On my trawler my present house battery bank consists of two 8Ds, my
starting battery is a 4D.

The 8Ds are ready for replacement. I'd like to go with golf cart
batteries.

Costco has them for $62 each. No real information on the card in the
store. West marine has them for $127. There is not enough information in
either place to compare them to each other.

Several sites on the Internet have Trojan golf cart batteries, and there
are many choices, for prices that look like $200 and up.

I have a lot to learn about batteries. I don't have enough information,
yet, to compare what I'm seeing.

Then there's the issue of a new "Smart" charger. My 20 year old charger
probably needs to be upgraded with the batteries.

Your input would be appreciated.

Jim

Jim wrote:
On my trawler my present house battery bank consists of two 8Ds, my
starting battery is a 4D.

The 8Ds are ready for replacement. I'd like to go with golf cart
batteries.

Costco has them for $62 each. No real information on the card in the
store. West marine has them for $127. There is not enough information in
either place to compare them to each other.

Sure there is.

What are the amp/hour ratings? The warranties?

How much do the batteries weigh? (Heavier is generally better in the
same size)

Neither Costco nor West Marine actually manufacture batteries, and
there is a good chance that both firms buy batteries regionally from
suppliers like Trojan, etc. Costco and West Marine could,
theorectically, have the exact same batteries for sale with different
labels on them, and Costco marks up the battery 20% and West Marine
marks it up 120%........(it's for a boat, don't you know).. :-)


For grins and giggles, compare the specs on these discount batteries to
the best flooded cell technology available:

http://www.rollsbattery.com/

The FAQ on this site will take you a fair piece toward becoming
adequately informed about batteries.



If you spend the big bucks, it's likely that you won't be hassling with
batteries again for at least ten years.





Several sites on the Internet have Trojan golf cart batteries, and there
are many choices, for prices that look like $200 and up.

I have a lot to learn about batteries. I don't have enough information,
yet, to compare what I'm seeing.

Then there's the issue of a new "Smart" charger. My 20 year old charger
probably needs to be upgraded with the batteries.

Your input would be appreciated.

Jim

Whats the matter with going back to 8-D's?
BTW, if youhave a catterpillar dealership, you can get Genuine Cat OE
batteries for about the same as aftermarket.

One thing is , like chuck said, is that Cat doesn't ame their own
batteries, but who ever makes them has to make them to Cat's specs.
and they have good specs!


Jim wrote:
On my trawler my present house battery bank consists of two 8Ds, my
starting battery is a 4D.

The 8Ds are ready for replacement. I'd like to go with golf cart
batteries.

Costco has them for $62 each. No real information on the card in the
store. West marine has them for $127. There is not enough information in
either place to compare them to each other.

Several sites on the Internet have Trojan golf cart batteries, and there
are many choices, for prices that look like $200 and up.

I have a lot to learn about batteries. I don't have enough information,
yet, to compare what I'm seeing.

Then there's the issue of a new "Smart" charger. My 20 year old charger
probably needs to be upgraded with the batteries.

Your input would be appreciated.

Jim

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ups.com...

Jim wrote:
On my trawler my present house battery bank consists of two 8Ds, my
starting battery is a 4D.

The 8Ds are ready for replacement. I'd like to go with golf cart
batteries.


Here's an interesting option if you are an AGM fan.
Straight from Chuck's magazine.

Betcha these are not cheap!

http://www.boatelectric.com/Sea%20Circuits%20reprint%20hi-res.pdf#search='amp%20hour%208d'

Eisboch

wrote:
Whats the matter with going back to 8-D's?

Golf cart batteries should/might be cheaper, easier to handle, take less
room, have more amps, and be better suited to the task.

That's why.



BTW, if youhave a catterpillar dealership, you can get Genuine Cat OE
batteries for about the same as aftermarket.

One thing is , like chuck said, is that Cat doesn't ame their own
batteries, but who ever makes them has to make them to Cat's specs.
and they have good specs!


Jim wrote:

On my trawler my present house battery bank consists of two 8Ds, my
starting battery is a 4D.

The 8Ds are ready for replacement. I'd like to go with golf cart
batteries.

Costco has them for $62 each. No real information on the card in the
store. West marine has them for $127. There is not enough information in
either place to compare them to each other.

Several sites on the Internet have Trojan golf cart batteries, and there
are many choices, for prices that look like $200 and up.

I have a lot to learn about batteries. I don't have enough information,
yet, to compare what I'm seeing.

Then there's the issue of a new "Smart" charger. My 20 year old charger
probably needs to be upgraded with the batteries.

Your input would be appreciated.

Jim

Chuck Gould wrote:

Jim wrote:

On my trawler my present house battery bank consists of two 8Ds, my
starting battery is a 4D.

The 8Ds are ready for replacement. I'd like to go with golf cart
batteries.

Costco has them for $62 each. No real information on the card in the
store. West marine has them for $127. There is not enough information in
either place to compare them to each other.


Sure there is.

What are the amp/hour ratings? The warranties?

How much do the batteries weigh? (Heavier is generally better in the
same size)

Neither Costco nor West Marine actually manufacture batteries, and
there is a good chance that both firms buy batteries regionally from
suppliers like Trojan, etc. Costco and West Marine could,
theorectically, have the exact same batteries for sale with different
labels on them, and Costco marks up the battery 20% and West Marine
marks it up 120%........(it's for a boat, don't you know).. :-)


For grins and giggles, compare the specs on these discount batteries to
the best flooded cell technology available:

http://www.rollsbattery.com/

The FAQ on this site will take you a fair piece toward becoming
adequately informed about batteries.



If you spend the big bucks, it's likely that you won't be hassling with
batteries again for at least ten years.





Several sites on the Internet have Trojan golf cart batteries, and there
are many choices, for prices that look like $200 and up.

I have a lot to learn about batteries. I don't have enough information,
yet, to compare what I'm seeing.

Then there's the issue of a new "Smart" charger. My 20 year old charger
probably needs to be upgraded with the batteries.

Your input would be appreciated.

Jim


Chuck;
The Rolls batteries look very good, but cost effectiveness is a
consideration.

I'm exploring all the options instead of just replacing the 8Ds with 8Ds
.. . .

Jim wrote:
wrote:
Whats the matter with going back to 8-D's?

Golf cart batteries should/might be cheaper, easier to handle, take less
room, have more amps, and be better suited to the task.

That's why.





That's why....Rolls offers the single cell configuration. You bolt 6
(nominally) 2-volt
batteries (cells) together in an 8D case. Each cell weighs something
around 30 pounds, so that's all you need to handle at a any one time.
If the battery appears to fail, it will very likely be just a single
cell that has gone bad so instead of buying a whole new battery you
only have to buy one cell. Of course you won't have to buy anything for
7 years, as the first 7 years of the 10-year warranty are full
replacement coverage without any pro-rated adjustments.

Have you checked the ratings of a Rolls 8D vs. a pair of Walmart golf
cart batteries?
You might be surprised.

We have four battery systems on our boat, and one of them powers an AC
inverter. We do use golf cart batteries for that application, but only
because of a lack of available space to use an Rolls 8D.

Chuck Gould wrote:

Jim wrote:

wrote:

Whats the matter with going back to 8-D's?

Golf cart batteries should/might be cheaper, easier to handle, take less
room, have more amps, and be better suited to the task.

That's why.






That's why....Rolls offers the single cell configuration. You bolt 6
(nominally) 2-volt
batteries (cells) together in an 8D case. Each cell weighs something
around 30 pounds, so that's all you need to handle at a any one time.
If the battery appears to fail, it will very likely be just a single
cell that has gone bad so instead of buying a whole new battery you
only have to buy one cell. Of course you won't have to buy anything for
7 years, as the first 7 years of the 10-year warranty are full
replacement coverage without any pro-rated adjustments.

Have you checked the ratings of a Rolls 8D vs. a pair of Walmart golf
cart batteries?
You might be surprised.

We have four battery systems on our boat, and one of them powers an AC
inverter. We do use golf cart batteries for that application, but only
because of a lack of available space to use an Rolls 8D.

Chuck;
8Ds are a very tight fit. The golf cart batteries, mounted side to side
would be a much better fit. Height is no problem.

The Rolls battery is very expensive and does not help the space issue.
I do like what I've read about them, but maybe off the shelf golf cart
batteries would be the best for my application.

Now to figure out which ones to buy . . .

In article . net,
says...
On my trawler my present house battery bank consists of two 8Ds, my
starting battery is a 4D.

The 8Ds are ready for replacement. I'd like to go with golf cart
batteries.

Costco has them for $62 each. No real information on the card in the
store. West marine has them for $127. There is not enough information in
either place to compare them to each other.

They're both likely to be Trojan although there's several manufacturers.
I found the Trojan 6V at Sams Club for about $50. My local Costco
didn't have them at the time.

I'd go back to Costco and get one of the folks in the tire center (not
the shop -- inside where they sell the batteries) to look up the specs
for you. They're happy to do it.

jps

In article . net,
says...

Chuck;
8Ds are a very tight fit. The golf cart batteries, mounted side to side
would be a much better fit. Height is no problem.

If you have lots of height available, there's another 6V you should
consider that's used for tractors. It's got a fair percentage more amp-
hours and the price is similar. Go to the Trojan website and I'm sure
they'll be some info there.

Finding a source may be a little more difficult but may be worth your
time. You might be better off inquiring at a feed store rather than a
chandlery.

jps