Batteries, anchors, and other boat stuff that we all have firm options on...but for this posting I will stick to batteries.
In my experience one person's experience with a single product, is only misleading and proves nothing, especially batteries where there are at least 10 variables in addition to make and model.
For instance, I met a British guy in Turkey at a marina who was changing out his batteries. He had 14 years on them. He bought these batteries when he bought his boat, which was a Beneteau coming out of charter in Greece. He sailed to Marmaris Turkey where he lived aboard for 14 years. At least once a year, he would unplug and motor somewhere for the day.
I think that regardless what brand battery you buy, the most you can hope for is 4 years, if you actually are cruising.
BTW, the absolute worst brand that I bought was Varta freedom style calcium batteries. I bought 13 in Greece. They started failing 3 months later with internal shorts. They failed one at a time. Had I not supervised them, I had about 8 opportunities for a major problem like Phantom's battery problem. Those 13 batteries were each discarded in 12 months. Johnson Controls UK, the company that manufactures Varta chose to do nothing, telling me to take up the issue with the Greek who also chose to do nothing. At the time that I bought Varta I was told that Varta bought the Delphi Battery plant in France where the original Amel batteries were made. My single experience shouldn't eliminate Varta from your choices, but it does for me. In my experience the best performing batteries have been the original Amel-installed Delphi Freedom batteries and the same battery made by the Delphi licensee in Istanbul, Turkey. Sadly, I do not believe those are available in Turkey anymore,
and Delphi France is just a brand made by someone else since the GM liquidation of Delphi.
Be sure to load test and test for shorts any new batteries when they are delivered. The battery supplier should do this while you watch and should give you a printout for each battery. Or buy the digital battery tester and do it yourself, as I do. Out of 12 delivered, I had 2 batteries fail the internal short test.
Bill Rouse
BeBe Amel 53 #387
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