Roger Long wrote:
I understand that but, is the load on a 20 hp diesel that you can
start by hand high enough to significantly reduce the life of the
battery?


What's the voltage drop when starting? Starting batteries can see surges
bring them down to as low as 8 volts and bounce back just fine. DC
batteries don't like this.

I'm not sure where the cut-off is, but if the starting load drops your
voltage down below 10, or maybe 10.5 (assuming that you've got a good
current path to starter & ground), then you might consider staying with
a start battery.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King