Golf Carts vs Deep Cycle Marine Batteries

[cburger]

I am getting ready to purchase batteries for my house bank. I am trying to figure out to use 6volt golf cart batteries wired in series for a 12 volt system or deep cycle wired in a bank. Would appreciate thoughts and opinions.

[djmarchand]

Here are some advantages for using golf cart batteries in your house bank:

1. They are true deep cycle batteries. No one slaps a sticker on a starting battery and calls it a deep cycle with a golf cart battery. If it is made to the GC-2 spec then it is a real deep cycle battery.

2. There is more room below the plates for sulfate to build up.

3. There is more headroom over the plate to allow for some electrolyte loss.

4. They are light enough for one mere mortal to move them in and out of the boat.

The only downside is having to check and add water. I typically top off the batteries twice each year, but check them about twice that often.

The gold standard of golf cart batteries is Trojan. But they are expensive. Interstate/Deka (or their other brands) are 25% cheaper. Most boaters get good service from the Interstate/Deka brands.

David

[cburger]

Originally Posted by djmarchand

Here are some advantages for using golf cart batteries in your house bank:

1. They are true deep cycle batteries. No one slaps a sticker on a starting battery and calls it a deep cycle with a golf cart battery. If it is made to the GC-2 spec then it is a real deep cycle battery.

2. There is more room below the plates for sulfate to build up.

3. There is more headroom over the plate to allow for some electrolyte loss.

4. They are light enough for one mere mortal to move them in and out of the boat.

The only downside is having to check and add water. I typically top off the batteries twice each year, but check them about twice that often.

The gold standard of golf cart batteries is Trojan. But they are expensive. Interstate/Deka (or their other brands) are 25% cheaper. Most boaters get good service from the Interstate/Deka brands.

David

Thanks, I was also under the impression that the Golf Cart type are rated for more service cycles than a comparable deep cycle marine?

[micheck]

I have some of the Costco 6V 225 AH Deep Cycle Golf Cart batteries ($90/) - so far so good

[sailorboy1]

Other than having to hook them up, far as I know there aren't any disadvantages to using the 6V batteries.

I replaced my 2 4D batteries last year with 4 6V. Spend less, they were a lot easier to install than it was to remove the 4Ds because of weight, they had more AH, they were cheaper.

Though they just barely fit under my sole with like 1/16" to spare.

[klubko]

We have our Trojans for 3 years now, we abused them a lot and they still serve us well. But be sure to top up more frequently then twice a year. In tropics, once a months seems to be the right period

[w32honu]

We just installed and wired up four new Trojans. 480 AH worth. So far so good. I think it will be more than adequate for our needs.

[Efraim]

Originally Posted by djmarchand

Here are some advantages for using golf cart batteries in your house bank:
...
4. They are light enough for one mere mortal to move them in and out of the boat.

David

Don't ignore this part. It's a lot easier to move a couple of 60 lbs batteries than one 120 lbs battery.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by w32honu

We just installed and wired up four new Trojans. 480 AH worth. So far so good. I think it will be more than adequate for our needs.

6v Golf Cart batteries?

[CSY Man]

Have used Golf Cart Batteries for years.
I prefer Dekas vs Trojans, but that is like Ford and Chevy, probably same thing.
Costco brand Golf Carts can be had for about $90.00 versus West Marine at $235.00 a piece.
They weigh about the same, 60 to 65 pounds (27 to 30 kgs) and you pay for the lead, almost the same..215 or so amp hours @ 6 volts.
Don't take 'em below 50%, or if you really want them to last long, cut that in half and use only 25% of the capacity.

A rough guide is 1000 cycles at 50%, the less you take 'em down the longer they last.

To stay with the above religion I installed LED lights down below, every one of them, also LED Anchor light and Tri-Color.
Left the regular nav lights with old fashioned bulbs because the engine is running with the nav lights. Tri-color only when you are sailing.

Solar panels will also save the batteries and extend their life. 75% is the goal, but sometimes I go down to 70%.
Highly recommended a Battery Monitor, it pays for itself over time:
Some folks get only 2 years on their batteries, with a Battery Monitor and the above panels/75% rule you can expect 5 to 7 years or more out of the Golf Cart Batteries. Spring for Rolls and shoot for 10 years or better.

Not a big deal for weekend warriors, but for full-time cruisers a good 12 volt system is the only way to go.

When I started with this sport I did not know much about all that and bought huge truck batteries for the boat and used them until the lights got dim, then I charged 'em up..Wrong and I paid for it.....

Do a deep cycle on a deep cycle battery and you do permanent damge to it although modern AC chargers can "equalize" the batteries and extend the life somehow, either way, get more batteries and use less of the capacity for a long and happy life.

If your daily load is 100 amp hours, and you have 4 Golf Cart Batteries, charge 'em every day to stay with the 75%, if you have panels, they will put 50 amps back in so you only need to run the engine every other day to stick with the 75%.

My load is about 60 Amp Hours and the panels put in about 55 to 60 and if the sun is shining every day I can sit for anchor every day and drink cold beer, but in reality there is cloudy days that only yield 10 Amp Hours and there is a 20% loss from the solar panels to the batteries and back out to the 12 Volt panel.
3 or 4 days without running the engine and keeping the 70% limit is about max.
Your milage may vary...

[mitiempo]

Golf cart batteries are one of the true bargains in the world. The golf industry is very large and they are hard on batteries, very hard. Golf carts are built to handle this and sailors win big because of it. Golf cart batteries are all I install these days on boats.

As posted Trojan is the silver standard - Rolls/Surrette gets gold but prices like it. The Duracell brand at Sam's are made by Deka/East Penn and are very good as well.

Here is some comparable cycle information from Trojan. The first is 6 volt, the second 12 volt. The T-105 has double or better the cycles of any 12 volt except 2 and more than any other 6 volt listed. They are all Trojan batteries.

[Knapweed]

Great stuff! This is what I come to this forum for. It's answered my question without even asking it.

[capthowes]

I have 4 6volt golf cart batteries that are a few years old and in good shape. I want to add more of the same to accommodate a new reefer system. Do I need to take any precautions so as not to mess with the existing batteries??

[embla]

I too need to replace domestic bank of 2 year old AGM batteries, but am concerned that lead acid wet cell batteries emmit dangerous gas while charging and they are situated under bed in aft cabin (Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45 ). Is this a real concern?

[sabray]

yes its a concern unless it is ventilated and the batteries are contained.