400: Replacing House Batteries need help.

[ascarr]

Ok fellow boaters / Lagoon 400 owners. I currently have 2+ year old N120 Yuasa lead cell batteries. They are holding their charges just fine for the moment no issues that I have ever noticed. Cheap China product but... It was on the boat when I bought her and its just coming time to make the best choice for the next set of house batteries.

I am interested in what others have learned, chosen, regretted, been happy, technical improvement notes, what works best, what's the better ROI product etc. You all are boaters so everyone is going to have their own idea or what is the best.

Lead cell open is what I have now. What I am trying to decide is stick with the same? Go with closed lead cell? Go with AGM glass mat? HELP NEEDED.

Probably never going to go with Lithium besides cost being way above and beyond its all the changes that you have to make to accommodate lithium.

To see my current battery

https://www.yuasabatteries.co.nz/res...tery/n120/info

My current setup is 4 N120's daisy chained. I have a 9KW Northern Lights Generator, 600 Watts of solar, and Magma 3000 invertor.

Really hoping you guys out here having lived with the Lagoon 400's know your stuff. Impress me please Will be waiting for the posts

[Stu Jackson]

The choice of the type of batteries one chooses rarely are boat-specific. Except for some boats that have impossible battery access, the choices haven't changed much over the decades.


wet cell - still best bang for the buck; various sub-groups of 6V golf carts to 12V in parallel; easiest to replace in out of the way places



AGM - no watering, poor performance if left in PSOC (which most folks without solar are prone to do, due to simple math of charge and discharge cycles and power availability and use)


Lith - newer technology much discussed and solutions are becoming clearer and more available, best output for footprint, fast recharges, requires robust electrical recharge system design and equipment


Happy hunting.

[GordMay]

What Stu said.

[rtoner]

Our 400 came with lead from the factory. Became annoying to remember to keep the water topped off with distilled water. We went with AGM as no water or gassing smells after they died. The factory shore charger stopped working approx 3 years later. I did a complete redo and swapped out to all Victron and went lithium and did solar. Was not cheap but now our house batteries are so much better. Just cannot run AC. Everything else like heating water for a shower while at anchor with no engine is a nice thing.

So it depends on what you are looking to do. If you don’t mind running the generator then lead is fine.

[Mike OReilly]

I'm facing the same; time to change the batteries. After looking at the options, I intend to stick with good old lead-acid (open) wet cells. I'd love to go lithium, but even though the prices have come down, they still don't make sense for my needs. And making this switch also means changing out large parts of my charging systems ... the cost goes waaaay up.

As far as AGM, to me they only make sense in specific circumstances such as laying them on odd angles, and/or being highly inaccessible.

Closed (no maintenance) wet cells are what I have now*. They'd done fine for me, but I wouldn't choose them again. I like being able to check, and top up, electrolyte levels.


* I didn't intend to buy this type... it just sorta happened .

[akopac]

Most annoying maintenance for me on FLA was the sulfating and equalization. Actual usable battery capacity/battery was a little annoying too, but I used to go through hours of absorption, then equalization to keep my capacity.