Small Batteries vs a Large Battery

[biglurr54]

I have a guy who gets 12 volt mobility scooter batteries from insurance companies. They are 6 months old and have an expected life of 7 years. They have a capacity of 35ah. My thought was to get 6 of them and wire them in parallel. This will give me 210 ah of 12 volt juice for the stereo and lights on my pontoon. This would cost the same as one large starting battery from Wally world that needs to be replaced every 3 years. I can't find an ah rating on the starting batteries only cold cranking amps which is around 950 cca.

Will the mobility scooter deep cycle batteries be able to run the starter on the motor? How can I get an estimate on ah ratings on the wally world batteries?

 

[Grandad]

Re: Small Batteries vs a Large Battery

I'm not impressed with paralleling batteries. When the first of the 6 batteries dies, it will likely drag all the rest with it because of the parallel connection and let you down. It's hard to say "free" is wrong unless you need dependability, in which case, I wouldn't bother. A $100 battery that lasts 5 years costs you $20 a year. Is trying to house and connect 6 free batteries worth it? - Grandad

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Small Batteries vs a Large Battery

Technically batteries in parallel are identical to one large battery.

Have you considered the logistic of this installation.
You are going to need an addition 10 battery cables and 5 more Battery Boxes or ABYC Rated hold down straps.
If the batteries have push on terminals you will be losing reliability and will also need two bus bars to connect all the cables together.
I see an additional $50+ in the budget just to get all these discount batteries wired up.

A typical Automotive battery is in the 80-120 AH Range depending on the battery.
The AH rating is determined by the amount of Lead in the batteries.
Your 210AH scooter battery array will likely weigh twice as much and take up more than double the room of one Auto style Battery.

K.I.S.S.!

 

[dingbat]

Re: Small Batteries vs a Large Battery

Well....if you can tolerate 2x the normal size and weight, go for it. Personally, too much risk and hassle to be worth my wild

 

[gm280]

Re: Small Batteries vs a Large Battery

Having just checked my neighbor's electric wheel chair batteries for him, they are lead acid types (but sealed as well) and do provide 35AH. And for their size I can see six of them fitting into one large standard battery box too (I think). The terminals are all bolt on type so I can see it maybe working. Just need to use some heavy gauge wires to support the amperage you will be drawing... With that stated, do realize that when one goes south, it will take all of them down too, like previously stated.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Small Batteries vs a Large Battery

Why, pray tell, are these 6 month old batteries being replaced?
Insurance companies aren't in the habit of throwing money away.

There is no reason why you shouldn't get 6-10 years out of a decent battery.

I would have one starting battery, and a second deep cycle for your toys.