Date:         Sat, 21 Aug 1999 01:34:03 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@IBM.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@IBM.NET>
Subject:      Re: Optima d750-S vs. d750-U
Comments: To: Todd Last <Rubatoguy@MINDSPRING.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <37BE2C3F.16DCCAE4@mindspring.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 21:34 8/20/99 -0700, Todd Last wrote:
>The web site cautioned against using CCA and Amp hour ratings and to
>instead look
>at the Reserve and Cycle life to judge the quality of the battery.

Ok, just visited the website.  Looks like a great company, specially if you
happen to want a locomotive battery <g>.  I'd say their FAQ is about 95%
true, but some of it is slanted in funny ways so you have to read very
carefully what they *say* vs. what they imply; and some is condensed a
little too much (IMHO) and can lead you in a wrong direction.  I think
their point about using reserve capacity to judge a battery is valid *if*
your working load is in the 20-30 amp range.  On a good-sized boat it could
be much higher than that, working off a 1000 AH bank or three.  But in a
Vanagon without a battery trailer <g> I think an average drain of an amp or
two is more realistic, in which case the reserve capacity will give a
falsely pessimistic reading.

cheers
david
David Beierl - Providence, RI
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"