Golf cart batteries

The 8Ds are ready for replacement. I'd like to go with golf cart batteries.

Costco has them for $62 each. No real information on the card in the store. West marine has them for $127. There is not enough information in either place to compare them to each other.

Several sites on the Internet have Trojan golf cart batteries, and there are many choices, for prices that look like $200 and up.

I have a lot to learn about batteries. I don't have enough information, yet, to compare what I'm seeing.

Then there's the issue of a new "Smart" charger. My 20 year old charger probably needs to be upgraded with the batteries.

Your input would be appreciated.

Jim

20 yrs ago when I had a 28 ft. Chris Craft Cavalier, I had 4-8D's for all accessories, and a cheap car battery for starting, down in the belly of the beast., I made my own battery isolator, adn the starting bat. was independant. the 4 Cat 8D's did all the acessory power. We spent weekends on the boat without firing up for recharge.

I didn't have any complaints with the system, and would do it again if I had a similar craft. BUT, your situation is obviously different.

I wasn't aware that some companies made individual cell batteries, but that makes sense, and is good to know that you can make your own custom charging system to fit your needs, PLUS, be able to stuff individual cells in empty space.

Good idea.

What are the amp/hour ratings? The warranties?

How much do the batteries weigh? (Heavier is generally better in the same size)

Neither Costco nor West Marine actually manufacture batteries, and there is a good chance that both firms buy batteries regionally from suppliers like Trojan, etc. Costco and West Marine could, theorectically, have the exact same batteries for sale with different labels on them, and Costco marks up the battery 20% and West Marine marks it up 120%.(it's for a boat, don't you know).. :-)

For grins and giggles, compare the specs on these discount batteries to the best flooded cell technology available:

http://www.rollsbattery.com/

The FAQ on this site will take you a fair piece toward becoming adequately informed about batteries.

If you spend the big bucks, it's likely that you won't be hassling with batteries again for at least ten years.

One thing is , like chuck said, is that Cat doesn't ame their own batteries, but who ever makes them has to make them to Cat's specs. and they have good specs!

Jim wrote:

Betcha these are not cheap!

http://www.boatelectric.com/Sea%20Circuits%20reprint%20hi-res.pdf#search='amp%20hour%208d'

Eisboch

That's why.

I'm exploring all the options instead of just replacing the 8Ds with 8Ds .. . .

Have you checked the ratings of a Rolls 8D vs. a pair of Walmart golf cart batteries? You might be surprised.

We have four battery systems on our boat, and one of them powers an AC inverter. We do use golf cart batteries for that application, but only because of a lack of available space to use an Rolls 8D.

The Rolls battery is very expensive and does not help the space issue. I do like what I've read about them, but maybe off the shelf golf cart batteries would be the best for my application.

Now to figure out which ones to buy . . .

I'd go back to Costco and get one of the folks in the tire center (not the shop -- inside where they sell the batteries) to look up the specs for you. They're happy to do it.

jps