Note that two 6-volt batteries in series (12 V) often provide more amp-hours
than a single 12-volt battery without having to worry about wiring up second
batteries (etc). I know a guy with two 6-volt golf-cart batteries in his
boat, put in for this reason (golf cart batteries appear to withstand
bouncing around a lot in a boat.)

Brian


"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
...
Just got the latest Surplus Center catalog. If anyone wants a really
big bank they have a bunch of new Tyco rack mounted deep cycle gel
cells. 6V and 1450 AH for $300 each. They are built for large UPS
systems so I don't know how they would work in marine use and at 1500
lb. for a 12V bank you would need a pretty big boat but you would only
need to charge once every couple of weeks. :-)

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

Do you have a Web site or contact?

Let me see, that would be 725 amp hours at 12 volts, or about the equivalent
of 10 large, deep cycle batteries, which go for around $100 retail. That's
about 2/3rds off, a good deal.

If they are slim, they would make a good keel for an electric drive
conversion.


"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
...
Just got the latest Surplus Center catalog. If anyone wants a really
big bank they have a bunch of new Tyco rack mounted deep cycle gel
cells. 6V and 1450 AH for $300 each. They are built for large UPS
systems so I don't know how they would work in marine use and at 1500
lb. for a 12V bank you would need a pretty big boat but you would only
need to charge once every couple of weeks. :-)

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

It is 3 cells in a rack so you would have to buy a pair to get 12V. The
real problem is finding a place to put them. Dimensions are 46"x9"x28"
so you would need a lot of space in the bilge to mount them. And one
humongus charger. A 250 amp Balmar would just barely tickle it. :-)

Found the web site.
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...item= 11-2456
A little different write up than the catalog.

Robert Haston wrote:
Do you have a Web site or contact?

Let me see, that would be 725 amp hours at 12 volts, or about the equivalent
of 10 large, deep cycle batteries, which go for around $100 retail. That's
about 2/3rds off, a good deal.

If they are slim, they would make a good keel for an electric drive
conversion.


"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
...

Just got the latest Surplus Center catalog. If anyone wants a really
big bank they have a bunch of new Tyco rack mounted deep cycle gel
cells. 6V and 1450 AH for $300 each. They are built for large UPS
systems so I don't know how they would work in marine use and at 1500
lb. for a 12V bank you would need a pretty big boat but you would only
need to charge once every couple of weeks. :-)

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com






--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

Thanks. They're actually by East Penn, see
http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/products/unigy_2.html
for a lot more information (I love brand names like "Unigy II" -- all
the search hits are on topic).

The good news is that they're rated 1400AH at an eight hour rate, so
they're actually around 1600AH at the usual twenty hour rating.

The bad news is that they don't like heat and who knows about the
dynamics of a boat -- they're meant to be mounted stacked, terminals
on the side, on a concrete pad in a controlled environment room.

I've screwed my chutzpah up to its maximum limit and sent off a
message to East Penn asking about using them on a boat. If I were
them, I would "no comment", but we'll see.

Surrette is sort of an icon up here -- I think of him every time I go
by his old wooden factory in Salem. And yes, heavier is better, but
there are limits. My comment was based on the heaviest Surrette/Rolls
offering which is what we plan on using.

Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com

Glenn Ashmore wrote in message ...
You are about the only person here that might be able to use them. They
are Tyco Unigy II batteries used primarily in large high power
communications systems. Here is a link with some info:
http://power.tycoelectronics.com/pdf...tion-guide.pdf

Surplus center's page on them is:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...item= 11-2456


The power to weight ratio actually works in favor of longer life. I
know because old man Suarret hisself gave me a 20 minute lecture on just
that asubject at Annapolis the year before he died. I made a remark
about how heavy his batteries were and he let it be known his opinion
about "whimpy" deep cycle batteries. :-)

Like I said though, each battery is 1450 amps and you would need 4 of
them to get 24V. That will be about twice what Swea****er had but I
have a feeling you might be able to use it all on that distroyer escort
you are refitting. :-)

Jim Woodward wrote:
You do run into some goodies, Glenn. As I told you privately, I
bought four of the 125A 24VDC Electrodyne alternators you steered us
to a month ago, thank you ....

This one seems problematic, though. The power/weight ratio (nominal
watt hours/pound)is only 2/3 of what you'd get from Rolls. I question
whether a UPS design is going to be good for a boat -- after all,
they're expected to be used a few tens of cycles, while we expect a
thousand (if none are too deep) and might get many more. And, of
course, an old (even if never sold) battery may simply be an anchor
that it's illegal to dump overboard.

The price is right, though, at about 20% of new Rolls. You guys may
laugh, but the design spec for Fintry calls for 50kwh (nominal) of
battery capacity, mostly in the 24VDC house set (the other three sets
are 24VDC engine start, emergency 24VDC, and 12VDC for the radios).
That's roughly six of these beasts.

As for charging every couple of weeks, we carried the capacity you
show in your post around the world (Swee****er's 750 AH @ 24VDC is
about 1450 AH @ 12VDC ) and charged every day when on a hook or under
sail.

So, which of the many "surplus centers" is this, please?

Jim Woodward
www.mvfintry.com


Glenn Ashmore wrote in message ...

Just got the latest Surplus Center catalog. If anyone wants a really
big bank they have a bunch of new Tyco rack mounted deep cycle gel
cells. 6V and 1450 AH for $300 each. They are built for large UPS
systems so I don't know how they would work in marine use and at 1500
lb. for a 12V bank you would need a pretty big boat but you would only
need to charge once every couple of weeks. :-)

Here are my electric car links that refer to chargers for the big
battery packs! There was some mention of electric boats in this stuff
somewhere, but do you think I can find it?

http://acpropulsion.com/Products/AC_...n_Products.htm
http://acpropulsion.com/Products/AC_150.htm
http://facultystaff.vwc.edu/~gnoe/avd.htm

Tom
-----snip-----

Glenn Ashmore wrote:
It is 3 cells in a rack so you would have to buy a pair to get 12V. The
real problem is finding a place to put them. Dimensions are 46"x9"x28"
so you would need a lot of space in the bilge to mount them. And one
humongus charger. A 250 amp Balmar would just barely tickle it. :-)

Found the web site.
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...item= 11-2456
A little different write up than the catalog.

Robert Haston wrote:

Do you have a Web site or contact?

Let me see, that would be 725 amp hours at 12 volts, or about the
equivalent
of 10 large, deep cycle batteries, which go for around $100 retail.
That's
about 2/3rds off, a good deal.

If they are slim, they would make a good keel for an electric drive
conversion.


"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
...

Just got the latest Surplus Center catalog. If anyone wants a really
big bank they have a bunch of new Tyco rack mounted deep cycle gel
cells. 6V and 1450 AH for $300 each. They are built for large UPS
systems so I don't know how they would work in marine use and at 1500
lb. for a 12V bank you would need a pretty big boat but you would only
need to charge once every couple of weeks. :-)

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com