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Sailuke · 28-06-2016, 20:01

I have two salty, dusty and worn out starting batteries on my catalina 27 id like to replace. I plan to sta on a budget. I was thinking of keeping a starting battery for the engine and getting two 6V golf cart batteries and parallel them. I'm hesitant to just go into a marine store and buy a marine deep cycle battery because of how difficult it is to find a true deep cycle battery. What brand of deep cycle batteries should i trust? West marine? lifeline? Duracell?

DeepFrz · 28-06-2016, 21:06

This article might help you decide.
What Is A "Deep Cycle" Battery? Photo Gallery by Compass Marine How To at pbase.com

Omatako · 28-06-2016, 21:51

Firstly, if you're contemplating 6v golf cart batteries, keep in mind they are flooded cell and need some care. A sealed 12v may be a better choice. If you are OK with the maintenance:

- it's hard to beat Trojan T105 for stored energy and durability.

- recommend you get them from a golf cart vendor not a marine store. If you have friends or family that are members of a golf club (or maybe you are), they sometimes enjoy additional discounts as well (at least they do where I live).

msponer · 28-06-2016, 23:50

I'm a big fan of Trojan 6 volt batteries. I've found them very durable and resilient to abuse. If you feel you'll be at all lazy about checking their water level, Water Miser caps are great for giving you a lot more time before it's necessary.

smac999 · 29-06-2016, 00:53

golf cart batteries are a size, and are available in flooded, agm, and gel...

and are run in series not parallel.

having one cranking battery, and 2 golf carts would be a good upgrade.

all the golf carts are deep cycle.

the 12v I would get in starting or dual purpose.

do you currently have a 1-2-all switch? and switch back and forth to start engine off one, run on both, and anchor on the other?

SSgtPitt · 29-06-2016, 05:01

Just installed 4 - Trojan T125's after an exhaustive search on the best battery. Nearly everything I read puts the Trojan brand as the very best.
I don't need a starting battery anymore, i still have one, just don't need it.

MVNoPlans · 29-06-2016, 07:25

I have purchased my 6 volts at Costco. They are branded as Interstate and they are about $80 each. It is hard to go wrong at that price point.

**a64pilot** · 29-06-2016, 07:32

You said a budget, that leaves Costco and or Sam's Club 6V golf cart batteries, there is simply no other way to get that many amps, for so few $, or if there is, I haven't found it.
Secondly, there is no reason I can think of that a Deep Cycle bank shouldn't be used as a starting bank, none. However we all know that "starting" batteries if deep cycled will die early, but not the reverse.

In other words, if budget is an issue and you have the space for 6V deep cycle golf cart batteries, I can't come up with a reason why any other battery should be used?

They are too tall to fit in my boat, so I was forced to either do major reconstruction or go with another type of battery, but I wish I had golf cart batteries

bvander · 29-06-2016, 07:37

ditto on the Trojan 105s, great battery, solid performance.
We went to a battery distributor and found them at $109 each.

Olddave · 29-06-2016, 08:05

Loving this thread. I just bought two T105's. Upgrading most systems on our old S&S34.

wrwakefield · 29-06-2016, 08:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailuke

I have two salty, dusty and worn out starting batteries on my catalina 27 id like to replace. I plan to sta on a budget. I was thinking of keeping a starting battery for the engine and getting two 6V golf cart batteries and parallel them. I'm hesitant to just go into a marine store and buy a marine deep cycle battery because of how difficult it is to find a true deep cycle battery. What brand of deep cycle batteries should i trust? West marine? lifeline? Duracell?

Sailuke,

We have also had good results using Trojan batteries on land and sea. [We have a T-105 house bank [12VDC] on the boat...]

We find the price point of flooded lead acid [FLA] batteries attractive. Our house bank is located in an externally vented, sealed locker against the hull, with lots of heavy items stowed on the secured locker top. Therefore we installed a remote watering system. Wonderful.

Here is our page about our battery replacement project if you are interested in more details and links.

Best wishes with your project.

Cheers!

Bill

SV Liberty · 29-06-2016, 08:27

I'm actually a little down on the T105. I installed four of them in 2005 while cruising in Mexico, and ended up replacing them in 2007 (also upgrading to six instead of four in the house bank) before going out on a long-term cruise. After about three years, two of the six batteries had crapped out; a bad cell in each. Then I switched to 6 V golf cart batteries from Sam's, and a much lower cost and with equal performance and longevity. I probably need to replace my six house bank batteries again (installed in 2011), but at the Sam's Club cost that's a much more palatable decision.

Dave22q · 29-06-2016, 09:31

I went through this a year ago. The main thing I recall is that are only 2 AGM manufacturers although the use many different names. Some Googling should clarify this for you.

Sailorman Ed · 29-06-2016, 09:35

Sailuke,
I spreadsheet everything and after a lot of research like other above, I bought Duracell branded 6V batteries from surprisingly, Batteries Plus. Lowest cost per amp-hour month. You also need some sort of combiner to control your start battery charging.
Ed