cycle solar battery, and can be used for scooters and motorized wheel chairs. And I think it was about $61 including shipping (free) and sales tax (none). https://www.amazon.com/DEEPCYCLE-SOLAR-ENERGY-STORAGE-BATTERY/dp/B008D5YG3G/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KJMKDMSC1WPHKDBQ200F BTW, I've been using one of those battery conditioners originally featured in Pop Sci, back in the 70's, on my then new Series 24, and I think I got about 12 years out of the battery. And I think the battery would still be OK except for me letting the electrolyte boil away to nearly nothing several times by not checking on it periodically. The conditioner I have has the disadvantage of using the battery's own power to spark the battery, so it means if you don't keep the battery on a charger it'll speed up the total discharge of your battery. Yuck.

On 7/27/2016 9:56 PM, Gerald Sobel so… [at] yahoo.com [Cal_Boats] wrote: > > > It would have been easy to pick up a new series 24 deep cycle battery > at O'Reilly's for a very competitive price, under $90, but I was > thinking for a long time of finding something that doesn't weigh as > much as a five HP outboard motor (over 50 lbs) now that LED lights are > available that use only a fraction of the power that incandescent > bulbs use, > One marine supplier mentioned "Series 26" (the guys on Venice Blvd, > Venice, CA) as an alternative. I think their price was about $86.00 > This is what I found on Amazon. It puts out 36 amp hours (vs. 80 AH) > and weighs less than half as much, something over 23 pounds. Not only > that, it's both sealed and an absorbed glass mat, and maintenance > free. Since I have no need to start a motor, (tho it certainly could) > it should be all I'll need. It's called a deep cycle solar battery, > and can be used for scooters and motorized wheel chairs. And I think > it was about $61 including shipping (free) and sales tax (none). > https://www.amazon.com/DEEPCYCLE-SOLAR-ENERGY-STORAGE-BATTERY/dp/B008D5YG3G/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KJMKDMSC1WPHKDBQ200F > BTW, I've been using one of those battery conditioners originally > featured in Pop Sci, back in the 70's, on my then new Series 24, and > I think I got about 12 years out of the battery. And I think the > battery would still be OK except for me letting the electrolyte boil > away to nearly nothing several times by not checking on it > periodically. The conditioner I have has the disadvantage of using the > battery's own power to spark the battery, so it means if you don't > keep the battery on a charger it'll speed up the total discharge of > your battery. Yuck. You've got the right idea, seems to me. I've never had a battery on the Cal 20 but recently got a used garden tractor-style battery that my West Marine charger revived via the "recondition" cycle. It would be nice to have the option of night sailing with actual running lights. On my other boat, I have used a small solar charger that is sold as a "battery maintainer." That is, it doesn't charge up a discharged battery, but it charges enough to offset self-discharge. I'd do the same on the Cal 20, with the advantage that the battery is smaller. The other boat has a standard deep-cycle wet cell battery because it has running lights, VHF radio, and an AM/FM radio. I bought the West Marine smart charger at the same time as I bought the newest battery, on the theory that my haphazard charging procedures (either too much or too little) were killing the battery. I'd like to switch to LED lighting but that boat has cool old bronze running light fixtures that will be picky to fit. None of the light suppliers has been willing to share a dud bulb so I could verify fit. People with refrigeration, big engines, and lots of electronic navigation devices need lots of battery power. My boats don't, and as we move to low-wattage lighting and other devices, they will need less. Keep us posted on your experience. Chris Campbell > > >

How about a simple motorcycle battery? Keep it charged with one of those small solar panels from Harbor Freight. Just an idea Sea Scouts Los Angeles - 7 Cal 20s, Cal 25, Cal 30