Kirkland marine batteries?

[Seattle Chris]

Does anyone know if Costco still sells marine batteries? I need to
replace my starting batteries. Recommendations on a budget starting
battery? Do I need to go with a starting battery or deep cycle?

[Seattle Chris]

[e b]

marine battery  / rv batteries are the same thing.... its simply a battery that has more cycles than a regular starting / automotive battery.

the only deep cycle batieries out there than can take some abuse  ( withing a reasonable budget ) are golf car 6V batteries, if you have a gas engine they are fine as starting batteries, a deep cycle battery has thicker lead plates and release electricity slower that a "starting battery. a larger diesel starter might want a bit more umpff all at once than  a pair of 6V batteries can deliver.

do you have one bank... or house and starting batteries... i would stay away from sealed batteries  unless they are gel type, a battery is never sealed, it has to vent and over time a sealed battery does dry out.... keeping some distlied water and checking batteries twice a year is no big deal. 

> Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:27:22 -0700
> Subject: [UnifliteWorld] Kirkland marine batteries?
> From: c_dim...@hotmail.com
> To: unifli...@googlegroups.com

>
> Does anyone know if Costco still sells marine batteries? I need to
> replace my starting batteries. Recommendations on a budget starting
> battery? Do I need to go with a starting battery or deep cycle?
>

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[Michael Matich]

Check out AGM batteries. They are sealed. You can turn them upside down.
They last way long and basically maintenance free. A very safe battery for a
boat. They are also a lot more expensive. My 32" has a very small space at
the back of the engine room. I have a very difficult time trying to get my
head just above the batteries to check the water level so it just didn't
happen. The result was old flooded batteries that were not checked and had a
shorter life span and died. I got a smoking deal on a pair of 6V AGM for my
house bank so it was a no brainer for me to go the AGM route. A good place
to read about the pros and cons is West marines catalogue site. Then make
the choice. For me the ease of maintenance, safety and life span made
jumping to AGM's a better investment.

Mike
Polaris

-----Original Message-----
From: unifli...@googlegroups.com [mailto:unifli...@googlegroups.com]
On Behalf Of Seattle Chris
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2012 8:40 PM
To: UnifliteWorld
Subject: [UnifliteWorld] Kirkland marine batteries?

--

[waterguy]

I second Mike's recommendation that you review West Marine's discussion about batteries.  It's in the West Advisor (under the Advice & Articles tab, look under "Electrical" and then the article titled "Selecting a Marine Storage Battery."  URL here:  http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/WestAdvisorView?langId=-1&storeId=11151&catalogId=10001&page=Selecting-a-Marine-Storage-Battery

 

I don't know from your post exactly what you need - you said you need to replace your starting batteries.  What you don't say is whether you have a separate deep-cycle battery bank for house use when your engines are off and you're not hooked up to shore power (lights, refrigeration, etc.)  If you do, then for your starting bank all you need is a standard automotive-style starting battery, the kind you can get at Costco, Sam's Club or Sears.  These batteries are designed to deliver a short burst of high power.  You'll kill them if you run them down, like using them for house loads over a weekend at anchor.  They're not built for deep discharges.  You don't need a "marine" battery for pure starting loads. 

 

If you have a separate bank that you use only for house loads, you need dedicated deep-cycle batteries.  These are designed to be drawn down substantially and recharged repeatedly - which is treatment that will kill an automotive (e.g., starting) battery.  Best price around Seattle that I've found on these is the Dyno brand at Fisheries.

 

If you use your batteries for both starting and house loads, then you need a dual-purpose battery, like the "marine" battery at Costco or other discounters.  West Marine sells dual-purpose batteries, too.  So does Fisheries Supply - and they might be more competitive than West.

 

On the battery chemistry debate, I weigh in heavily on the side of old-school flooded batteries.  Yes, AGM and gel-cel batteries are great and don't leak (although they do outgas and need to be vented like flooded batteries), but the cost difference is (to me) not worth their added benefits.  The only benefit I can see that I would like about AGM batteries is that they will accept a higher rate of charge acceptance (which translates to shorter charging - e.g., engine-running - times).  

 

A flooded deep cycle battery will accept a charge of approximately 25% of the amp-hour rating versus the AGM charge acceptance of about 40% - but this doesn't matter to me because I have a house bank of 2 8D batteries, which have an amp-hour rating of 255 each (510 both).  This means that my flooded batteries will accept up to 127.5 amps of charge versus an AGM acceptance of 204 amps.  I have a 40-amp fixed AC charger and 60-amp alternators on my twin engines - meaning that I can't charge my flooded batteries as fast as they will accept a charge.  Having AGM batteries would be even more underkill as far as my charging system goes, so I wouldn't save any charging time. 

 

Price comparison:  8D flooded deep-cycle batteries at Fisheries Supply:  $374.49.  8D AGM batteries at Fisheries Supply:  $814.36.  I can't justify more than 2x the price for the no-spill convenience.  Plus, flooded batteries will tolerate overcharging better than AGM or gel-cells will.

 

My advice is worth what you paid for it :^)

 

 

 

 

[Troy Olason]

I would contact the guys at Boat Electric in Seattle. The have batteries for sale, but more importantly they will educate you on the how and why. They are good guys!

 

http://boatelectric.com/

 

Tell them Troy from www.cruisingnw.com sent you please! I bought my charging system and all that I needed to install it from them.

 

Good luck!

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[Chris DiMarco]

Thanks! I have twin 270 Crusaders (gas) and my mechanic reccommended deep cycle flooded batteries would be fine. Do you agree?

Don't want to spend more than $100 per battery. At this point I'm only changing the starting batteries in the bank. The others are fine for now. I'm planning to sell the boat within a year, so I want to keep my investment low.

Thanks for your feedback.

[John Ellison]

I have started using Odyssey batteries in my boat last year, they are sealed but not gel, they are high quality and expensive. A motorcycle I bought in 2004 came with one and I am still using it after 8 years, I have never gotten that type of service out of a motorcycle battery before, I was lucky to get two years and tried many brands.

 

http://www.odysseybattery.com/

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___________________________________________________ 

"Hang in There"      "Dont be the guy in the station wagon......."

[john hitchcock]

yes I have heard that Odyssey is a very good battery.  I have just invested in two 6 volt golf cart batteries for my house batteries and will probably invest in two more.  Anybody know what size amp solar panels I should get to keep them full.  Im in sunny the Florida keys.

Thanks

 

John

[Troy Olason]

If you are selling the boat, then the Costco batteries will be fine for a year, no probem.

 

Troy Olason

www.cruisingnw.com