I had the battery tested at the local Autozone. He put it
through a load test and proclaimed it to be in excellent condition.
(The voltage was over 12 volts.)

You took a battery off the charger, hauled it to Auto Zone, and the kid behind
the counter said it was OK because it showed over 12 volts?

You should be at 12.6-13.2 with a fully charged battery. One very weak cell
sounds like a distinct possibility. Most batteries "fail" when a single cell
goes bad.
That's why I now have batteries built from
individual, replaceable cells. When one bites the dust, you replace the cell-
not the whole works.

Gould 0738 wrote:

That's why I now have built individual cells...from
individual, replaceable cells. When one bites the dust, you replace the cell-
not the whole works.

Watch it...there's an idiot here who will think you are talking about al
-Qaeda.



--
"...vice president (Cheney), I'm surprised to hear him talk about
records. When he was one of 435 members of the United States House, he
was one of 10 to vote against Head Start, one of four to vote against
banning plastic weapons that can pass through metal detectors. He voted
against the Department of Education. He voted against funding for
Meals on Wheels for seniors. He voted against a holiday for Martin
Luther King. He voted against a resolution calling for the release of
Nelson Mandela in South Africa. It's amazing to hear him criticize
either my record or John Kerry's."

- Senator John Edwards, 10/05/04

On 06 Oct 2004 20:37:28 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:

~~ snippage ~~

That's why I now have batteries built from individual, replaceable
cells. When one bites the dust, you replace the cell - not the whole
works.

Really....well, who makes such a beastie (Tom asked because he is
always looking for new and interesting technology that he's never
heard of before)?

Later,

Tom
-----------
"Angling may be said to be so
like the mathematics that it
can never be fully learnt..."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler", 1653

Really....well, who makes such a beastie (Tom asked because he is
always looking for new and interesting technology that he's never
heard of before)?


http://www.rollsbattery.com/

On 06 Oct 2004 23:08:20 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:

Really....well, who makes such a beastie (Tom asked because he is
always looking for new and interesting technology that he's never
heard of before)?

http://www.rollsbattery.com/

How do they compare cost wise?

Later,

Tom
-----------
"Angling may be said to be so
like the mathematics that it
can never be fully learnt..."

Izaak Walton "The Compleat Angler", 1653

On Wed, 06 Oct 2004 23:15:46 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On 06 Oct 2004 23:08:20 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:

Really....well, who makes such a beastie (Tom asked because he is
always looking for new and interesting technology that he's never
heard of before)?

http://www.rollsbattery.com/

How do they compare cost wise?

Never mind - I just looked them up.

You can buy a lot of batteries every couple of years for that kind of
money.

Sheesh.

Later,

Tom

Never mind - I just looked them up.

You can buy a lot of batteries every couple of years for that kind of
money.

Sheesh.

Every time you buy a new round of disposables they cost more than the last.

Plus there's the time/labor/inconvenience for installation.

Plus there is increased risk of battery failure prior to replacement when a
battery is of lesser quality.

It's always a good idea to buy the best battery you can afford, unless you're
planning to sell the boat right away. Even then, you don't want to go too
cheapie-cheapie. There have been plenty of boat sales shot down in flames
because the *&*#! thing wouldn't start for a prospective buyer.

On 06 Oct 2004 23:45:49 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:

Never mind - I just looked them up.

You can buy a lot of batteries every couple of years for that kind of
money.

Sheesh.

Every time you buy a new round of disposables they cost more than the last.

Plus there's the time/labor/inconvenience for installation.

Plus there is increased risk of battery failure prior to replacement when a
battery is of lesser quality.

It's always a good idea to buy the best battery you can afford, unless you're
planning to sell the boat right away. Even then, you don't want to go too
cheapie-cheapie. There have been plenty of boat sales shot down in flames
because the *&*#! thing wouldn't start for a prospective buyer.

LOL!!!

Oh man, I could tell you stories.... :)

Take care.

Tom

"The beatings will stop when morale improves."
E. Teach, 1717

How do they compare cost wise?

Later,

Tom

Probably among the most cost effective batteries you can buy. My batteries came
with a ten-year warranty, and the first seven are not pro-rated. If a cell
takes a dive at six years, eleven months, they will replace it straight across.

I get a lot of stuff at wholesale, sometimes even well below, through my
business connections. I think I remember paying $600-700 for a pair of 8D's
with two very nice new battery boxes. And that was 2 or three years ago, I
think. You would probably need to shop pretty hard to get the same deal if
you're buying retail- but it may be out there. This is a couple of times the
price of a pair of
"ordinary" batteries, but I can expect 2 and
a half to three times the useful life. Remember that when you replace the
cheapie battery you buy today, you will be paying the inflated price for the
second, and maybe even the third battery needed to provide the same service as
a top quality product. You also get the fun of wrestling with those heavy
batteries, or paying somebody else to wrestle them, more often when you go with
the BIC Disposable approach.

There are times when the cheapie battery is appropriate. Need to replace a
battery in a boat you're trying to sell? Few buyers would be willing to pay the
additional difference represented between a new WalMart special and a new
Rolls, for example.

On 06 Oct 2004 23:40:53 GMT, (Gould 0738) wrote:

How do they compare cost wise?

Later,

Tom

Probably among the most cost effective batteries you can buy. My batteries came
with a ten-year warranty, and the first seven are not pro-rated. If a cell
takes a dive at six years, eleven months, they will replace it straight across.

I get a lot of stuff at wholesale, sometimes even well below, through my
business connections. I think I remember paying $600-700 for a pair of 8D's
with two very nice new battery boxes. And that was 2 or three years ago, I
think. You would probably need to shop pretty hard to get the same deal if
you're buying retail- but it may be out there. This is a couple of times the
price of a pair of
"ordinary" batteries, but I can expect 2 and
a half to three times the useful life. Remember that when you replace the
cheapie battery you buy today, you will be paying the inflated price for the
second, and maybe even the third battery needed to provide the same service as
a top quality product. You also get the fun of wrestling with those heavy
batteries, or paying somebody else to wrestle them, more often when you go with
the BIC Disposable approach.

There are times when the cheapie battery is appropriate. Need to replace a
battery in a boat you're trying to sell? Few buyers would be willing to pay the
additional difference represented between a new WalMart special and a new
Rolls, for example.

You make some good points and they are well taken.

I'm changing engines on the Contender this winter to new ones and have
been thinking of AGM technology for batteries. According to some I've
talked to, these tend to last longer than wet or gel cell batteries,
but I have a lot of electronics on the Contender and there are times,
while drift fishing for example, that everything is on - finders,
radar, radio, etc. I have been using a small Honda 1.5 Kw generator
for that, but would like to use batteries instead. I have some spare
space where I could mount three deep cycle batteries in parallel which
would be more than adequate and if it's a long drift, the Honda comes
into play.

It's something to think about - price be damned. ;)

Thanks for your advice.

Later,

Tom