[MarkofSeaLife]

Hi folks,

A bit of info for those in the planning stage.

My house bank of Vetus 12v sealed Lead Acid 165 AH just died in the butt, suddenly.

It was 1300 days old - 3 years, 9 months.

Theres a life expectancy of about 1,000 deep cycles, lifeline are a bit longer.

Anyway, mine used every day and down to 50% 12.24 volts every night and recharged to 100% every day.

I had them sheduled for replacement by the end of this year and knew they were on the way out for the last three months.

So plan for renewing them in your fourth year

 

[Minnewaska]

Mark, I've never used sealed lead acid batts (other than as a dink start batt). I've had flooded, gel and agm for the house. Perhaps when you deep cycle every day, one should expect a shorter life span, but I've always considered 5 yrs to be a minimum for a well maintained battery. If you recharge daily to 100%, I would think that qualifies.

Perhaps the SLA batts were more cost effective in the long run, if they were less expensive and proportionally gave up sooner. Are you happy with the performance, cost considered?

 

[MarkofSeaLife]

Oh, yes, very happy with the cost/life ratio. Especially at 1,300 cycles instead of 1,000

I can't get to my batteries as I have to unload the whloe aft cabin so can't have unsealed batteries.

The balance of buying what your budget can afford and the amp hours you need is an equation thats very individual. life Line battereis may be better, but if I could afford Life Line quality on everything on the boat I would have a bigger boat

importantly I got more that I expected and should have the money saved to buy a new set... I dont even have the money to buy a balaclava to rob a bank






Mark

 

[PBzeer]

After 3 years of daily use, my West Marine branded AGM Group 31's lasted another 4 years with about 1/4 of the usage. They have been trouble free, and with access to a Port Supply card, cost about half of the listed retail. Since I haven't needed them while staying in NC, I simply bought a cheap battery to run the bilge pump and for loss of power emergencies. If I decide to head back out in the fall of '15, I'll replace the house bank with more AGMs, though I'm considering going to two 4Ds rather than the 3 31s I started with.

 

[Minnewaska]

I have gels for the house bank now. While we have very different usage, I did get 8 years out of the last set. It's my understanding that gels are especially good at multiple deep discharges. While I'm certain they cost substantially more, I would wonder if you would get lifetime efficiency. They also need zero maintenance. However, you need a charging system that knows the proper gel profile.