6vdc vs 12vdc - Round 6?

[Not Sure]

Originally Posted by unbusted67

I just got a quote from a local guy in Pittsburgh who says he can get them for $150 each. That is substantially less that the $230 as advertised on line. Would you characterize these batteries as exotic?

'Exotic' can be anything not readily available at the place where you intend to be. Which is probably what makes T-105's the 'industry standard'.

[fastco]

Hmmm, exotic?? The Trojan T-1275's are becoming the industry standard for golf cart batteries. The were designed for use in the Club Car golf carts, but now Yamaha uses them on all their new carts. Yes they are 12 volt, but I don't think they are exotic, since all of the Trojan dealers and golf cart dealers have them in stock. I can get them from 5 dealers here in Palm Beach alone, I was just trying to find the best price on them.

[sobraon]

G'day Guys,

Reading this thread makes us very jealous. Our house bank is 6 x T-105's and last week we had one of them drop a cell so it had to be replaced.
We are cruising the Whitsundays and the Barrier Reef and had to go to Able Point Marina to get the new battery. Airley Marine Electrics quoted $270. This in Australia is not a bad price. The shock was that when we got the bill we were charged $280 + $103.50 to deliver and load test the other batteries. A grand total of $383.50 for 1 Trojan T-105 and 5mins work !!!!!!!!! Good work if you can get it!

Fair Winds

Garry and Wendy
SV 'Spirit of Sobraon'

www.sobraon.travel.talkspot.com

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by sobraon

G'day Guys,

Reading this thread makes us very jealous. Our house bank is 6 x T-105's and last week we had one of them drop a cell so it had to be replaced.
We are cruising the Whitsundays and the Barrier Reef and had to go to Able Point Marina to get the new battery. Airley Marine Electrics quoted $270. This in Australia is not a bad price. The shock was that when we got the bill we were charged $280 + $103.50 to deliver and load test the other batteries. A grand total of $383.50 for 1 Trojan T-105 and 5mins work !!!!!!!!! Good work if you can get it!

Fair Winds

Garry and Wendy
SV 'Spirit of Sobraon'

www.sobraon.travel.talkspot.com

ouch, what would that be in US$$?

[bobfnbw]

Well, I would think that it would be almost impossible to figure out what battery might be available in say, costa rica, peru, or the galapagos. So buying a set of batteries with that in mind is kind of difficult, no?
I agree that batteries go bad, but if the bank is near the end of its life, say 5 years for agm or gell, 8 years for wet, just replace the entire bank with what is available. If it is less than 3 years get it replaced under warrenty, if you bought a good battery.
You are not supposed to mix batteries ages.
If I had one battery go bad, I would just remove that battery an go with a reduced bank till it was time to replace the entire thing.

Bob

[David M]

Originally Posted by fastco

Hmmm, exotic?? The Trojan T-1275's are becoming the industry standard for golf cart batteries. The were designed for use in the Club Car golf carts, but now Yamaha uses them on all their new carts. Yes they are 12 volt, but I don't think they are exotic, since all of the Trojan dealers and golf cart dealers have them in stock. I can get them from 5 dealers here in Palm Beach alone, I was just trying to find the best price on them.

What I meant by exotic is something that is relatively rare in other parts of the world, not necessarily rare here. Or a battery that is something other than a lead-acid battery. The point is that if it is a big PITA to get in a remote, relatively primitive place, it may not be worth having it aboard your vessel even if it is more efficient or holds more power.

[dergon]

I'm in Cleveland.....saving would be worth the drive to Pit...where?

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by dergon

I'm in Cleveland.....saving would be worth the drive to Pit...where?

I'll get back to you on that.

[bobfnbw]

Originally Posted by David M

What I meant by exotic is something that is relatively rare in other parts of the world, not necessarily rare here. Or a battery that is something other than a lead-acid battery. The point is that if it is a big PITA to get in a remote, relatively primitive place, it may not be worth having it aboard your vessel even if it is more efficient or holds more power.

David, I see you point, But......

When I start my retirement cruise, I will replace all my batteries with the best available at the time in the bank size I need, + a little extra. I would expect that they would last for 4-8 years depending on type, but by the n (11 years away) who knows what we will be using.. and I will anticipate replacing the bank around that time. If a cell goes bad, or two, I would remove it from the bank, and operate at a reduced size until I could replace the entire bank.
Again, it is said, that one should not use mixed batteries, and that includes when made, so putting a trojan t105 made 2009 into a bank that has 6 year old trojan t105's is not the best way to go, as I understand it.
Please correct me if I am wrong... always wanting to learn more...

Getting the best batteries available, means to me that they will last longer, perform better and I will be much happier that with something universally available, just because I might have to change one out in Patagonia.

[Not Sure]

Originally Posted by bobfnbw

David, I see you point, But......

When I start my retirement cruise, I will replace all my batteries with the best available at the time in the bank size I need, + a little extra. I would expect that they would last for 4-8 years depending on type, but by the n (11 years away) who knows what we will be using.. and I will anticipate replacing the bank around that time. If a cell goes bad, or two, I would remove it from the bank, and operate at a reduced size until I could replace the entire bank.
Again, it is said, that one should not use mixed batteries, and that includes when made, so putting a trojan t105 made 2009 into a bank that has 6 year old trojan t105's is not the best way to go, as I understand it.
Please correct me if I am wrong... always wanting to learn more...

Getting the best batteries available, means to me that they will last longer, perform better and I will be much happier that with something universally available, just because I might have to change one out in Patagonia.

When you add a new battery to an old battery bank the old batteries drag the new battery down to their capacity level. Whether or not that is a 'good' thing depends on how much you need the capacity that was lost by the bad battery. Since the usable capacity of a battery bank is ideally only 20%-50% of total bank capacity, not replacing a bad battery with new may mean a much more severe reduction in capacity than would occur by adding the new battery to the old battery bank.
It seems prudent, again, to go with a battery type/style that is easily replaceable and readily available, rather than purchasing all new batteries for 1 failed cell, or voluntarily reducing the battery bank capacity by pulling the bad battery and not replacing it.

[FrankZ]

Originally Posted by Not Sure

When you add a new battery to an old battery bank the old batteries drag the new battery down to their capacity level. Whether or not that is a 'good' thing depends on how much you need the capacity that was lost by the bad battery. Since the usable capacity of a battery bank is ideally only 20%-50% of total bank capacity, not replacing a bad battery with new may mean a much more severe reduction in capacity than would occur by adding the new battery to the old battery bank.
It seems prudent, again, to go with a battery type/style that is easily replaceable and readily available, rather than purchasing all new batteries for 1 failed cell, or voluntarily reducing the battery bank capacity by pulling the bad battery and not replacing it.

Old batteries may not just simply drag down a new battery, they may also ruin a perfectly good new battery.

[Stillraining]

I asked this question in another thread I started but since know one is responding I will bring it up here and ask the mods to just delete the other one...Thanks

How many of you cruisers carry an extra battery while cruising just for these scenario's ?....( bad cell , wont be easy to find replacement )

FWIW I always put on the ground ( water ) experience over what a manufacture tells me...i.e. I have mixed ages of batteries for 30 years with no apparent negative outcomes..I always seem to get 4 to 7 years out of my batteries no matter how they are miss matched by date...I see no reason to trash 3 batteries because a cell failed in one or to limp along under reduced capacity till yet another fails possibly years down the road.
Call me cheap I don't care but it works for me..and seems a bunch of hogwash science from intelligent engineers with little real world ramifications...in my experience so I have found it in this case anyway in the abusive environment of heavy construction which no marine battery is ever subjected to...Not to take anything away from said engineers but some things just work better then one is told they will..that is all I'm suggesting.

If venting as per a calculation I remember Gordy doing some time ago..It seems that venting like James does to a larger volume area of the boat will eliminate the explosion risk to virtually zero..no?..also....is there really a health risk in a small amount of Hydrogen intake in the volume of say a 40'boat..?

Just asking honest questions.

[Mark Zarley]

Would not want to sleep on a bunk that had venting batteries underneath, or for that matter anywhere in a unvented (think cold weather and closing everything up to conserve heat) interior living space. One time aboard a 46 Nordhaven the owner showed me his stacked washer & dryer in a neat little closet . Bottom unit was starting to rust, asked why? The invertor batt bank was under them , and the gassing was eating them up!

[sobraon]

G'day Guys

$383.50 Aus is about $363.65 US. So far as the issue of the Replacing the one bad battery as oposed to replacing the entire bank. The cost to replace all six with delivery would have been close to $2000. The electrician at Airlie Beach was only too happy to recommend this.

We spoke to the electrician in Brisbane who installed the bank when we refitted Spirit of Sobraon. He didn't agree with the theory of replacing them all. The batteries are only 4 years old and have had little use. We have a 2.4 KW Genset and a Mastervolt Mass Combi that looks after them. He believes that our biggest mistake has been not using them to there capacity. He has said that we need to crank them at near capacity every week or so for about 5 min.. This he believes will desulfur the plates and equalise the bank better. There is the probability that the new battery will have a slightly reduced life. However I would prefer to replace all of the bank in about 3 - 4 years and sacrifice the new battery, than throw away 5 good batteries at the cost of about $1300 now. The other consideration is that we are on our way to the US via Asia - Japan - Alaska. With a rising Aus dollar and the cost of the T-105's in the US the bank only needs to last for 2 years and I can replace them then at a saving of about $1400.

Fair Winds

Garry and Wendy
SV 'Spirit of Sobraon

Spirit of Sobraon: Sobraon's Travel Log Welcome...

[Stillraining]

Oopp's my venting question went to the wrng thread sorry..but thanks for the input Mark.

Im going to move it Thanks.