Batteries!

Yesterday the batteries arrived, the fun part begins, 60kg each and in a small confined space is not fun!

Batteries are almost as hot a subject as anchors and guns are in the boating world. I opted for Elecsol 250AH AGMS x 2, the company Elecsol doesn't have the best name in the world when it comes to warranties or after sales service, yet why did I buy from them?

Well to be honest they were the greatest Amp Hours I could fit without modifying the original battery holders, secondly, they are fancy carbon fiber agms supposedly good for 1400 discharge cycle or so they claim.

AGM batteries differ from normal lead acids in that there is no liquid in them, the acid is impregnated into the fibers, they can be stored on their sides, they don't leak and should a capsize take place or lots of heeling they wont gas us!

Another advantage of agm batteries is that they have a lower internal resistance, this means they waste less energy as heat when charging or discharging, normal batteries waste about ten percent of the energy going in or coming out. I have 400watts of solar panels to fit, if I used normal lead acids then it would be the equivalent of having 360watts of panels, I'd have lost ten percent of my power . I'm hoping these batteries live up to the companies claim , they offer a seven year warranty, which to be honest is not of much use to me, I will be very far from the UK and wont be able to return them , imagine the shipping cost to send 120kg half way around the world!

The main negative about AGM batteries is the cost, they are more than double for cheap lead acids, so unless the 10 percent performance thing means a lot to you, I'd suggest sicking to normal cheap as you can get lead acids and not the sealed ones , which will be useless after one overcharge boils away all the liquid, get open tops ones you can fill should they get overcharged.


The batteries are now fitted, this was a very simple job given the reasonable access , the only difficult part was manhandling them up and down the marina and of course by the time we had them fitted the tide was at its lowest, meaning the ramp off the marina was very steep.......

New batteries sitting in their home.