Battery Opinions

[capecodcruiser]

OK, I have my "flame suit on", but am curious to know your opinions on a battery question. I picked these batteries up from an FAA site that I worked on. They have a label on them "installed 1/11/2010". I had 8 of them and brought back to shop to see if they would take a charge. 4 have and continue to amaze me on their durability, load testing and consistency.
http://www.cogenient.com/mfc-refdocs/C&D Dynasty/UPS High Rate Max/UPS12-400MR.pdf
I was thinking of using them on my 310. I know, penny wise, pound foolish, etc. Not trying to "cheap out" but am a fan of repurposing. I have been messing around with using them in different applications all summer, i.e. misc equipment, cars, etc and they continue to just hold up and perform. Not looking to get into a judgement discussion, but different perspectives could be interesting. Fire away.

 

[superwa]

I think they are too old to trust them out there, at least for overnight cruising and such. If you go out for a couple of hours and back maybe it’s ok, but I would not risk it with bad batteries on mine.

 

[PMC]

An AGM battery is fine. My only concern would be on the environment change and if the construction suitable. Marine batteries need to withstand a lot of vibration and banging around.

Looks like it would make a decent inverter or house battery. At 9 years old, I would not expect much of it though......

 

[MonacoMike]

In the end it will all come down to your personal risk tolerance and how you use your boat. There is a reason they were no longer used and that most likely is the risk of failure, which usually happens at the worst times.

MM

 

[markrsimon]

I had a nice set similar to these. Aside from them weighing like 90lbs each, I was concerned with the terminal size. While they have great specs for long durations of low current - I cant see being able to get starting current out of them safely. Sure, the design is rated for 800amps, but the 1/4bolt connector? I use them for everything but boat/auto. As mentioned, would be great for an inverter setup - which is basically a UPS - which is what they were designed for. Keep in mind that recharge time will be long if you run them down.

 

[capecodcruiser]

All great replies guys. Many points I hadn't considered! Will keep them for non boating uses and get the real deal for next season and have no worries. Thanks for the conversation