Using DEEP CYCLE BATTERIES for your BOAT

 DEEP CYCLE BATTERIES for your BOAT

The type of boat that this article is referring to is perhaps the bigger boat that may occasionally take to the sea and do longer journeys, perhaps up and estuaries or fishing using nets.

Some canal boats also come into this category, especially if they are lived in for most of the time and use electricity for such things as freezers and TV sets. This also includes vessels that use bilge pumps and other electrical equipment for most of the day, I am also thinking about inverters. The correct batteries for this application are deep cycle batteries.

How can you tell if you have deep cycle batteries or not?

Deep cycle batteries usually have a reserve capacity or RC for short. This is the reserve capacity that a battery requires to maintain a useful voltage and is measured by the number of minutes it takes to hold onto a reasonable voltage when under a 25 ampere discharge. The RC reference will only be on the label of a deep cycle battery, if the label reads a Amp-Hour or CCA (cold cranking amp) reference then it likely that the battery is starter battery and will NOT be suitable for the purpose of deep cycling.

In my opinion, this where many this is where many people go wrong. They look on the internet or Ebay and see the cheaper leisure batteries advertised, thing that they are the thing that they want. Most of these leisure batteries are OK for a motor home or caravan, but they are not deep cycle batteries and will not last two minutes when used on a boating situation.

The genuine deep cycle batteries are made using much thicker plates and lead grids, which are the things that hold the plates together. The rest of the materials used such as the oxides and separator materials are made of much heavier duty materials, in order to give this type of battery a much deeper capacity. The cranking batteries that are used as car starter batteries are made of much lighter materials that make them much cheaper than the deep cycle batteries and they are only used to produce enough power to start a car’s engine and not to store large amounts of power. 

More reading... http://www.sailnet.com/forums/electrical-systems/63682-battery-confusion-amp-hours-vs-reserve-capacity.html

The starter battery cannot be used as a storage battery but the deep cycle battery can be used for both starting and storage.

The thing to look out for as I have said earlier is the RC rating and the higher the rating the better. You should get the biggest battery that you can fit into your battery compartment, without DE-stabilising your boat? Remember these batteries are very heavy due the heavy duty materials that they are made of.

You should buy the biggest deep cycle battery that will fit your boat, it will last much longer and give your battery a longer life by not having to use as many discharge and recharge cycles. For example this same battery might last 650 cycles if it is only discharged 50 percent on each fishing day, 1,500 cycles if discharged only 25 percent and 3,500 cycles if discharged only 10 percent.

The bottom line is that you pay for what you get, like anything in life. The bigger battery that you can afford that is deep cycle with a high RC rating the longer it will last you in the long run and the better service you will get out of your battery.

Some systems on the larger boats also run on 36 volt and 24 volt systems, so that is well worth watching out for. AGM are the most popular type of battery that is used. The AGM stands for (absorbed glass matting). The glass matting absorbs the electrolyte and so there is no liquid in the cells. The batteries can therefore be sealed and will not leak even if the battery casing is punctured. This type of battery can charge and re-charge faster than a flooded battery, but the downside is that they are heavier and more expensive to buy in the first place.

Gel batteries are also maintenance free similar to the AGM batteries, but are filled with a gel additive which sets in the battery making them maintenance free batteries. Both GEL and AGM batteries work under a slight amount of internal pressure and are equipped with a release valve should the pressure exceed the limits, due to excessive heat either in charging or operating conditions.

The difference is that you should not use the same charger for a GEL and an AGM battery. The GEL battery works at a much lower charge rate and if an AGM charger was used then the battery will overheat and cook in a short period of time. In my opinion the GEL battery is falling out of favour because they are the heaviest and the most expensive of the three different types of battery suitable for boats, and require a special charger.

So remember choosing the right battery for your needs and taking good care of it will save you money and keep your boat running longer.

Eric Roberts

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage and tyre and I am MD for online battery company www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk. I have worked for a couple for national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first business. I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with cars and their related products that will help my business. We are members of Point-S and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course Tyre-safe.

Trojan Batteries use’ Smart Carbon' technology to improve their battery performances

Trojan Batteries use’ Smart Carbon' technology 

To the readers that follow my battery blog, they will not be surprised at my admiration for the Trojan battery products and this latest delve into technology is just a re-enforcement to my beliefs.

One of the problems facing the battery makers was how they can improve the batteries performance when it is operating in a partial state of charge or (PSOC) for short. Trojan have come up with a formula that enhances the use of Smart Carbon, this helps to stabilize the batteries that are under charged on a regular basis, say in a telecom and inverter applications. It has taken Trojan five long years to develop the addition of carbon for use in deep-cycle flooded batteries used on off grid stationary systems. The original research was done to improve the life of the AGM and stop/start batteries that are used on so many different application and of course the stop/start is now used on many cars.

Batteries that are always operating on a partial state of charge, have a shorter life span, this includes the ones that are used for solar storage systems. This makes these types of batteries less popular because of the expense of constantly replacing them. This cost will be partially reduced due to the addition of the carbon technology and therefor reducing the cost of replacing the battery storage 

Trojan batteries are incorporated into the Old Fort Village resort in Ann, Jamaica

The Old Fort Village is now self-sufficient in its own power supply that is generated by the Sun and independent of the rest of Jamaica’s power supply. The holiday paradise is totally self-sufficient and the power comes from solar panels that are managed by a computerised energy management system. The development also brags about its solar hot water system and a septic tank sewage system with clear water irrigation. More reading at …http://oldfortvillage.com/greendev.php  

the reason I have brought up this Caribbean village is the fact that part of the total system was the inclusion of a deep-cycle battery electric storage system and are using Trojan batteries for this purpose. The bank consists of 144 Trojan IND 33 2 volt smart carbon batteries, which along with the solar panels are controlled by the energy management system.

As we all know this part of the World is blessed with many sunny days, but the storage system comes into its own and aids in the supply of electricity to power the entire units electrical needs, including luxuries like pool heaters and air conditioning units. The smart carbon helps the batteries to perform better when they are not in a fully charged state.

Independent studies have shown that the use of carbon in the negative plates of lead acid batteries reduce the process of sulphating and greatly increase the life of the lead acid battery. The life expectancy of the smart carbon deep-cycle batteries is likely to be increased by as much as 15%, compared to a normal lead acid deep-cycle storage battery. ..See more at: http://www.solarnovus.com/battery-update-carbon-resolves-partial-state-of-charge_N7641.html#sthash.FbgCgzLS.dpuf

The on grid electricity in the rest of Jamaica is very spasmodic and the system often generates surges and power-outs, especially in the hurricane season, it is also very expensive as compared with the Old Fort Village project. The cost is less than 70% when the storage and battery banks are used, instead of the islands grid system. Deep-cycle flooded batteries are still the most widely used battery technology due to their widespread availability and more economical price point. Smart Carbon batteries help to enhance the overall battery life in an application where the batteries are not fully recharged on a regular basis due to their usage.

Eric Roberts

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage and tyre and I am MD for online battery company www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk. I have worked for a couple for national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first business. I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with cars and their related products that will help my business. We are members of Point-S and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course Tyre-safe.

Easter coming up Time- To Check Out Your Caravan Battery

Its Time To Check Out Your Caravan Battery

As people know who are regular caravaner’s will know most up to date modern caravans are equipped with three sources of power, these are gas, the 12volt battery and the mains electricity that can be found on either at home or on the touring caravan sites.

If the caravan owner runs out of gas or the mains electricity are not available, then they have will have their 12volt battery to fall back on. This will power the caravan lights, and water pump along with your other 12volt appliances, obviously providing that your leisure battery is in tip top condition  and has been looked

This caravan will be fitted with the larger 110 amp leisure battery

after and charged over the winter dormant period.

Caravan owners will realise that they have actually got at least two 12volt batteries, they have a car battery and the one that they use on the caravan (some have more than one). The car battery is different to the leisure battery that you will have fitted in the caravan, as it is primarily used to start the car using CCA (cold cranking amps) and because of this the car battery has different plates inside the battery. These plates are perforated to give a larger surface area, which gives the battery more power when starting your car.

The caravan battery is supplied with thicker plates for more power storage;

 this storage can be used at a later time, say in the evening to power the 12volt electrical items, such as the TV or radio. Although it is generally recommended not to use the leisure battery for starting your car, we know of late that people with 4x4 vehicles have started to us the 110 amp leisure battery as a starter battery and a winch operator and they say that they work fine. You learn every day as they say.

In the past five or six years a new breed of leisure battery has come onto the market and has been heavily publicised at the large caravan and touring vehicle shows, up and down the UK. These batteries come in the trade names of Numax and Lucas are developed by the giant battery company Johnson Controls of America. These batteries have now stood the length of time that to me proves there worth and in my opinion I think that they are an excellent product and should be considered if you require a new leisure battery for you caravan. These batteries come in different sizes to suite your caravan’s capacity requirements, and have replaced the more expensive AGM batteries.

The AGM batteries though are coming back in fashion because of the increasing use of caravan owners using solar panels to re-charge their batteries and this enables them to go to more places that may not require the electric mains to charge up their batteries. The AGM battery has a far larger capacity to charge and dis-charge and is indeed known as a Deep Cycle battery and is more suitable for the use with solar power panels. These batteries are old technology and are made by many different battery companies, a popular one is the 70amp battery, and anything above this is a very heavy battery to move around. The weight of the battery should be taken into consideration, when buying your new battery as some are as much as 30 kg in weight.

The size and weight of the caravan battery are very important

This is due to the fact that most modern caravans have integral lockers and this may restrict the size of the battery that you can fit. The size of the locker would also depend of the size and make of your caravan, but it is still worth checking your size restrictions before you buy your new battery. The older caravans would put

Smaller rigs like this vintage VW will usean 85 amp caravan battery

the battery in any old place, even beside the gas bottle, but the new safety conscious caravans have a separate locker where the battery fits and this could also restrict the size of the battery so it is well worth the effort of measuring the old battery, or buying one with the same measurements as the old battery, do not be tempted to buy a bigger battery just for the sake of it.

You will usually find that most caravans come with an 85 amp leisure battery. In my opinion this battery is adequate for the regular caravaner that goes away for long weekends and a couple of weeks holiday a year and the weight of this battery is easy manageable, if you have an awkward place for the battery to fit. If you have one of the larger caravans and have more electrical gadgets then you should go for the 100 amp leisure battery or the 110 amp leisure battery, bearing in mind that these batteries are heavy to lift.

Here are some examples of the power that some of the common equipment will use.

An average fluorescent light tube    0.75 amps current for 5 hours  uses 3.75 amps per hour                                         

An  average colour TV                         3.00 amps  current for 2 hours uses 3.00 amps per hour

Two reading lamps (his and hers)     2.00 amps current for 2 hours uses 3.00 amps per hour

Water pump                                          7.00 amps current  for 0.25 hours uses 1.75 amps per hour

These figures are just a guide and may slightly differ from one caravan to another. For more information …http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/helpandadvice/technicalhelp/power/your-leisure-battery/

Eric Roberts

Hi I would like to introduce myself. I have worked in the Garage and tyre and I am MD for online battery companywww.batteriesontheweb.co.uk. I have worked for a couple for national tyre companies in my younger days, before starting my first business. I now own a garage and MOT testing centre, here in the UK called Pellon Tyre and Auto-centre, and I am a keen blogger about anything to do with cars and their related products that will help my business. We are members of Point-S and Motor-Codes and are also a Unipart Car Care Centre and of course Tyre-safe.