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8D versus 4D

  • Thread starter Thread starter captbuddy
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captbuddy

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Apr 12, 2005
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681
Hatteras Model
42' LRC - Mark II (1980 - 1985)
I am getting ready to replace the house bank. Three 8 D's. Want to go with Deep Cycle. Having a Interstate guy tell me Interstate doesn't make 8 D's no more. Saying the 4 D is a better battery and litter. Understand them not weighing as much but can they be as strong as 8D's. Also have a fourth 8D which only starts the starboard engine and Gen set. Should I stay with 8D's or what.
Thanks,
captbuddy
 
I agree with Scott ... 8D's are available ... and I too would stay with the 8D's for your application.
 
If you want smaller and lighter, I've been running my 58MY on 8v golfcart batteries. The will start these engines. I have the original set up - port and starboard banks (4 batteries in each bank to make 32v). Port also runs the house. My genny has a dedicated 12v and it's own charger. I've never been left with dead batteries from running them down. I have blown a couple of them up because my 31-year-old charger doesn't know when to stop. It's on the list....

Honestly, I cannot lift the 8D's. Sometimes, I'm the only one caring for and maintaining the boat and I have had to replace batteries all by myself before. I can barely do it with the 8v golf cart batteries (cussing like a sailor every inch of the way). I would never be able to heave those 8D's across and over the genny and onto the shelf behind it.
 
There are any number of places to get 8Ds. Most are made by East Penn (Deka), who makes a number of Interstate's stuff. NAPA is a good source. I am going to try to be nice here, Ang, but golf carts are what I'd call a "Gomer" solution. Two Group 31's would be a better solution for both turning engines and having some deep cycle capability.
 
Everyone makes 8Ds, it is a standard truck size. Either he's misinformed, or trying to sell you something else. And misinform you in the bargain.

8Ds ARE heavy- about 120lbs a piece. However, you might think about this- three Group 24s happen to fit perfectly into one 8D case, installed crosswise. You would need to connect them in parallel, but most deep-cycle ones have multiple terminals. That will give you as much cranking and storage power as an 8D any day. Of course, you have a lot of small batteries and cables, but it works just fine. If it's a house bank, you have to make sure to get deep-cycle 24s, which are available. You just have to make sure that's what you are getting.

The best deep-cycle batteries are Rolls (cost like the devil, too), AGMs, or Trojans. Trojans are great batteries, and they do make AGMs as well. I have never had a bad battery from them, and they do make their own batteries- most others are just relabeled batteries from East Penn or Johnson Controls. There aren't a lot of real battery manufacturers out there.
 
GJH said:
There are any number of places to get 8Ds. Most are made by East Penn (Deka), who makes a number of Interstate's stuff. NAPA is a good source. I am going to try to be nice here, Ang, but golf carts are what I'd call a "Gomer" solution. Two Group 31's would be a better solution for both turning engines and having some deep cycle capability.
Click to expand...

George be fair to Gomer. He was not that bad of a mechanic according to Andy.

Golf cart batteries are on par with other "presidential solutions"

Although the 3 smaller batteries can work remember the parallel circuits and the amp draw when making the connections.
 
i've been getting 5 years from the golf cart batteries... a lot better than i've seen some AGMs last. a couple of weeks ago, I replaced a 4D AGM that was not even 3 years old, one that had seen light use as a genset battery.

judging by numbers of PM I got over the years, there are many owners running golf cart batteries in 32v banks with great success. Most are increasing reluctant to mention it in the forums though, for obvious reasons.
 
For what it's worth - I use 6V sweeper batteries. They are the same foot print as a golf cart battery but about twice as tall. The 20ah rating for each battery is 330ah. The DEKA part number is 8C6V.
 
Pascal said:
i've been getting 5 years from the golf cart batteries... a lot better than i've seen some AGMs last. a couple of weeks ago, I replaced a 4D AGM that was not even 3 years old, one that had seen light use as a genset battery.

judging by numbers of PM I got over the years, there are many owners running golf cart batteries in 32v banks with great success. Most are increasing reluctant to mention it in the forums though, for obvious reasons.
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Judging by the number of heavily used commercial vessels and sportfish vessels that run tournaments or run often I would disagree. Judging by the number of 8D batteries we sell and the number of 8 volt ones we still install in the older boats I would suggest that golf cart batteries are a "sailboaters" style of a solution.

Reach into the pocket and do it right. Looking for a lower cost alternative with batteries is not the way to go. I have pulled 6 year old AGM batteries ( lifeline) off a customers boat because he wanted new ones to be sure they were right. One of his 8D batteries is on my genny because that is all it is rated as a starting battery but boy do I have reserves if I need it. I put it ther to see how long it lasts. By the way I do not have it on a charger and am leaving it for 3-4 weeks sometimes between using it just to see how long it lasts. It was by the way over $700.00
 
I just changed out 3 of my elchepo 8Ds, $125. I still have 1 in the boat after 6 years. For what I paid for them new I can have new batteries every 3 years. The 3 I just purchaser were $167. bucks each exchange from NAPA.


BILL
 
Yep, I bought Interstate 8D's this summer. I actually got a little better deal from a marina getting them from Interstate than I could get from all the boat stores, NAPA, and Interstate directly. Buy the batteries from someone else. That guy is just trying to sell you something else.

Gotta love sales people that will lie to you and expect to have a long-term customer!

Capt K
 
I replaced my 8D's with group 24's.. 3 of them Fit exactly into the 8D boxes.Have done great for me... I too replaced them after 5 yrs, mostly thanks to the battery charger going bad and frying them
 
Something I neglected to mention: I think battery quality and design matter a lot more than size. If you use starting batteries as deep-cycle batteries, they won't last long- they aren't designed to be fully discharged like that, and they will sulfate and short out and die on you. For applications where you want to run the batteries down, use deep-cycle batteries.

Deep cycle batteries can be used to start engines, and I think they can do it without damage, but they will not generate the cranking amps that starting batteries will- this has to do with internal battery design. To get a fixed number of cranking amps, you would (I think) need larger DC batteries as opposed to starting batteries.

I use two Group 24s as a starting bank- for both engines- and I use two 4Ds as a house bank. That is a function of where the space is- I was able to get two 4D cases into that area, and not two 8Ds. The space wasn't big enough. Ironically, the two 4D cases are now occupied by two Odyssey Group 31s, which are AGMS that have more amp capacity than standard 4Ds.

I think the rules here are to 1) figure out what your loads and needs are going to be and 2) buy the best batteries you can afford. Note that I personally think that Rolls batteries are priced way too high and that you can get the same performance from Trojans or any other high-quality deep cycle system. And I think you can even get reservoir watering with Trojans, although I may be wrong on that one.
 
In the spirit of full disclosure, I consider my use of 8v195 Dekas on the port starting/systems monitor bank to be a Gomer solution as well, another example of trying to "cheat" on the OEM specs a little to save a buck, or a back, or both. I guess I was trying to offset my Gomer karma a bit when I put Rolls 8HGGs over on the house bank at over double the cost. I also removed a bit of battery Gomerism when I gave the generator its own Group 31 marine battery (now a Sears/Odyssey AGM) instead of, per the PO, tapping of one of the two 8Ds in the 24 volt thruster bank. He kept wondering why one of the 8Ds was dying prematurely...

I'm sure a trained eye could go around my boat and find more that I haven't removed, or fathered myself, as much as I have tried to err on doing or fixing it the right way rather than cut corners.
 
The 8V195 was not the battery that hatt originally used. It was a cheaper version that has had a history of issues over the last few years.
 
There's a 41 Hatt just down the dock from me that had a 12v 8D explode on him when he tried to start his 8v53s with a full load of people onboard last month. The resulting ER fire took out all of the wiring, charred the salon floor and support structures, and generally made one heck of a mess out of things. I've lost count of the number of exploded 8D and 4D batteries I've seen in our club's battery recycling area over the years. Meanwhile, my Sam's Club GC batts just keep on working.

Just sayin'...
 
Boatsb said:
The 8V195 was not the battery that hatt originally used. It was a cheaper version that has had a history of issues over the last few years.
Click to expand...

Exactly my point Scott. Though I am not familiar with the issues and these have worked great for going on 18 months now. But they are a Gomer all the same.

As for the exploding 8D comment, it sounds a little apocryphal. Of course there are many times the number of 4D and 8D out there, and you don't have Angela's exploded GC's on your pile either.
 
GJH said:
Exactly my point Scott. Though I am not familiar with the issues and these have worked great for going on 18 months now. But they are a Gomer all the same.

As for the exploding 8D comment, it sounds a little apocryphal. Of course there are many times the number of 4D and 8D out there, and you don't have Angela's exploded GC's on your pile either.
Click to expand...

I have seen very few 8d batteries explode. They deform and may leak but to explode is very rare. I have seen fires from bad connections cause damage that everyone blames the battery for. Batteries do not just explode without a spark or flame source. If the terminals are dirty or loose there is a good chance of starting a fire.

I bet none of the batteries that burned up had clean solid connections. maintenance seems to be the key here.
 
Thanks Guys. It was the marina manager that was doing some checking for me. Don't know why he thought they (Interstate) didn't make them anymore. Got with someone else and they are going to purchase them for me through the marina. Owner of marina had already told me, he would let me have them at his cost.
Thanks again,
captbuddy
 
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