[C320-list] Flooded batteries to AGM

[Caryl]

We have changed ours on our 380 to 6v golf cart batteries (wet) for the house side and have had great luck.

On our 320 there were two brands that ended up to be the same.  When asking our battery vendor why they needed to have water levels brought up a few times he stated that either the battery was ready to fail or that there was a problem with the charging system.  It is not normal to have to keep adding distilled water.  We did change that one battery out and after a year the levels were all up to where they were supposed to be.

Our 320 came with group 31's.  Two for the house and one for starting.

Caryl Hunt
#818

Sent from my iPad

> On Jun 28, 2014, at 9:14 AM, Tim Westhoven <westhoven at wcnet.org> wrote:
> 
> After waiting a couple months for a minor fiberglass repair, I finally
> launched Affinity this past Wednesday. As I attempted to start her up, we
> realized the four year old batteries were toast. That started several days
> of researching AGM batteries, chargers and all things electrical, but to no
> definitive end. Half the people I spoke to told me to just reinstall the
> wet battery type, even though I had thought I really didn't want the
> hassles of leaky wet batteries that have to be fed distilled water every
> month. The old batteries slopped battery acid all over the compartment
> beneath the settee and I have been told that the gas they put off in the
> cabin area isn't such a good thing, either. AGMs are supposed to last twice
> as long and the Lifeline AGMs with 210 AH (amp hours) cost over twice as
> much-- $599 each X two batteries-- $1,200. Other brands can be purchased at
> $350 each-$700 total, with around 200 AH. When I ask distributors about the
> differences, they talk about the construction of the cases that glass mats
> are held in and imply that cheaper brands may allow shifting to the point
> where panels touch and cause the elements inside to fail. I haven't had a
> real clear discussion about that issue yet. At this point, I am inclined
> toward spending $350 each for cheap AGM over $1,200 for the big name
> brands, which I would consider still better than the flooded batteries
> which so far are anywhere from $175 for the cheap ones and $275 for good
> ones.
> 
> I have a Xantrex 20 charger that is switchable between flooded, gel or AGM
> for charging. It is in the port lazarette on the forward wall-- down in
> there a bit and a little hard to get to with the lazarette full of life
> jackets, deck brushes with long handles and other junk. I suppose the
> distances are just a few feet from the breaker panel for power to the
> charger and quite a bit further for the serpentine route from charger to
> batteries. I will double check the gauges of wiring today to see that they
> are heavy enough not to lose charging power as 20 amp is about as small as
> they recommend for these two batteries. (200 Amp Hours divided by 20 amps
> is ten hours of charging for a fully 100 percent discharged battery, but I
> doubt we would ever fully discharge that much battery in a day anyway.)
> 
> Catalina used the flooded type batteries from the factory and have
> recommended the Exide Nauti Gold 4Ds, but another post I read somewhere
> suggests that Exide bought out another company and consolidated their two
> lines and it takes some looking to determine which of their batteries is
> the stronger. And when I would be finished with that, I would still have a
> flooded battery at about $287 each.
> 
> So my question is, has anyone had to face down this battery issue with
> their 320? Cheaper end of the AGMs or expensive end of the flooded
> batteries? Any wisdom you can impart would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Tim WesthovenAffinity Hull # 657Herl's Harbor2263 N.E. CatawbaPort
> Clinton, Ohio 43452419-409-1000 mobilewesthoven at wcnet.org
> <westhoven at wcnet.org>*