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Greg & Jax

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Hi guys . I currently use a 50 amp pro charge ultra to charge my 3 varta fd180 ah batteries .

I recently had to remove one of my batteries as it was very hot and gassing quite bad the other two are fine and charge etc no problem . 

I now want to replace them and have been looking at 3 sealed   explorer 220 ah calcium leisure batteries . 

I mainly stop in the marina on shore power and just get out for weekends and short trips when we can . 

Does this set up sound about right for what we need .

I don't  want the huge cost of deep cycle or AGM etc 

Any thoughts would be great 

Regards Greg. 

Edited by Greg & Jax
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I have 6x 210 / 220 / 230Ah batteries (depending on manufacturer)

 

Best to go for ones that can be topped up, if you are on shore power and have the battery charger on 24/7 it does allow you to add water.

 

Make sure that dimensionally they will fit in your battery-box.

 

For example :

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MONBAT-DYNAMIC-HD-BATTERY-210AH-1350A-625-632-IVECO-DAF-CF-XF-VOLVO-SCANIA-MAN/121090978669?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D50545%26meid%3D0292643f247c4ee0addcfdfe285c97a1%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D110438377504%26itm%3D121090978669&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

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13 minutes ago, Greg & Jax said:

 

I recently had to remove one of my batteries as it was very hot and gassing quite bad the other two are fine and charge etc no problem . 

Unless the remaining two are very low on capacity and don't fill your needs when your cruising, I wouldn't bother with replacing them.

16 minutes ago, Greg & Jax said:

Does this set up sound about right for what we need .

What you need would depend on how much power you use when off-grid.   Battery charger doesn't really come into this equation.

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Thanks for the reply .

Originally I had 3 elecsol 220 unsealed and topped them up when needed . Lasted 9 years or so then bought 3 varta sealed 2 are ok and the 3rd just died  lasted 3 years .I thought I would be easy no maintenance ! 

I have the dimensionsof the area so will check sizing . As we now have a larder  fridge freezer 12 v I find the two remaining batts not quite enough  and have to charge them more often when out cruising. 

So would unsealed batts that I top up be our best bet ? 

Regards Greg. 

Edited by Greg & Jax
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2 hours ago, Greg & Jax said:

As we now have a larder  fridge freezer 12 v I find the two remaining batts not quite enough  and have to charge them more often when out cruising. 

If they’re nearing end of life, which is likely if one has already died, then their capacity will be way down - maybe 50% or more. Therefore two might well be enough. However, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t buy three if you wish to. 

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24 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

If you are prepared to 'look after them' and help maximise their life, then yes.

If you are an 'ignore them they are in a dark hole' sort of person then just get the cheapest.

We are certainly in the latter category. 

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I would point out that any form of sealed battery is difficult and time consuming for an ordinary boater to test/check. With open cell batteries you ca see when individual sells start  using liquid  and you can compare cells with a hydrometer.

 

Wet open cell for me ever time - maybe not if my boat had batteries that were beast to access though.

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Thanks for all  the reply,s .

As I managed to look after our elecsols  for 9 years without much know how ,  I will be getting wet ones again now .

Our batteries are easy to get at and lots of room round them . 

Thank you for all the pointers ?

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12 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

I would point out that any form of sealed battery is difficult and time consuming for an ordinary boater to test/check. With open cell batteries you ca see when individual sells start  using liquid  and you can compare cells with a hydrometer.

 

Wet open cell for me ever time - maybe not if my boat had batteries that were beast to access though.

Access to our batteries is pretty poor. But even if it wasn't life is too short for Molly coddling batteries. 

 

We buy relatively cheap sealed batteries fit them and forget them. They usually last three to four years before they start to show signs of deterioration. We don't use them to the death. We replace them as soon as they start to show signs of not being as good as they once were. Some people could probably eek another couple of years out of them when we replace them. We don't see the point. We rely on them so why risk them letting you down?

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6 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

Access to our batteries is pretty poor. But even if it wasn't life is too short for Molly coddling batteries. 

 

We buy relatively cheap sealed batteries fit them and forget them. They usually last three to four years before they start to show signs of deterioration. We don't use them to the death. We replace them as soon as they start to show signs of not being as good as they once were. Some people could probably eek another couple of years out of them when we replace them. We don't see the point. We rely on them so why risk them letting you down?

You don't live off grid either.

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Until now, I've always just gone for bog-standard leisure batteries, bought from a chandlers.  My current set are now thoroughly knackered so I've decided to go for a small upgrade and have ordered 3 of these: https://www.tayna.co.uk/leisure-batteries/enduroline/exv110/

 

Maybe they'll be better than what I've had before.  I was swayed by the 4 year guarantee which seemed a bonus.  At some point in the future I'll probably upgrade to something 'proper' like T-105s or lithium but that would require substantial extra investment.

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1 minute ago, Dave_P said:

Until now, I've always just gone for bog-standard leisure batteries, bought from a chandlers.  My current set are now thoroughly knackered so I've decided to go for a small upgrade and have ordered 3 of these: https://www.tayna.co.uk/leisure-batteries/enduroline/exv110/

 

Maybe they'll be better than what I've had before.  I was swayed by the 4 year guarantee which seemed a bonus.  At some point in the future I'll probably upgrade to something 'proper' like T-105s or lithium but that would require substantial extra investment.

You try claiming on that four year warranty!

 

 

9 minutes ago, Dave_P said:

You don't live off grid either.

No we don't. Much the same as many other boat owners.

 

We probably spend a lot more time away from our home mooring then a lot of liveaboard boaters though. 

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Just now, Naughty Cal said:

You try claiming on that four year warranty!

 

 

I'll let you know in 3 years, 11 months.  I did recently take a pair of hiking shoes back to Cotswold Outdoor after 11.5 months.  I do a lot of walking and had basically worn them out.  They were more than happy to provide me with a brand new pair and re-set the clock on the warranty. Result! :cheers:

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13 minutes ago, Dave_P said:

You don't live off grid either.

But (from the OP) :

 

19 hours ago, Greg & Jax said:

 

I mainly stop in the marina on shore power and just get out for weekends and short trips when we can . 

 

Not even a comparison to NC's regular off grid usage, let alone 'an off grid liveaboard'

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1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

But (from the OP) :

 

Not even a comparison to NC's regular off grid usage, let alone 'an off grid liveaboard'

It does seem a bit of overkill from the OP.  Something like this would be plenty enough in his case: https://www.limekilnchandlers.co.uk/3-x-110amp-leisure-batteries-collect-only.html

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45 minutes ago, Dave_P said:

I'll let you know in 3 years, 11 months.  I did recently take a pair of hiking shoes back to Cotswold Outdoor after 11.5 months.  I do a lot of walking and had basically worn them out.  They were more than happy to provide me with a brand new pair and re-set the clock on the warranty. Result! :cheers:

The warranty for batteries covers manufacturing defects not wear and tear through use of the batteries. 

 

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11 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

The warranty for batteries covers manufacturing defects not wear and tear through use of the batteries. 

 

Again you are spot on. In four years time an off grid set of batteries for a liveabord will be worn out through use and the warranty is only for defects etc. I like you always fit relatively cheap sealed jobbies as life is way too short to keep messing with batteries. We get two years full time use so at least 600 cycles ( obviously never below 12.2 ) usualy 12.4 on a morning and when they show signs of a few dippy mornings away they go wll binno, I usualy give them to someone who can be arsed to take them for recycling. After many many years of this routine I think my costs of roughly 50 pence a day for batteries is well worth it and I aint going anywhere near em till replacement  day for that kind of money.

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2 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Again you are spot on. In four years time an off grid set of batteries for a liveabord will be worn out through use and the warranty is only for defects etc. I like you always fit relatively cheap sealed jobbies as life is way too short to keep messing with batteries. We get two years full time use so at least 600 cycles ( obviously never below 12.2 ) usualy 12.4 on a morning and when they show signs of a few dippy mornings away they go wll binno, I usualy give them to someone who can be arsed to take them for recycling. After many many years of this routine I think my costs of roughly 50 pence a day for batteries is well worth it and I aint going anywhere near em till replacement  day for that kind of money.

50p sounds quite a lot, I’ve got 4 Trojan T105’s, know approaching 5 years and I abuse them a lot.  That’s around 25p a day and they are not yet due for replacement.

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1 hour ago, Robbo said:

50p sounds quite a lot, I’ve got 4 Trojan T105’s, know approaching 5 years and I abuse them a lot.  That’s around 25p a day and they are not yet due for replacement.

Yes BUT you have to pee about topping em up and crap like that so you can keep your 25 pence a day saving over my costs thank you very much. 

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1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

Yes BUT you have to pee about topping em up and crap like that so you can keep your 25 pence a day saving over my costs thank you very much. 

You mean you should pee about topping them up, I don’t.  I also regularly go below 12v and have no solar, they are abused but still have good life in them.

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