Battery replacement

[paule]

Went to the boat yesterday and had to fill one of my batteries and noticed cells were almost dry, filled them with water. Today threw the charger on and the battery was hot after 6 hours of charging.  I guess this battery  is shot did a search on seeing what kind of battery to replace it with any suggestions. 

I have heard and talked to others with owners of other size Cats. Just looking for the best for the C34

Thanks
Paul
2003 MKII
Yachta Yachta Yachta

[paule]

Forgot to say I read the other post butt am still confused and made another post by mistake

Paul

[Ron Hill]

Paul : There are ZILLION posts on "which battery"!!!

If you're only replacing one of those 4 Ds, I'd go with four 6v golf cart batteries.  That will give you double the Ah capacity of one of your 4Ds.  
As I recall your boat is about 4 years old?  Along with your 4 new batteries, I'd get a Xrantix Truecharge battery "smart" charger.  Can't remember if you have a Charles factory installed charger or not.  Anyway you need a smart shore power charger and a hi output alternator with a smart voltage regulator.  

[Roger Blake]

Paul--From what I've heard, once the battery plates are exposed, the battery tends to die. So yep...you probably need new batteries. Many of us have installed 4 golf cart batteries, the most popular used is the Trojan 105. There are many posts about battery replacement, and as I recall, one or more detailed articles (in projects??). I'm sure Ron or Stu will chime in with more direction of where to look on the BBS. Anyway, do a search on batteries, battery, T105, and or Trojan...you'll find a wealth of information. I installed T105s a couple of years ago and am completly satisfied.

[Stu Jackson]

Paul

Roger is right, you'll need to do some "searching."  There are tons of posts on batteries, Trojan, etc, as recommended.

There is no "best."  It all depends on how you choose to use your boat.  Many have golf carts because they're the best bang for the buck, use the space available wisely, and they are not, individually, that heavy, thus easier to install.  Others use different technologies.

The point is, it's all here on the C34 website if you spend the time to look.  Try Projects:  http://www.c34.org/projects/projects.html  Scroll down and read the ones on electrical systems.  There's even one there about Battery Selection.

Also, if you haven't:  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=2067.0

A dry battery means you'll most likely have to replace it.  After reading the reference post in Projects about Battery Selection, and the Ample Power Primer, you'll also find that if one fails, you shouldn't mix old and new batteries.  You may, just may, be lucky that you could resuscitate your dried out battery.  Just because it's hot doesn't mean it's dead, it means it was getting charged.  Whether it will HOLD the charge only time, and you, will tell.

Any more specific questions, please let us know.

[jmnpe]

Paul,

The basic rule of thumb on flooded batteries is that once the plates have been exposed to the air and allowed to dry out for anything over about 24 hours, the dried sections of the plates are destroyed, as least in terms of being useful as a battery. When you have only one of several batteries on a given charger suddenly start using abnormally high amounts of water, especially to the point of being completely dried out, you have most likely had a shorted cell develop in the "dried" battery. Since you then only have 5 cells charging at a charge voltage appropriate for 6 cells, each of the remaining 5 cells is being seriously over-charged, which then leads to serious gassing and subsequent "cooking".

The structure of most flooded batteries allows for rather predictable formation of shorted cells later in the useful life of the battery. Gel cells are only somewhat improved in this regard, but AGM (also known as "starved electrolyte") batteries in general are not susceptable to shorted cells by virtue of the ever-present glass mat separators between each plate. In the case of Lifeline AGM batteries, shorted cells are impossible to have without some external event, such as driving a nail into the battery and through the plates. Bullets can also work............

As already noted in this thread, golf car batteries are indeed the best battery energy bargain available due to their massive production rates and their beefy design which allows them to give good service in terribly brutal applications. For flooded golf cart batteries, the Trojan T105 is the standard by which all others are judged. However, the price of lead has driven all lead acid battery prices through the roof, with one notable exception: Sam's Club. They apparently have a long term fixed price contract on most of their lead acid batteries that someone has probably been shot for out there in Battery Land. As a result, while Trojan has had raised the price of T105 batteries at least 8 times in the last 2 years, the Sam's Club golf cart battery continues to be sold for $49.95, the same price it has been for at least 5 years or longer. While the Sam's battery is certainly no T105, they are servicable and approximately half the price of a T105. Many of the folks in this group have used the Sam's battery with acceptable results.

Personally, I hate the smell, safety issues, and maintenance requirements of flooded batteries on a boat. I also don't remember to change my smoke detector batteries once a year, clean leaves out of gutters before the next fall season, or get all of the clocks in the house reset to/from Daylight Savings Time all at once.............. People like me (and some of you... you know who you are.........) are not good candidates for getting good long term performance out of flooded batteries. Therefore, I use only quality AGM batteries for the zero maintenence, no gassing of hydrogen,  no acid to smell or spill,  superior performance, and superior long term reliability. In the deep cycle AGM world, the Lifeline  brand is the Gold Standard by which all others are judged.

The choice of what is a "good" or "the best" battery for you and your boat is a compromise, and there is no universal "right" answer. Ultimately, "you pays your money and you takes your choice". Any choice is OK if it allows you to have fun with your boat!

Hope this helps a little.

John