Group 31 House Battery

[Adeline]

I just replaced my 6 year old Sea-Volt group 31 house battery(West Marine(Exide)) with a Walmart Everstart MarineMaxx(Johnson Controls). The S.V. goes for $130.00 and the Everstart $65.00. All the important numbers are the same. I keep my house battery in the port-side compartment. Space is tight in there and a regular battery-box wastes space and the lid is unusable. Another way was discovered. Again at Walmart in their storage-container department is an item, Sterlite "Show-Off Box", $2.96. It fits snugly on a 31 and will contain any electrolyte that might escape in an overcharge situation. The Everstarts got mixed reviews in my research so this is something of a gamble(i.e., leaky cases). When I know more I'll report back.

[gljjr]

If I were to place a battery inside the cabin I would only want an AGM or Gell cell battery. Lead acid batteries give off to much gas to have inside the cabin IMHO. Plus the likelyhood of an acid spill is just too great.

A group 31 battery is a BIG battery! That is what I have in my Diesel F250!

[Larry H]

Pete,

Where exactly are you going to put the battery? Do you mean the port lazarette or are you putting it inside the cabin? Wet batteries give off hydrogen gas (explosive!) while charging and acid fumes can also escape.

Boat batteries should be clamped or strapped so they can not get loose and move or turn over. Also, the posts(terminals) must be covered or protected so that they cannot be shorted out (thats the job of the battery box cover). If you drop a wrench across both terminals, the wrench can weld itself to the terminals and then the battery can melt, burn or explode! I have had a battery explode inside a MGB, what a mess! I was luck to have my face turned away when it went off!!

For safety I always carry a box of baking soda so I can neutralize any acid spill.

[Adeline]

Hi Larry, Your warning is appreciated and worth heeding. Hydrogen gas is indeed explosive(Hindenburg). I should have said port lazzarette. I've kept my 31 there for 15 years w/o a problem. It's a tight fit sides, top, and rear. Chocked in front. Terminals rubber capped. I use 2 electric Cannons and they can really pull a battery down. Add the Wallas, sonar, gps, lights,and vhf and you've got a big draw. The 31 is the largest I can shoehorn in there (66#).

[Minnow]

Pete, keep an eye on that Sterlite box from WallyWorld. I have a bunch of those on my service truck for storage, and also a bunch made by Rubbermaid. They look like the same kind of plastic, but almost all of the Sterlite have cracked or shattered and almost none of the Rubbermaid. They're all very brittle in cold weather.

[Adeline]

Minnow, Thank you for that heads-up. I guess I put a cheap battery in a cheap box. Hopefully it will work out OK.