Lead Acid battery Alternatives

mixman

mixman

Livin' the life.
Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
RO Number
25362
Messages
3,996
My 330ah LA bank is doing well, but I'm helping to outfit a sister-ship and the owner has been sold on LiFePO4 (lithium) batteries. I told him to look elsewhere as we have outboard powered boats, so charging LiFePO4 from the engines is far from idea.

But then I saw these: Carbon Foam AGM. I get suspicious, though, when only one source is available. Does anyone have any experience with this exact battery? I'm very familiar with standard AGM batteries. I ruined a bank on one year as we anchor a lot and it is not practical to bring a bank back up to 100$ after each discharge. Carbon Foam AGM batteries claim they can handle not only that, but 80% discharge (at a reduced life of course):

http://www.bruceschwab.com/advanced-energy-storage-systems/firefly-energys-oasis-group-31/
 
~~Is your sister ship use going to warrant the cost?

~~Look up the owner and his bio. I'm not a huge believer in letters after a persons name, but I would think some of this stuff requires a bit of formal training and / or certification in its field. He exhibits none, but does brag about his acoustic guitar abilities.

~~It is not what the www says! but what it does not say that worries me.

Unparalleled Resistance to Sulfation –Sulfation is what usually kills AGM batteries. The Oasis Carbon- Foam AGM can operate or be stored at a partial state of charge for long periods of time without a loss in capacity.

~~ My cat's water dish gets filled daily. No matter how much they drink and how much evaporates, the capacity is always 3 quarts.

#61623; Depth Of Discharge (DOD) to 80-100% of rated capacity without any loss of performance.

~~ For how many years?

#61623; Superior Life Cycle - capable of 3X the number of deep discharge cycles than that of other lead acid batteries.

~~ But the advertised battery is NOT lead acid.

#61623; Strong Performance in Extreme Cold and Heat- performance range is -20° C to 50° C.

~~ Define strong.

#61623; Fast Bulk Charging - and topping up is seldom required

~~ Define seldom

#61623; Greater Usable Capacity- replace your existing bank with a smaller Oasis bank due to the superior deep discharge capability

~~ Is it digital? I.e. You have "x.x" CCA flatlined for a period then 0? There is no decrease over time?

Lead acid is a known and you can purchase them at a rate of 4 to 1. A friend uses fork lift batteries and has for years. He swears by them.

My 2 cents.
 
I agree, David. There is no better bang for the buck than LA batteries. AGM interested me due to their claimed superiority, but their poor performance for an anchoring boat has put me off. Gel batteries seem to work well for many cruisers, but again, with outboard engines there's a charging issue.

As for the sister-ship; it's owner wants the best. Sometimes that doesn't mean the most expensive.

BTW, did you see a warranty anywhere on the website? I didn't.
 
I haven't been aboard the SS Ling in the Hackensack (NJ) River since late 1970s but at the time the LA batteries were original issue (WW II) and still good due to proper maintenance procedures. I don't think those procedures are cost effective or otherwise reasonable on our boat batteries but it can be done. Well established technology is tough to beat and rarely in the short run.
 
It seems to me that the problem is insufficient battery and charging capacity not battery technology
 
How do you mean that, Bruce?
 
You said that you can't fully recharge from the. OBs. For extender anchoring perhaps wind and solar might help as well as looking to reduce power demand.
 
I think bang for the buck is going to be from golf cart batteries and as Bruce mentioned wind and/or solar power. Or perhaps is there a way to install one of those small high output diesel DC gensets?
 
Actually, I may have worded it wrong. I can charge fine via solar, outboards, and generator. However, it's a rule of thumb that when on the hook a lot the batteries are doing to be between 50 and 80% capacity because it makes no sense to run and engine or generator long enough in the absorption phase of charging to get back to 100%. Gel, LA, and Lithiums don't have an issue with this. Traditional AGM batteries can't handle it.
 
I see. Sounds like you have enough battery for what you do but are concerned about battery theory. Me I would enjoy myself, charge them fully when you can and switch to cheaper LA batts that you don't keep as long.
It is really easy to get caught up in the technology of boating and plenty of people ready to take money better spent on beer.
 
Oh, I'm fine with LA batteries. Cheap and easy understand. I was just fishing for some info on these new "miracle" AGM batteries for somebody I'm helping. If I could swap out alternators I -might- think about LiFePO4, but not until my 1-year old LA bank dies. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top