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Golf Cart Batteries

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by aircar, Oct 20, 2016.

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  1. aircar, Oct 20, 2016
    #1
    aircar

    aircar New Member

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    I have 12V71's on Hatteras 61. Can I replace the house battery banks with golf cart batteries? Largest I can find are Trojan T-9's. The banks are used for starting, powering bilge pumps, heads, monitoring system, some lighting. I use generator if anchoring out.
  2. Pascal, Oct 20, 2016
    #2
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    I be used four 8V exide golf cart batteries on my 53 with 8V71N and they crank just fine. I know others who use them with 8V92T

    Not sure about the 12s
  3. Capt J, Oct 21, 2016
    #3
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    It depends, is your Hatteras a 24 volt boat or a 32 volt boat. If it's a 24 volt boat, no you cannot use golf cart batteries.
  4. Pascal, Oct 21, 2016
    #4
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Why not? For house purposes y can use four 6 volts or three 8 volts to make a 24 v house bank. I'd prefer the 8 volt batteries as that would be one less connection.

    For cranking, I m not a big fan of not having dedicated start banks. On larger boats there is no reason not to have dedicated start banks. I know you re almost always on Genset but all it takes is the charger shutting down to run down the bank shared by house and start. And even with a parallel solenoid as a back up it s less than ideal
  5. Capt Ralph, Oct 21, 2016
    #5
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    We use the East Penn 19" 8V batts for our 32volt ship & 12V71TIs.
    Two banks. Each starts it's main engine and runs half the boat.

    Factory set up. Works like a champ. Twice a year water levels are checked and added to.
    Once a year each cell gets tested and the batts get carbon pile load tested.
    On the average, they last 4 years before any loss of performance is noted. They could go 5 or more but once they start loosing any umpah, you never know when they will fail completely and strand you.

    I have added some 24Vdc taps;
    The 10KW radar draws it's 24Vdc from third batt on the port bank.
    Some other 24Vdc options are tapped off the stb bank.
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2016
  6. jkotler, Oct 21, 2016
    #6
    jkotler

    jkotler New Member

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    I replaced both banks with the Trojans this past spring and couldn't be happier. They're
    easier to deal with and the motors start without a problem.
  7. Capt J, Oct 21, 2016
    #7
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    The charging profiles are different (voltages) between the 8 volts and 12 volt batteries. The Deka distributor explained it to me once, but 3-8 volts have a higher resting voltage and charging voltage, and a 24 volt charger or alternators doesn't charge them properly and they lead a much shorter life.
  8. Capt Ralph, Oct 21, 2016
    #8
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Hummmm
    We are all talking about flooded batteries here I thought.
    Better golf cart batteries designed for rapid cycles can take a high rate of recharge. As much amps as the wire can carry up to 2.4V (or more) per cell.
    The float or finished maintenance charge on near all flooded batteries end up around 2.15 to 2.20 Vdc per cell.
    6, 8 or 12v batteries flooded carry the same chemical characteristic, some can discharge or re-charge at different amperage's, the end result per cell is near the same.

    With this simple rules in my mind, your statement confuses me a bit. Can You explain further?
  9. Capt J, Oct 22, 2016
    #9
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I can't as I cannot remember exactly what they told me, but they told me not to do it. They mentioned charging and resting voltage etc.
  10. Pascal, Oct 22, 2016
    #10
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Odd. Charging profiles vary depending on the type of battery but for lead acid each cell is usually 2v The 8v batteries have an extra cell. It's no different from the rolls batteries which are made up of individual 2v cells tied together externally
  11. chesapeake46, Oct 22, 2016
    #11
    chesapeake46

    chesapeake46 Senior Member

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    Call that dude back and ask him to elaborate !
    I appreciate all your inputs but you need to start taking notes !!
    :)
  12. Capt Ralph, Oct 22, 2016
    #12
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Aircar
    Is your ship still 32v or 24v? What cranking amp spec does the T9 battery offer?
  13. dainisk, Oct 23, 2016
    #13
    dainisk

    dainisk Member

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    I have been using 6 Trojan T105's for years now, arranged in series/parallel for a 12V system. I do have separate starting batteries, but the Trojans will happily crank as well. The last bank lasted 7 years before one cell failed. Before that it was about 5 years (I think). Just need to top up the water every now and then.