Costco 6v Batteries

[Cheechako]

it's always hard to tell if more $ gets more product. I have been burnt many times making the assumption that a company who gained a great reputation when they started out, continued making a good product. What happens is the marketing and accounting dept's crunch numbers that lead to decisions to save a few cents on each item and then the quality goes away.... but the public doesnt know that! This could even apply to the term "golfcart battery". Originally the golfcart battery was meant to be charged at night and heavily drained all day.... a true deep, deep cycle situation. As such, the plates had to be really thick. Of course now day's, a manufacturer might have picked up on the fact that the consumer likes to use "golf cart" batteries in boats. so for all we know they are just labeling 6 volt batteries as GC batteries!

"...plus they are built better to withstand abuse and vibration."
I cant imagine a displacement boat battery having to absorb more vibration and jarring than a car or truck battery...

If one wants to compare batteries I would say weigh them. It's all a matter of how much lead is in the plates.....

[Maddog]

A quick update. Once I got my alternator issues fixed. My new battery banks performed perfectly on their first trip, another 3 days to Catalina. When I turned the key the engine started right up. While I was on the mooring, the cabin lights burned bight, refrig kept the food cold and the ice from melting. I will be purchasing a BlueSea VMS 422 to help me monitor them in the very new future.

For the type of cruising that I do, I'm liking my purchase. I'll let you know how they perform at the end of the season. Sometime around the holidays.

[kavw]

Life cycles and rate of discharge, cost per use etc...only assumes the batteries are always taken care of and never have a major accident.

I repowered my boat with 2 banks each made up with 4 Exide Commercial #31, so 8 in total that could be in a 'both' position, and the instrument bank as a 1 or 2 or both with the generator, so now 10 batteries, and 2 forward for the windlass, so 12 brand new exide 31C. two months later, boat almost sank and all the batteries shorted across the salt water. Only 2 survived charging and load testing.
Go for the cheap ones that seem good for now, you might sell the boat in 6 months, or sink in 2.