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Old 27-01-2013, 19:47   #1
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Batteries

So Dad is coming out this week to help me begin my electrical. He keeps telling me "you don't need marine batteries. Go out and buy two of the biggest car batteries you can afford and you will be just fine. He sailed his macgreggor 26 like this for years. I don't want to skimp on anything critical but at the same time, saving a hundred here or fifty there whenever I can sure helps. Is there a sound reason why I might want to spend the extra money on a marine battery?
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Old 27-01-2013, 19:52   #2
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Re: Batteries

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Originally Posted by Captain Grandpa View Post
So Dad is coming out this week to help me begin my electrical. He keeps telling me "you don't need marine batteries. Go out and buy two of the biggest car batteries you can afford and you will be just fine. He sailed his macgreggor 26 like this for years. I don't want to skimp on anything critical but at the same time, saving a hundred here or fifty there whenever I can sure helps. Is there a sound reason why I might want to spend the extra money on a marine battery?

You don't need marine batteries you need deep cycle batteries. They have thick plates designed to withstand repeated deep discharges. A car battery is designed to put out a lot of current and not be hardly discharged at all.

Do a search on the forum there's lots of explanations.
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Old 27-01-2013, 19:54   #3
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Re: Batteries

If you're on a budget, I would pick up a couple of golf cart batteries designed for deep cycling. You'll need to run them in series, but it isn't a big deal.
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Old 27-01-2013, 20:00   #4
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Re: Batteries

he's right, if, you are going to use your boat only occasionally, hardly ever overnighting, have a very limited electrical load. actually, just one cheap car battery will do. might not even need a battery at all.

if you're going cruising, he's still right. you don't need a 'marine' battery. what you need is a 'deep cycle' battery. otherwise you'll be replacing your battery bank every year as my neighbor did.
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Old 27-01-2013, 20:10   #5
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Re: Batteries

If all your doing is starting a diesel engine then a large lead acid truck style battery will work just fine ! but for a house battery system the above suggestions on the golf cart batterys are the way to go !! altho Ive in the past got such great prices on Cat batterys Ive run them almost for 15 yrs(not all the same batts lol) But the batterys available out there for golf carts have changed the way I think about my house battery banks!! only way to go !
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Old 27-01-2013, 20:12   #6
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Thank you
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Old 28-01-2013, 16:10   #7
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Re: Batteries

For the first 6 months I lived on my Grampian, I had no shore power. By judicious use of the electrical system and using the two kerosene lamps for lighting after dark, I could go about 5 weeks between recharges. My buddy used to take off for the weekend and I'd take his slip for the night. The main power draw was the nav lights but nowadays you can go with LEDs which are expensive but very power efficient. One battery was all I had at the time. Twas enough for light if I needed it, radio (tunes) and radio (comm). There wasn't anything else that needed juice.
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