Frank Langer
1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Hi,
I have two 86 amp group 27 gel cell deep cycle batteries wired in parallel for the house battery and one group 24 wet cell deep cycle for our starting battery. I have a Heart Freedom 1000 Link 10 inverter/charger, and when cruising for a weekend or a week at a time, use about 98 amps per day at most (refrigerator, cabin lights, instruments, stereo, water pump, etc.). I monitor our useage carefully, and tend to "baby" the batteries, never letting them get even close to 50% discharged.
The group 27 batteries were replaced in May, 2001 and the group 24 in May, 2007. However, the boat had little use between 2005 and 2008 before we retired. As we are planning several cruises this summer, I had anticipated that I might have to replace the group 27 batteries due to their age. But I decided to test them to see how they fared.
I borrowed a hand load tester from West Marine, and the batteries showed the following:
Group 24 wet cell deep cycle, rated at 575 Marine Cranking Amps showed voltage of 12.41 and MCA of 675 (I don't understand how it could be higher than it's rated for???)
The first Group 27 gel cell deep cycle rated at 700 MCA showed voltage of 13.38 and 673 MCA; the second showed voltage of 13.22 and 678 MCA.
I didn't absolutely trust the hand held, so took all three batteries to a local battery shop for testing. They put all three under load, and I could see that none of them dropped below 10 volts during the test. They said the group 24 was undercharged by about 25% and recommended I recharge it a bit. But they think the batteries are fine and no need for replacement. As they are in the business of selling batteries, I figure if they think they can't sell me a new one, then probably mine really are ok.
Any thoughts on all this? I like the idea of not having to replace them yet, as they are very expensive, but I also don't want to be caught short while out cruising.
Thanks,
Frank
I have two 86 amp group 27 gel cell deep cycle batteries wired in parallel for the house battery and one group 24 wet cell deep cycle for our starting battery. I have a Heart Freedom 1000 Link 10 inverter/charger, and when cruising for a weekend or a week at a time, use about 98 amps per day at most (refrigerator, cabin lights, instruments, stereo, water pump, etc.). I monitor our useage carefully, and tend to "baby" the batteries, never letting them get even close to 50% discharged.
The group 27 batteries were replaced in May, 2001 and the group 24 in May, 2007. However, the boat had little use between 2005 and 2008 before we retired. As we are planning several cruises this summer, I had anticipated that I might have to replace the group 27 batteries due to their age. But I decided to test them to see how they fared.
I borrowed a hand load tester from West Marine, and the batteries showed the following:
Group 24 wet cell deep cycle, rated at 575 Marine Cranking Amps showed voltage of 12.41 and MCA of 675 (I don't understand how it could be higher than it's rated for???)
The first Group 27 gel cell deep cycle rated at 700 MCA showed voltage of 13.38 and 673 MCA; the second showed voltage of 13.22 and 678 MCA.
I didn't absolutely trust the hand held, so took all three batteries to a local battery shop for testing. They put all three under load, and I could see that none of them dropped below 10 volts during the test. They said the group 24 was undercharged by about 25% and recommended I recharge it a bit. But they think the batteries are fine and no need for replacement. As they are in the business of selling batteries, I figure if they think they can't sell me a new one, then probably mine really are ok.
Any thoughts on all this? I like the idea of not having to replace them yet, as they are very expensive, but I also don't want to be caught short while out cruising.
Thanks,
Frank
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