quote:

Originally posted by Danny Z:
what can I do without spending a ton of money?

You can always use a stand-alone automotive charger. I found a Vector (B&D) 1095 to be perfectly matched to a pair of golf cart batteries. A 1093 would be good for four GC batts. My 1095 is automatic, selectable for battery type, 3 charge rates, and has both desulfate and equalize cycles. The lower charge rates are great for motorcycles, jetskis, lawn tractors, etc.

I use a two bank Battery Tender that is mounted in one of the battery compartments. One lead goes to my coach batteries and the other to my chassis batteries. I plug it in to a standard 120V receptacle anytime the coach is sitting. It works fine and keeps them charged and desulfered. I bought a package deal on eBay with lead extensions.

I hear from veteran boaters that AGM batteries are the best deep-cycle units out there. Easy to maintain and outlast the more typical wet cells.

I attended a lecture where one world-class mariner who swore by Odyssey AGM batteries, which are also available at Sears under their Platinum label. Probably a little cheaper at Sears, but they're supposed to be exactly the same internally.

Anyway, something to check out on the Web. And no, I haven't had to purchase new batteries yet, so can't cite personal experience. I just know what I'll do when the time comes. For boat or RV.

My first experience with AGM's was back in the '90s. I installed two 8D Lifeline AGM's in my Travel Supreme fiver to run the inverter. When I sold the coach in 2006 they were 8 years old and still going strong. AGM's worth their salt are warranted for 5 years but the typical lifespan is between 7 & 10 years. In emergency standby conditions (i.e. fiber optic repeater sites) a 5-year replacement schedule is recommended. The batteries at the sites I maintain are 9 years old and still good. In case you ask, I did advise the owners that it was time to replace them.....

BTW we are running a bank of 6 300 A-hr Lifeline AGM's in our Barth, they will run the bedroom air conditioner all night and make coffee in the morning before the auto gen start fires up the Onan.