Golf cart batteries
 

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

Golf cart batteries
 

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

Golf cart batteries
 

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

Golf cart batteries
 

"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

Golf cart batteries
 

Golf cart batteries
 

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
.. . .

Golf cart batteries
 

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.

Golf cart batteries
 

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 . . .

Golf cart batteries
 

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

Golf cart batteries
 

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

Golf cart batteries
 

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.

Golf cart batteries / What I have learned
 

A day of learning:

Two 6 volt, 220 amp batteries joined to make one 12 volt battery has 220
amps. Even though the guy at the battery store told me otherwise.

My old 8Ds had a rating of 215 amps. 220/215, not much gain there.

The cost of the 6 volt batteries is about 1/2 the cost of an 8D. A
little more or a little less. $65 + $65 = $130. 8D, $140. Not much
gain there.

What this means is that there is little gained, initially, by going with
the golf cart batteries. Since I have to buy battery boxes, it will
cost me more.

The golf cart batteries SHOULD be good for many more deep discharges
than the 8D. The golf cart batteries are easier to move around, and
have a smaller foot print. The battery boxes have more options for
dimensions.

I'm buying the golf cart batteries from a battery store. A few dollars
higher than Costco. Five dollars each battery. I get the cables free
from the battery store, so it's actually cheaper than Costco.

I'm upgrading my charger to a Xantrex "True Charge" 40 amp, 3 stage
charger. The "Equalizer" function is an important to maintain the
batteries.

The old battery boiler charger is going in the trash.

Golf cart batteries / What I have learned
 

In article . net,
says...
A day of learning:

Two 6 volt, 220 amp batteries joined to make one 12 volt battery has 220
amps. Even though the guy at the battery store told me otherwise.

My old 8Ds had a rating of 215 amps. 220/215, not much gain there.

The cost of the 6 volt batteries is about 1/2 the cost of an 8D. A
little more or a little less. $65 + $65 = $130. 8D, $140. Not much
gain there.

What this means is that there is little gained, initially, by going with
the golf cart batteries. Since I have to buy battery boxes, it will
cost me more.

The golf cart batteries SHOULD be good for many more deep discharges
than the 8D. The golf cart batteries are easier to move around, and
have a smaller foot print. The battery boxes have more options for
dimensions.

I'm buying the golf cart batteries from a battery store. A few dollars
higher than Costco. Five dollars each battery. I get the cables free
from the battery store, so it's actually cheaper than Costco.

I'm upgrading my charger to a Xantrex "True Charge" 40 amp, 3 stage
charger. The "Equalizer" function is an important to maintain the
batteries.

The old battery boiler charger is going in the trash.

Did you check out the higher profile tractor batteries? If you've got
enough headroom, they could give you a higher amp-hour capacity in the
same footprint and not a lot more money...

jps

Golf cart batteries / What I have learned
 

On Sat, 08 Jul 2006 02:26:53 GMT, Jim wrote:

A day of learning:

Two 6 volt, 220 amp batteries joined to make one 12 volt battery has 220
amps. Even though the guy at the battery store told me otherwise.

My old 8Ds had a rating of 215 amps. 220/215, not much gain there.

The cost of the 6 volt batteries is about 1/2 the cost of an 8D. A
little more or a little less. $65 + $65 = $130. 8D, $140. Not much
gain there.

What this means is that there is little gained, initially, by going with
the golf cart batteries. Since I have to buy battery boxes, it will
cost me more.

The golf cart batteries SHOULD be good for many more deep discharges
than the 8D. The golf cart batteries are easier to move around, and
have a smaller foot print. The battery boxes have more options for
dimensions.

I'm buying the golf cart batteries from a battery store. A few dollars
higher than Costco. Five dollars each battery. I get the cables free
from the battery store, so it's actually cheaper than Costco.

I'm upgrading my charger to a Xantrex "True Charge" 40 amp, 3 stage
charger. The "Equalizer" function is an important to maintain the
batteries.

The old battery boiler charger is going in the trash.



Hi Jim,

Not all golf cart batteries are created equal. It is my understanding
that the life cycles for the most popular golf cart batteries are
approximately 733 @50% DoD and 225 @80% DoD; whereas, another popular
brand claims approximately 1200 @50% DoD and 600-1000 at 80% DoD.
Surrette/Rolls publishes approximately 1280 cycles for their 400
series batteries at 50% DoD and 800 cycles at 80% DoD.

The point I would like to make is that the thickness of the plates and
DoD matter assuming that the batteries are properly charged and
maintained and the cost per cycle is something you might want to
consider.

Using a good "smart" temperature compensated four stage charger on wet
batteries is a wise investment.

Kindest regards,

BiLL.......