Re: [Cal_Boats] replacing a battery
Chris, I've found that in my area (Southeastern New England) those
flooded-cell-Deep-Cycle type batteries are getting harder to find, and
last spring when I needed to replace mine, no one sold the size that I
had (DC-1). I found plenty of Group-27 size Deep-Cycle batteries (way too
big for my boat!) and a few Group-24 size (but they were more often than
not, actually "dual-purpose" aka cross between a deep-cycle and starting
battery). With my small boat where I only need battery to power VHF radio
and nav-lights, I got along quite well on a DC-1 size (about the same
size as a typical garden tractor starting battery, but the DC-1 is a
Deep-Cycle) and the local home and auto store where I worked for a while
had them for around $35. Well, the one that I bought in 2007 started
leaking last Winter in storage (kept in basement, had a timer-controlled
1-Amp charger to recharge it over the winter) and so I started looking
for a replacement... The one I had bought before was no longer sold and
my friend in the Automotive Dept. told me that no one wanted flooded-cell
batteries anymore, now that Gel-Cells and AGM batteries were around, so
they didn't have what I needed. I checked WEST Marine, BASS PRO SHOPS,
WAL-MART, if they had a DC-1 (or U-1) size Deep-Cycle battery... the
prices were all in the $100+ range. YIKES!
One day I happened to check out the Harbor Freight web-site (they had
recently opened a store about 8 miles from me) and I discovered that they
sold a 12V AGM deep-cycle battery i the small size that I wanted! Price
was around $89.00, OK...still more than I wanted to spend.... but a
little checking around and I discovered the Battery was on sale for
$69.00 and I was able to cut a coupon out of the weekly flyer in the
newspaper (general coupon flyer) that gave me 20% off. Price finally
ended up around $55.00 still more than I was hoping to spend.... but
about 1/2 what I was looking at elsewhere. AGM Batteries are virtually
leak-proof and better suited to a boat that heels over.
Harbor Freight sells these batteries mostly for use with electric fences
using a solar-panel to keep charged. On their web-site I checked out the
customer reviews and found at least one guy that used one to power a
trolling motor o na small, one-person bass boat, he claimed to be able to
run that small motor all day (off and on) using just one of these
batteries. Well, that sounded encouraging! I installed the battery last
June, used my VHF all summer (admittedly, about 95% for listening, very
little transmitting), and yet the Battery still show nearly a full charge
now as I put the boat away for the winter.
One downside to the AGM battery, it requires a different type of charger
(charges at a higher rate?), but with your solar-panel keeping it up all
summer..... it should work. If you need more amp-hours, 2 of these will
still not break the bank and will fit in a space barely bigger than a
Group 24 battery, definitely smaller than a G27. Of course the one BIG
factor is whether there is a Harbor Freight store near you......... if
not, the shipping may negate the price advantage.
A friend of mine does a lot of building system maintenance and suggested
trying a shop that sells batteries for emergency lighting systems (used
inside public buildings during a power failure or fire). I looked into
that, but didn't find what I was looking for. Still ,not a bad option.
Some small boat sailors use one of those "Jump-Start" units and take it
home to charge. I found them too expensive and more features than I need
(or can use!), the only "advantage" I suppose is that I could use it on
my boat during the summer and keep it in the trunk of my car in the
winter in case I got stuck with a low battery. It works for some people,
but wasn't going to fit my boating needs for power.
Finally, worth checking SEARS for another Die-Hard deep-cycle wet-cell.
That was what we used on NODROG (actually, one of those "dual-purpose"
group 24 batteries) and it worked OK to power VHF and occasional use of
the Nav-Lights (we rarely went out at night or in reduced visibility). We
did have a battery-charging setup on our outboard and that kept it up
pretty good.
Rod Johnson, "SUNBIRD"
1979 O'DAY DS II #10201
Was: Co-owner of "NODROG"
1970 CAL 21 #285
On Tue, 11 Nov 2014 16:33:07 -0500 "ccampbell cc… [at] lsnm.org
[Cal_Boats]" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> writes:
My other boat has a 12 V deep-discharge battery for lights and radio
service only. The outboard is yank-to-start. The current battery is a
standard wet-cell deep-discharge Sears Diehard. I brought it home for
winter storage and recharging. One of the cells is giving an anomalous
specific-gravity reading (liquid less dense; not fully charged). I
assume that it's because the battery is now 10 years old and has reached
the end of its service life.
So my question is, for lights-n-radio service, and darned little of that
usually, what's the most economical battery type? I'm assuming that a
standard flooded-cell deep-discharge type like I have now is it, but
maybe not. I have been using a small solar unit to offset
self-discharge on the current battery.
Chris Campbell
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