Battery Question

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Rick D

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The following battery is sold at WalMart. It implies it's a dual purpose but I am looking to buy two of them to replace my existing deep cycle house battery. Since they list it as good for starting, am I going to kill the new batteries using them as a house bank?

edit: Let me clarify what I mean by killing it... I don't intend to discharge beyond 45% at most. Is this the wrong type of battery for this level of discharge?

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EverStart batteries are named wrong-should be NeverStart.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Harlan

EverStart batteries are named wrong-should be NeverStart.

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I am more interested in it as a house than a starting battery... but I assume you mean in general, they are not good batteries.

I can look around a bit.

--Rick
 
OK, found one that appears to have better numbers and reviews:

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You should be just fine with the WalMart battery. There are only a few battery mfgr's around. This is a private label of one of them. I buy all my batteries from Sam's Club (div. of WalMart) and have had no problems. Be aware that they have a hefty 'core charge', so bring your old batteries with you.
 
45% repeatedly will shorten the life of almost any battery. I prefer AGM batteries myself but make sure you have a way of recharging them fully.
If you have the space 3 31 series batteries would probably keep you away from the 45% discharge level and extend the life of all the batteries.
I would never purchase a maintemnance free lead acid battery, if your going lead acid make sure you can replace the lost fluids from gassing.
Bill
 
We have used them as a house bank battery's and have gotten five plus years out of them. We have a good charger and never get below 50% charge.
 
What type of deep cycle battery do you have now?
In order to compare your existing battery to any other possible choices, one needs to know the amp hour rating of each comparable unit.
Compare the AH (amp hour rating) and you won't find out later on the water that you now have less capacity than you had with the deep cycle.
An old salt once told me that you are only buying lead by the pound. The heavier the battery the better and the less per pound the better.
I've stuck with his advice and usually just buy 6 volt golf carts at the cheapest per pound I can get. There are probably only 3 major battery manufactures left in business, so look for specifications when comparing.
I use 8 of them on the house side, discharge them to 50%, use a 3 stage inverter/charger and replace the batteries every 10 years. I need 8 because I don't have a generator. Hope this helps. Mike
 
quote:
Originally posted by Cpt Ron

We have used them as a house bank battery's and have gotten five plus years out of them. We have a good charger and never get below 50% charge.

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5 plus years is quite good for the cost. If the labor (accessibility) to replace is minimal it's hard to beat the price per year to operate. Mike
 
The Everstart Maxx largest size is 29 vs. the Autocraft is a group 31. If they are the same money (close)... since the Autocraft is listed as a true deep cycle, wouldn't that be the better buy?
 
A maintenance free wet cell battery means it's a throw away. If you ever seriously discharge the bank by mistake and have to recharge the battery will gas and loose fluid. You are unable to put fluid back into the battery. There are numerous technical articles in most of the major boating magazines by electronics specialists to back up my assertions. If I were shopping for new batteries or I should say when it's time price would play some role in the decision but it would not be the entire decision maker.
I'm on my 7th season with my Lifeline AGM series batteries. Because of many of the batteries positions in the boat I can only use AGM batteries. I have had my 2 house battery banks discharge by mistake down to almost zero, just last winter after Sandy this happened. I was able to carefully monitor them as I used battery equalization for 5 hours. They don't seem affected at all now that I brought them back to life. With most AGM batteries you aren't supposed to ever use the equalization mode on your charger but Lifeline's seem to respond to equalization. I have only equalized them twice in 7 seasons of heavy operation.
My advice would be to get the largest true dual use batteries you can, not maintenance free wet cells and make sure you have a 3 stage smart charger.
Bill
 
quote:
Originally posted by sugilbert

.... Be aware that they have a hefty 'core charge', so bring your old batteries with you.

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+1. However, they were very lenient with me. I did not want to mess up any wiring so I bought the batteries and paid the core charge. I installed them and brought the cores back for a refund about a week later with no problems. Their only insistence is your original receipt.
 
Buy the battery from Wally-World and exchange it for a brand new battery every 364 days.
 
quote:
Originally posted by L. Keith

Buy the battery from Wally-World and exchange it for a brand new battery every 364 days.

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Not my style.

--Rick
 
I've had good luck with the Interstate brand. I use the dual purpose starting & deep cycle ones. My boat has one battery on the port motor that only starts the port motor, and two on the stbd motor that start that motor and run all of the 12 volt stuff. That's the way Sea Ray set it up, and I never changed it.
Because of the dual purpose of the stbd batteries I use the starting/deep cycle batteries.
I was talking to the Interstate guy last year and he told me that there are only a couple of battery manufacturers left in the country and that those company's make everyone's batteries.
He told me that they make each battery to match a certain price point. I take that to mean that there is a difference in quality for batteries from the same manufacturer, but at different price levels. If Walmart wants to sell an $80 battery, they build an $80 battery for them. If another chain wants a $120 battery, they build a $120 battery for that chain.
I remember him telling me that he delivers batteries to one of the big box stores with that chains label on them. Not sure if it was Walmart, Costco, or BJ's, but it was something like that.
So paying a few bucks more might get you a better battery.
 
a question about killing batteries....... i have four 6-volt golf cart batteries that comprise my house system. two are connected to make a large 12v battery and the other two are connected as well, making two 12v batteries with lots of amp hours for the house system. an inverter/charger and one of the engine's alternators charges this house bank. the 2 other starting batteries are charged by another alternator and charger. that is the way the boat was set up when i purchased it used. i added two large solar panels to charge the batteries (one for the house system and one for the starting batteries) because i keep the boat on a mooring.

the house batteries weren't pulled for the winter and they burst, so i replaced them all in the spring. i now find that two of the house batteries (which are connected together) are dead. i took them to sears and they tested them and told me they won't hold more than 2 volts of charge. they are trojan t-105's and have always had the appropriate amount of distilled water in them, even now. so, what could have killed these batteries?
 
What do you have for a battery bank monitor? Do you know if your solar panels are able to fully charge your banks? If not, that's an issue. What sort of loads are on the batteries when you're away and the boat is on the mooring? Are they cycling down every night and back up each day?
 
Somethings wrong if 2 of 4 6-VDC Trojan batteries are basically trashed and the other 2 are good. Even in your split configuration it sounds like one of the solar chargers is either defective or something isn't wired correctly. If you are mostly on a mooring I would think when the boat is at rest/idle the solar panels would be the only source of charging. If so what size solar panels do you have and what type of solar controllers? What is the 24 hour amp draw off of each of the 2 series wired 6-VDC battery banks with the boat at rest?
Bill
 
quote:
Originally posted by JVM225

I've had good luck with the Interstate brand. I use the dual purpose starting & deep cycle ones. My boat has one battery on the port motor that only starts the port motor, and two on the stbd motor that start that motor and run all of the 12 volt stuff. That's the way Sea Ray set it up, and I never changed it.
Because of the dual purpose of the stbd batteries I use the starting/deep cycle batteries.
I was talking to the Interstate guy last year and he told me that there are only a couple of battery manufacturers left in the country and that those company's make everyone's batteries.
He told me that they make each battery to match a certain price point. I take that to mean that there is a difference in quality for batteries from the same manufacturer, but at different price levels. If Walmart wants to sell an $80 battery, they build an $80 battery for them. If another chain wants a $120 battery, they build a $120 battery for that chain.
I remember him telling me that he delivers batteries to one of the big box stores with that chains label on them. Not sure if it was Walmart, Costco, or BJ's, but it was something like that.
So paying a few bucks more might get you a better battery.

Click to expand...


It is frustrating trying to confirm who makes what batteries and wondering if batts from the same maker all are made to same quality level. I would like to think that batts from the same manufacturer but with different labels are built to the same quality level when they have the same AH, MCA, etc. specs.

Note, too, that Interstate is just a label and is not one of the actual batt manufacturers. They just buy and have labeled from others. I think the Interstate golf cart batts are made by US Battery. Not sure about the others.

I've had pretty good luck with Deka batteries. I think most of the SeaVolts at Worst Marine are Dekas, as are several at Napa now.
 
Johnson Controls is one of the big battery manufactures.
Bill
 
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