Batteries Too Big To Install?

[fallingeggs]

I have been going back and forth on this issue and I can’t land on what to do. Figure I’d seek sage advice from those on this forum.

I technically have room for four Trojan L16H's under the quarter berth in my 38 footer. I’m a young guy, but dang these 125 pound batteries are going to be a pain to get onto the boat, down the companionway, up onto the berth then (finally) down into the berth’s storage locker. Even if I figured out how to get them down there, uninstalling them at the end of their life will be more of a challenge.

From a practical perspective, what do people think about down grading in size to Trojan J305H's at 25 pounds less and four inches shorter, which I feel can I can handle? That or any tips at getting the beastly L16H’s moved into place safely.

[Blue Stocking]

All comes down to how many amps do you need,-- and boat trim.

[Matt Johnson]

500 pounds in the quarter berth of a Sabre seems like way too much for good trim. How is the boats waterline?

Matt

[Zach]

Personally, I'd be going with GC2's because they are manageable to deal with...

125 lbs is a bit much to deal with.

I just pulled an 8D house battery out of my boat last week, and won't be going with anything near that weight again. Getting it back up the companionway ladder and across to a dock took more than I like to give. That was to a fixed dock, at the tide just right so I could slide across the toe rail to the dock no less.

[Tayana42]

That is why I and many others have gone from 8Ds to 6 volt golf cart batteries.


S/V B'Shert

[Cheechako]

I would avoid 8D's for sure. No need for them. Also if one fails prematurely, you lose a big part of your battery bank. Coincidentally, I have had 2 8D's fail in the first year of use, shorted.

[senormechanico]

Lithiums weigh only 50% or less and have much greater usable aH capacity.
There are lots of threads here about them.
I love mine !!

[Island Time O25]

Apparently 6v golf cart batteries are all the rage now. And for good reasons. I am planning to change over to them either this spring or next, depending on finding a deal on 8 of them.

Last year a friend had an 8D fail. He still b*tches about his hurt back and fingers taking it out.

[TacomaSailor]

We used lead acid 8-Ds (158 pounds each) for the first seven years of cruising on our Caliber 40. When it came to change them out I had to hire three very strong, and young local guys who needed four hot sweaty hours to remove them.

Since then I have installed and replaced and reinstalled six T-105 lead acid batteries all by my lonesome and weak 60-something self.

The 8-Ds worked very well and if you can hire someone to do the work - they are great ... BUT a big heavy battery is a lot of work.

[Stu Jackson]

Maine Sail has written extensively about the fact that 8D and 4D batteries are NOT true deep cycle batteries, regardless of the stickers some vendors slap on them.

[Randyonr3]

I just re-installed the 4Ds on our boat... yep they are heavy but in our case, it's been 10+ years on this set so once every few years to be a "pita" is well worth it..
Put them in and forget about it..........

[Cowboy Sailer]

At 70 years of age I removed all three 8D's by myself. Up the companionway, out the cockpit, onto the dock cart and to the trunk of my car. I replaced them with smaller!

[Tingum]

I had the strap break on an 8D, my friend held on to his end but the corner landed on my big toe. No more 8d's for me!

[TacomaSailor]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Maine Sail has written extensively about the fact that 8D and 4D batteries are NOT true deep cycle batteries, regardless of the stickers some vendors slap on them.

Maine Sail has a lot of great info and does some interesting tests.

Our 8-Ds were installed in March 1995 and were still working OK in December 2002 when we replaced them after two years of live aboard cruising. It is hard to ask for more than 7.5 years out of a battery bank.

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by Randyonr3

I just re-installed the 4Ds on our boat... yep they are heavy but in our case, it's been 10+ years on this set so once every few years to be a "pita" is well worth it..
Put them in and forget about it..........

The lifespan that you got out of those batteries was based on their capacity vs your daily usage. By only using 25% or 30% or somewhat less than 50%, you were lightly using those batteries, so they lasted 10 yrs.

If you had bought the same capacity in GC batteries, you would have gotten the same lifespan at the same charge/discharge rates that you used for the last 10 yrs. About 15 yrs ago I was talking to a battery distributor down near Sports Arena (a lot of small boat yards in the area) and a yacht owner brought in 2 out of his 8 GC batteries for load testing, he said they were 8 yrs old. The shop owner load tested them and said they were fine, they were in great shape especially for 8 yrs old. He recommended re-installing them and checking them again in a few more years.

About that same time, I looked over the entire line of 12v and 6v batteries from Trojan, and compared AH vs weight and found that the GC batteries were rated at higher AH per LB. When you get into larger batteries, more of the weight is in the case to provide more strength. Less lead + more case material = less AH of capacity.

Example: T105 is rated at 225AH @ 20H rate, weighs 62 lbs = 3.629 AH/lb.

The L16H is rated at 435AH @ 20H rate, weighs 125 lbs = 3.48 AH/lb.

The heavier battery is more difficult to move and install due to it's bulk, yet you'd get more energy density in a 62 lb package.