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

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...

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

Times are changing and obviously so is Technology.

20 yrs ago when I had a 28 ft. Chris Craft Cavalier, I had 4-8D's for
all accessories, and a cheap car battery for starting, down in the
belly of the beast., I made my own battery isolator, adn the starting
bat. was independant. the 4 Cat 8D's did all the acessory power. We
spent weekends on the boat without firing up for recharge.

I didn't have any complaints with the system, and would do it again if
I had a similar craft. BUT, your situation is obviously different.

I wasn't aware that some companies made individual cell batteries, but
that makes sense, and is good to know that you can make your own custom
charging system to fit your needs, PLUS, be able to stuff individual
cells in empty space.

Good idea.


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.