Re: battery question? DESIGN SUGGESTIONS
Having been around a lot of dead batteries you should factor a few things in no matter what brand you get.
#1- Rule of thumb on lots of jobs done, a good battery will last you three seasons if well-maintained. And the third season is marginal sometimes. Four seasons and you're on barrowed time.
#2- That battery switch is never used correctly. One battery should be isolated from the other or it serves no purpose. They both drain dead simultaneously.
#3- If wired correctly one battery should be engine cranking only and NOTHING else attached to it. NOTHING. That includes the bilge pump. The bilge pump should be hardwired to the house battery and can NOT be switched off. The bigger you an get on CCA the better.
#4- Everything else should be on a deep cyle or duel cycle battery. They are made to drain. Here's where A-H Ampere-Hours mean something. How long can you run so many amps. It defines it.
Back to the beginning. Make sure the batteries and the switch are done correctly.
If you have a 120vac charger make sure it isolated the batteries from each other- number of banks.
In a disaster you need to start the motors, even if it's just to charge the other battery and get your VHF up for maydays and have your pumps running again. Also there is no such think as a bildge pump that's too big. I have a 2500gph in a 14' Aluminum runabout.
HOuse batterie(s) run the anchor lights, live well, electronics, refrigerator, etc. So go with the highest deep or dual cycle AH rating you can find. Cold Cranking Amps(CCA) mean little in a house battery.
Hope that helps some? I have no favorite brands. Nor ones I'd stear clear or either.
Good luck!
Capt. Frank
|
