Quote:
Originally Posted by XCR-700
So when it comes time to replace your batteries, what are most of you buying?
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IMO, the Optima Blue Tops offer the best overall price/power/performance ratio. Otherwise, a quality AGM battery would be my suggestion in any typical marine battery application.
If you are considering the newer LiFeP04 (Lithium) batteries advertised as "drop in" replacements, I would caution against that. The "drop in" lithium batteries are typically advertised this way because they have an onboard BMS (Battery management system) to allow them to be charged by common chargers or alternators. However they pose a risk as these onboard BMSes will do a full disconnect of the battery in the (rare) event of an error condition. This sudden disconnect of the battery and charging load can damage or destroy an alternator if there is not other sufficient draw. Granted it is an unlikely scenario, and on Winnipesaukee it is unlikely you would be stranded outside of communications range, but it can still ruin your weekend in a hurry. These batteries, even the marine-rated ones, are also not ABYC compliant most of the time, as their BMS does not provide an external monitoring capability, though some recent ones I have seen do have a NMEA2000 connection port.
I know you didn't ask about Lithium batteries specifically, but they usually come up in these kinds of discussions. They CAN be very viable options for a house bank setup, with an appropriate external BMS, and other batteries for your engine cranking.