CF Members Survey - Batteries Used Currently - 2019

[Seriously Slow]

AGM lifelines and very happy with them

[Exile]

Originally Posted by alamoana

Using ROLLS 4000 series FLA Deep Cycle batteries, 875 AH x 12 Volts, since September 2001, almost 18 years, on a mooring, alternator and genset charged for 16 years. Solar panels only the last 2 years. Maybe lower capacity than when new, but still working fine!

Wow! Impressive.

[senormechanico]

200 aH 12 volt LiFePo4 bank with 0.6kw solar on boat for everything.


700 aH 24 volt bank with 4kw solar grid tie in house.

[Marathon1150]

We use 2 Lifeline 4D AGM's (220 AH each) charged primarily using 400W of solar panels (4 units) plus an Air Breeze wind generator. We also have an Optima AGM (G31) starter battery that is kept topped up via a Xantrex echo charger from the house bank.

The house bank is about 2 years old and replaced identical batteries that lasted about 10 years. We do not normally draw the batteries down below 60% of their claimed AH capacity.

If I was doing this again, I would probably modify the battery compartment to contain a similar capacity of golf cart batteries. They are cheaper to replace and easier to move around but do require some maintenance which is not an unusual requirement on a sailboat.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by Pete7

This is the CF 2019 members survey to see who is using what battery technology.

The options are:

Sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries
Ordinary flooded lead acid (FLA) batteries (probably 12v)
Deep cycle flooded lead acid batteries (likely 6v or 2v batteries)
Absorbent Glass Matt (AGM) batteries
Gel batteries
Carbon Foam or carbon lead (Firefly type or similar technology)
Lithium type (incl LifePO4)

If you have a mix of batteries then please choose the dominant type. For example an AGM engine start battery and FLA house bank then choose FLA. If you have multiple mix house bank battery types, just choose one.

Note: lots of retailers like to put labels on ordinary batteries which say Deep cycle, extreme, heavy duty etc. You will need to be honest and decide if they truly are deep cycle that we would recognise on the forum, or is the label is just an advertising ploy. I decided to list my Trojan TMX as 'ordinary FLA' because they are not a patch on the T105 types by Trojan.

Pete

I replaced my 2x225 8D Gel House batteries this year after 15 years. My two Gel Start batteries (sizes 27 and U-1 to meet the diesel 700cca) are almost 9 and 8 years old respectively.

For charging at sea I have a Balmar 110V alternator, 4x140W (560W total) Kyocera solar panels with Blue Sky Energy Solar Boost charge controllers, and Blue Sea Systems Automatic Charging Relay (ACR). I use a Xantrex LinkPRO Battery Monitor and all applicable battery temperature sensors.

On a 2016 roundtrip Washington-Hawaii voyage I never had to start the diesel to charge the batteries.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[ericoh88]

4 x 225ah Trojan 8D Gel for house = 900 ah installed 2015


1 x Group 31 Seal Lead Acid for Starter Main engine and genset


2 x 100 w solar + Genset with 120 amp charger + alternator 100 amp balmar + Airex



Eric

[GordMay]

FWIW:
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino, for development of lithium-ion batteries.
The Nobel committee said the lithium-ion battery has its roots in the oil crisis in the 1970s, when Whittingham was working to develop methods aimed at leading to fossil fuel-free energy technologies.
Goodenough, who at 97 becomes the oldest winner of a Nobel Prize, doubled the lithium battery's potential in the following decade, and Yoshino eliminated pure lithium from the battery, making it much safer to use.
➥ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by GordMay

FWIW:
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino, for development of lithium-ion batteries.

Chemistry Nobel honours world-changing batteries
More ➥ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02965-y

[Centreboard2017]

Hi,
Can you help us? We have 5 Bosch T3 032 batteries 100 amps, for our house bank and the same one starter battery, making a total of 6.
We read that the starter battery needs to be a different sort of battery, and we have never heard of anyone else having Bosch batteries (lorry batteries?) on a boat before.
Any advice please on whether we should get a different set? Anyone ever used these before and if so how were they?

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Centreboard2017

Hi,
Can you help us? We have 5 Bosch T3 032 batteries 100 amps, for our house bank and the same one starter battery, making a total of 6.
We read that the starter battery needs to be a different sort of battery, and we have never heard of anyone else having Bosch batteries (lorry batteries?) on a boat before.
Any advice please on whether we should get a different set? Anyone ever used these before and if so how were they?

Per the Bosch site these are already starter batteries so you should have no problem starting your engine with the house bank.
https://www.bosch-automotive-catalog...uct/0092T30320

On the other hand they are starter batteries not deep cycle and I would expect them to die earlier than deep cycle batteries when used as a house bank. How much earlier I'm not even going to guess.

If at some time in the future you replace them with deep cycle batteries as long as to you have them all in a single large house bank it should be no problem using the house bank to start. If you had 1 or 2 deep cycle batteries in the bank it might be a problem. 5 in the bank should have no problem unless you have waited way too long to start the engine

Having the house bank be your only starting source might seem like putting all of your eggs in 1 basket and you would be right If you wanted to avoid the complication of having a separate starter battery with attendant charging gear then maybe get one those Lion starter batteries that you can get at Costco for $60.
https://www.costco.com/Lithium-Jump-...100383979.html

[rgleason]

@Centreboard2017
This thread is supposed to be a "SURVEY" thread. Not intended for discussion.
Start your own thread please.


Hi Adelie

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by rgleason

@Centreboard2017
This thread is supposed to be a "SURVEY" thread. Not intended for discussion.
Start your own thread please.


Hi Adelie

just a bit touchy today eh ?
He stated what he had and then asked for opinions on his system

[moseriw]

@Centreboard2017
But: I had a "Starter battery" house bank of 3x225Ah. I am not sure if it was the problem of the wron battery type or wrog solar charging BUT in fact all 3 house batteries were gone within 4 years. Now I have 4 T-125 Trojan instead.