Well, I might as well get in here and throw a grenade.

I buy 5 @ 12V Wall Mart batteries that sell for $40 each and have an 8
year warranty. It is full replacement for 3 years and prorated after
that. They weigh about 40lbs each and are easy to move around.

Now, what if the one on the engine fails? Well, I have four more on
the house bank and any one of those can replace the engine battery
with a flip of a switch. Suppose I get 5 years before a failure
(typically thats what I get) and the proration has clicked in. Wall
mart is a short walk from almost any pier or at the least a short cab
ride if you cant bum a car from another boater. The price of the
replacement after proration is about $20 and you have a 40 pound
battery that you can easily replace yourself...I am 70 years old so I
know the young whipper snappers can.

Now, I can replace all 5 of them every 5 years and I will have only
invested $300 over a ten year time span. I will have invested only
twice as much time in replacement labor than the one time replacement
labor of the Rolls. Thats about 3 hours time. Thus I was paid
roughly $1200 for three hours labor (assuming that you need TWO Rolls
bats, one for engine and one for house). I would not run on one
battery no mater HOW reliable it is.

"jim.isbell" wrote in news:1173720620.931062.26890
@8g2000cwh.googlegroups.com:

Thus I was paid
roughly $1200 for three hours labor

Mr Jim I LOVE your math lesson.....(c;

I buy all my TIRES from WalMart for the same reason. Every Walmart is
interconnected by satellite to every other WalMart. If I blow a tire 800
miles from home, I go to the nearest WalMart and they give me a new one
(Lifetime Warranty for another $10/tire). Noone hassles me. Noone says
just because they are a Michelin dealer doesn't mean they have to honor
tire warranty some other dealer sold me.

Nearly dead center in the middle of the tread, I had a nail making a
WalMart Goodyear leak that was a couple years old. I took it to WalMart.
The guy dismounted the tire and consulted with the shop manager as to
what to do. The shop manager showed me the nail, dead center in the
tread.....of a half-worn-out Goodyear.

"Doesn't that look awfully close to the sidewall, to you, requiring me to
replace that tire?", he asked me. "Oh, yes! I can see it cuts right
into the sidewall! We can't plug it when it's that close." His mechanic
was already mounting my new tire to the rim. I'll always buy from
WalMart. Besides the same tire being cheaper, I get great service 800
miles from home from the SAME tire store...WalMart. I don't even need my
warranty. I'm on every computer terminal on the planet!

Larry
--

On 12 Mar 2007 10:30:21 -0700, "jim.isbell"
wrote:

Now, what if the one on the engine fails? Well, I have four more on
the house bank and any one of those can replace the engine battery
with a flip of a switch.

You can't start a big diesel on a small 12 volt Walmart battery, not
for very long anyway.

Period.

If you're boat has 8Ds on it, they are there for a reason.

Garden variety 12 volt batteries are lousy performers in deep cycle
marine service as well.

On Mar 12, 9:42 pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On 12 Mar 2007 10:30:21 -0700, "jim.isbell"
wrote:

Now, what if the one on the engine fails? Well, I have four more on
the house bank and any one of those can replace the engine battery
with a flip of a switch.

You can't start a big diesel on a small 12 volt Walmart battery, not
for very long anyway.

Period.

If you're boat has 8Ds on it, they are there for a reason.

Garden variety 12 volt batteries are lousy performers in deep cycle
marine service as well.

Well, I am running a Perkins 4-108 so I don't think that could be
called a "big diesel"

I agree that for a 12 cyl Detroit you will need special batteries of a
type that Wall Mart does not sell.

As to deep cycle, I don't deep cycle the engine battery as the engine
starts on the first turn and I have enough house batteries that they
don't deep cycle either. If your engine doest start on the first turn
then you have some engine maintenance to do and its going to be a lot
more expensive than batteries.

But how long they last is not the point as long as they last a couple
of years. They are GUARANTEED so its only labor to replace them and
at 40 pounds apiece its a piece of cake. They weight about what a 5
gallon can of diesel weighs and I take on two 5 gallon cans of diesel
at every stop but don't complain about the fuel consumption or having
to lug it down the dock on a cart. I think I can handle a battery
every 6 months or so....if its free.

jim.isbell wrote:
On Mar 12, 9:42 pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On 12 Mar 2007 10:30:21 -0700, "jim.isbell"
wrote:

Now, what if the one on the engine fails? Well, I have four more on
the house bank and any one of those can replace the engine battery
with a flip of a switch.
You can't start a big diesel on a small 12 volt Walmart battery, not
for very long anyway.

Period.

If you're boat has 8Ds on it, they are there for a reason.

Garden variety 12 volt batteries are lousy performers in deep cycle
marine service as well.

Well, I am running a Perkins 4-108 so I don't think that could be
called a "big diesel"

I agree that for a 12 cyl Detroit you will need special batteries of a
type that Wall Mart does not sell.

As to deep cycle, I don't deep cycle the engine battery as the engine
starts on the first turn and I have enough house batteries that they
don't deep cycle either. If your engine doest start on the first turn
then you have some engine maintenance to do and its going to be a lot
more expensive than batteries.

But how long they last is not the point as long as they last a couple
of years. They are GUARANTEED so its only labor to replace them and
at 40 pounds apiece its a piece of cake. They weight about what a 5
gallon can of diesel weighs and I take on two 5 gallon cans of diesel
at every stop but don't complain about the fuel consumption or having
to lug it down the dock on a cart. I think I can handle a battery
every 6 months or so....if its free.

Yea, as long as you cruise within range of a wall Mart. Try that down
island. I want something more dependable and long lasting.

jim.isbell wrote:
On Mar 12, 9:42 pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On 12 Mar 2007 10:30:21 -0700, "jim.isbell"
wrote:

Now, what if the one on the engine fails? Well, I have four more on
the house bank and any one of those can replace the engine battery
with a flip of a switch.
You can't start a big diesel on a small 12 volt Walmart battery, not
for very long anyway.

Period.

If you're boat has 8Ds on it, they are there for a reason.

Garden variety 12 volt batteries are lousy performers in deep cycle
marine service as well.

Well, I am running a Perkins 4-108 so I don't think that could be
called a "big diesel"

I agree that for a 12 cyl Detroit you will need special batteries of a
type that Wall Mart does not sell.

As to deep cycle, I don't deep cycle the engine battery as the engine
starts on the first turn and I have enough house batteries that they
don't deep cycle either. If your engine doest start on the first turn
then you have some engine maintenance to do and its going to be a lot
more expensive than batteries.

But how long they last is not the point as long as they last a couple
of years. They are GUARANTEED so its only labor to replace them and
at 40 pounds apiece its a piece of cake. They weight about what a 5
gallon can of diesel weighs and I take on two 5 gallon cans of diesel
at every stop but don't complain about the fuel consumption or having
to lug it down the dock on a cart. I think I can handle a battery
every 6 months or so....if its free.


A couple notes. A Dodge Cummins uses a pair of small batteries day
in and day out. My Walmarters were warranted for 3 years but they
weren't quite hacking it this winter with 2 years time on them. Took
them to Walmart and they replaced them for free without even testing
them! The 3 year warranty began all over again!
Walmart batteries are made by Exide FYI, not that it means anything.
Gordon

On Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:10:15 -0800, Gordon wrote:

A couple notes. A Dodge Cummins uses a pair of small batteries day
in and day out. My Walmarters were warranted for 3 years but they
weren't quite hacking it this winter with 2 years time on them.

I rest my case.