[Public-List] Batteries

[Jim Davis]

Jonathan

This answer won't go over well with the Gel crowd, but I had good success with a pair of Group 27 flooded deep cycle batteries from Sam's Club.  Noticeably less expensive than the marine stores.  

They gave me ten good years of service and I used the stock regulator.  In that Sandy and I were in the cruising mode we probably had more drain on them,but we never ran short.

My normal procedure was to start the engine in the "All" position and in the evening shift to just one battery.  I used the "Odd/Even" method.  If the date was even, I used battery 2.

With our current boat thing are a bit different.  I have about 450 AH in the house bank, but I also have a larger electric consumption.  Even so I usually start on the house bank and only use the starting battery if the house bank won't do the job (three days at anchor).  I still haven't spent the money on a fancy regulator.

Jim Davis
S/V Isa Lei

"Coffee tastes better if the latrines are dug downstream from the encampment."
US Army Field Regulations - 1861


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