I have a bank of three Everstart 29DC marine batteries date code 10/14. purchased 11/14 for $87/ea. they power an inverter that runs my sump pump during power outage. last week one dropped a cell. I happened to be in the basement and noticed the battery charger fan was running full blast and it was pumping out 10A @ 12.8V --- not normal standby operation. I quickly noticed one of the batteries was very warm. pulled it out and it measured 10.9V & 350mca. after a week of desulfation charging it is no better. the other 2 still measure 900+mca, 845 rated.
given these have been living in a constant 68deg environment with continuous float charge, and maybe 6 deep cycles in 8yrs, I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get more than 10yrs out of it. and I'm thinking of replacing the entire bank with 3 new batteries. I really can't put it a new 29DC with the other 2 old ones, and I don't trust the old ones at this point.
to be fair they lasted longer than my previous Costco 27DC bank or my GC2 batteries, but those were not kept properly charged and the GC2s I neglected to keep watered properly.
I suppose the lesson is even with careful maintenance, continuous charging, and a controlled environment a flooded LA battery will still sulfate eventually.
given these have been living in a constant 68deg environment with continuous float charge, and maybe 6 deep cycles in 8yrs, I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get more than 10yrs out of it. and I'm thinking of replacing the entire bank with 3 new batteries. I really can't put it a new 29DC with the other 2 old ones, and I don't trust the old ones at this point.
to be fair they lasted longer than my previous Costco 27DC bank or my GC2 batteries, but those were not kept properly charged and the GC2s I neglected to keep watered properly.
I suppose the lesson is even with careful maintenance, continuous charging, and a controlled environment a flooded LA battery will still sulfate eventually.
