Your favorite house battery?

[Clipper4730]

Hey yall after an incredible run of ten years our house bank is finally giving up the ghost We didn't know exactly the age of the house bank when we bought the boat but I just heard back from previous owner who said he never replaced the house bank and he bought the boat in 2006. So super excited they lasted as long as they did now we are shopping for a new bank. Just curious as to what your favorite manufacturers are. As always balancing cost, performance and economy. Thinking of a 600amp/hr and bank as that is what we have now and seems to have served us well.

Thanks in advance.

[GordMay]

What make & model (that lasted so long) are you replacing?

[Clipper4730]

I'm a bit embarrassed to say I haven't a clue. They are 4D sealed agm but are too close together to see the brand.

[sailorboy1]

well my favorite are the 6V GC2 batteries.

But if 4D AGM lasted that long on your boat, get another set

[jeepbluetj]

Depends on what means "best" for the particular application.

Best Price/Performance? GC6 golf carts.

Can't Spill, High charge acceptance? AGM or Foam AGM

Money is no object - Lithium with a good battery management system

Form factor is another issue - 4D/8D are good if you have a gorilla or crane to pull them out. GC6s can be handled by mere mortals.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by jeepbluetj

Depends on what means "best" for the particular application.

Best Price/Performance? GC6 golf carts.

Can't Spill, High charge acceptance? AGM or Foam AGM

Money is no object - Lithium with a good battery management system

Form factor is another issue - 4D/8D are good if you have a gorilla or crane to pull them out. GC6s can be handled by mere mortals.

All the above is true. If I'm on a dock, my answer differs from that of what I would say on a hook with solar and wind.

That said, I went with six L-16s FLAs.

[Mithril Bham]

How many in bank? Separate starting battery?

[jeepbluetj]

One big house bank. All charge goes to house. ACR to a start battery.

[moseriw]

Almost all electric units work between 13,8V (fully charged) and 11V. It makes no sense to use batteries that can be discharged down to 2V.

Therefore my choices are cheap 12V 225Ah AGM Truck batteries and a perfect charging - discharging system. I expect to use them for 15 years.

[Mithril Bham]

Originally Posted by jeepbluetj

One big house bank. All charge goes to house. ACR to a start battery.

When I hear "bank" I think of multiple batteries. Do you only have one battery with no separate starter battery?

[skipmac]

The most bang for the buck, able to tolerate abuse and partial charging better than other batteries, ease of handling and installation, 6V golf cart batteries hands down. GC2 or GC6 (like a GC2 but a little taller I think??). Get a reliable brand (lots of threads on the manufacturers and the various brands they are sold under) or spend just a few dollars more for Trojans.

[jeepbluetj]

Originally Posted by magellanyachts

When I hear "bank" I think of multiple batteries. Do you only have one battery with no separate starter battery?

I'm recommending one large (multiple battery) house bank + as small of a starting battery as will work for the engine. Engine starts of the start batt. Everything else on the house bank. ACR to charge the start batt.

(Basically, I'm echoing Maine Sail's advice)


Personally, on my boat, I've start off the house bank. i.e. I've got house/backup rather than house/start. Why? It was easier to do in my situation. I may rewire to house/start at some point.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by moseriw

Therefore my choices are cheap 12V 225Ah AGM Truck batteries and a perfect charging - discharging system. I expect to use them for 15 years.

What do you mean by the "truck batteries" you are recommending for OP?

Originally Posted by skipmac

The most bang for the buck, able to tolerate abuse and partial charging better than other batteries, ease of handling and installation, 6V golf cart batteries hands down. GC2 or GC6 (like a GC2 but a little taller I think??). Get a reliable brand (lots of threads on the manufacturers and the various brands they are sold under) or spend just a few dollars more for Trojans.

Unless you're reading the current thread where Ramblin' Rod posits lots of GC2 and G27s are about the same.

-Chris

[coastalexplorer]

I am electrically challenged so please tell me what ACR means?

[ontherocks83]

I like Trojan 6v's.

As far as set up goes my favorite, is one large house bank (size as needed) that does everything including starting engine. In addition having one 12v emergency back up starting battery charged off the main bank via an Echo charger. This way there is never any switching from house to start and then forgetting to switch it back or so on and so forth.

Aside from the occasional checking that the start battery works there is nothing to worry about doing. Even a house bank drawn down to 12v can easily start the small engines found on sail boats. Worst case in this situation is you kill the house bank and have to switch to your unused emergency bank, start engine, and then switch back. Should be a very rare thing to happen