Battery Replacment advice

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Halekai...I don't think we disagree on much. My 8d's are AGM's and I wouldn't buy the Defenders either! And since trojan does not make a flooded 8D...I would be the guy was comparing across brands with his T105's. Betha if you cut open their AGM's you'd find the same attention to quality. Just used defender for illustration vs. price. I would buy 8D AGM's again in a heartbeat for full time living aboard...but would hire a 20 year old kid to put 'em in place! Then I can just forget about them which is a most underrated feature of AGM's compared to the filling and mess when using flooded ones full time and EQ
ing too.

I love AGM's & the lack of maintenance but there is no way I'm going to break my OCD cycle of replacing every five years regardless. I gave my last four Trojan's to a guy at my boat yard and as far as I know he's still using them but unfortunately I'm not going to change....

Heck I even replace standing rigging every ten to twelve (I was on board a boat that lost it's rig)! Spending the money on AGM's would be crazy with my OCD repair/replace behavior...

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by btrayfors

In other words, it's a simple, smart, and thus far very reliable device.

Bill

Thanks for the description, Bill. It's heartening to think that although I am still very much on the steep part of the learning curve, my intuitions and guesses aren't completely nutty.

[sailingdog]

One thing cam didn't point out is that the 8D will need to have a much heavier, thicker case to support the larger weight/mass of the lead plates and electrolyte, which may be part of the difference in the size and mass of the batteries. I, personally, like the T105s for the reason that they're lighter and easier on the back to move than an 8D ever could be, and that they're a bit more flexible in terms of where you can place them, since they're smaller. On a large boat, you may have a large single space to store the 8Ds, but on smaller boats, you often have to put the batteries in separate locations.

[Valiente]

True. I also have the ability to put a pair of lashed 2 x 4s over the steel companionway and to use a handy-billy to lift these things in and out. That's the benefit of having them out of the engine bay in the first place, because if they flank the engine, not only do they get hotter, but it's difficult to reach OVER a hot engine to service them, never mind get them in and out.

I like batteries, when possible, with as much headroom as possible over them so they come directly up. I'm pretty strong, but lifting the old Trojans at full extension while leaning over my diesel was about all I could manage.