New batteries today, how long did yours last..?

[CSY Man]

Well it was time.

Got four 6 Volt Golf Cart type batteries and a 1000 cca type 24 starting battery today.

The House bank is almost 5 years old..They wern't holding charge as good as in the old days, and it took a long time to fully charge 'em on the last cruise.

(Also noticed the sides bulging a bit, seem to remember that being a sign of old age. No joke, talking about my old batteries here, uh, not authors torso:-))

Anybody else getting more than 5 years out of their Lead Acid House batteries..?

My starting battery was a sealed marine type just shy of 4 years since purchase..Did replace it too, just in case.

(a few years ago we got a brand new car on a 3 year lease...2 weeks before the lease was up, the battery went down.
A good indication of what a starting battery could do in a hot and humid climate after a few years, especially on a boat with less use and higer temps.)


Total price for the 5 DEKA batteries purchased today was $313.47 including taxes and disposal fees, etc.

Good deal I'd say.

So, without starting a poll, how long does yer house bank last...?

[Jon D]

Have Rolls 2 Volt cells totaling 840AHrs.

5 years old now working like new.

Cost to replace lots. Looking to get at least 5 more years out of them.

[GordMay]

Our (4) Trojan 'T-105's' (single house bank) were still going strong after 6 years hard usage (5 winters on the hook - many cycles), when we sold "Southbound".
The previouse Interstate '4D' only lasted 3 years, when paired /w a pair of older 'Group 27's' (separate house banks), under similar use .
I never replaced a 'Starting' battery, out of need.

Today (previous good experience was mid '90's), I'd probably (?) opt for AGM's.

[Pblais]

My previous setup was 3 banks (2 each bank) of Trojan T105's. They went about 6 years before they wouldn't hold a charge or crack over the engin any longer. Isuspect I waited too long to replace them too. So 5 years seems like a good round number assuming you care for them and properly regualte them.

Trouble was the Crusiar A/C was in the same settee as 4 of the batteries and the out gassing was eating at the aluminim coils. The other bank was under the electrical panel. I won't do flood batteries anymore. You really want good venting.

I've since switch to a single house bank of two Concorde Lifelines and a starting battery. I added a combiner and a Link 10 monitor. With the solart panel the bateries charge back fully when I come back to the dock. All it took was some adjustments on the regulators and the new bank is great.

[CSY Man]

Yeah, I was hoping to get 6 years out of my batteries, and I could probably have coached them a bit longer, but that would be a head-ace, having to run the engine every day to charge 'em instead of every 3 or 4 days.

Had Rolls batteries before, the lasted about 8 years, but were so expesive that I did not consider putting 'em in 5 years ago, or now.

$220.00 for each Rolls Golf cart battery versus $54.00 for the Dekas..

Without battery maintenance being a full time carreer, 5 years is about the average. You always find someone with 10 year old batteries that are working fine, and I have had batteries fail after only 2 years in normal service. As for the Rolls batteries, I have not used them, but I have used a number of different brands, including the interstates, I hav found that the cost of the batteries has made little difference in the life span. Charge cycles, types, and general maintenance has been far more of a factor.

[CSY Man]

Yeah, I could not equalize the house bank as my AC charger does not have that function.

Could have gotten some more life that way...

For me, and probably for most people, batteries are one of the final purchases on the list. If you buy a boat, and the batteries are working. you will probably not change them until it is time to take off for an extended cruise. It seems that most people cruise for either a month, 1 year, or 5 years. (Observation not scientific survey). If the batteries are good, but you are leaving for 5 years, new batteries are in order. If you are leaving for only a month, well, if the batteries are an unknown, change them. Much better now, then trying to find batteries in Mexico, haul them out in the dinghy, get them onto the boat, and then try to reverse the process with the old ones. If you have been out there for 5 years, and are wondering if it is time to change the batteries, are you in Hong Kong?, or are you in Mag Bay Mexico? And where are you headed next? If I was in California with 5 year old batteries, and headed for Baja, I would change them.

[GordMay]

KAI NUI proffers some good solid “common” sense advise. Simple & to the point.
I italicized the word common, because I don’t see that flavour of sense to be all that common.

Thanks GORD.
Saw a sign once that read "The 3 C's are becoming an endangered species. Common Courtesy
Common Decency
Common Sense."

[Talbot]

Longevity in a battery is a function of 3 things:

How you use them - lots of deep cycling will reduce their life.

How you treat them - keeping them charged fully (solar panel?) using a step-up charger to avoid overheating and using distilled water for top-ups.

How the battery is designed.

My domestic bank is standard deep cycle style wet acid batteries They have a guarantee period of 2 years and withthe way I cosset them, I would expect at least 5 years from them.

My engine start is a special wet acid type with carbon fibre reinforcement for the plates. It has a high CCA count for engine start, but can also be used as a deep cycle battery. I has a 5 year guarantee! thus I would be very disappointed if I didnt get 7-8 years out of it. - but it costs twice as much as the other batteries.

[JGI417]

I agree on proper battery maintenance will add to the life of the battery. I also added a timer to my charger as a back up to prevent overchaging in case the charger failed to shut it off.

[CSY Man]

Spoke to the owner of the battery place today, and asked the same question.

He said a sailboater came in last week and replaced golf-cart batteries that was 11 years old.

Other guys come back after 18 months 'cause they did not add water and did not know how to take care of their stuff.

He said 5 years was good in general.

This guys sells 50,000 batteries a year and has been in the business all his life, so I listen when he talk.

My wife had a dead battery in her car about a year ago. She happened to be right by Sears, so she went in there to get a replacement. In two days, it failed. She went back to Sears, and had the battery replaced. The next morning it was dead. (It wasn't the charging system). She went back a third time for a new battery. This one lasted a week. We replaced it with an interstate, and left the defective battery at the front door of the Sears store. This was a 60 month warranty battery that failed. Hence my previous statement that cost does not always equal longevity.

[GordMay]

Dag ”Spoke to the owner of the battery place today...This guys sells 50,000 batteries a year and has been in the business all his life, so I listen when he talks ...”

Your battery guru wouldn’t be “East Coast Battery & Electric” by any chance? They started (family) business in Ft Lauderdale, the year I was born. They were my Alternator wizards.

Gord