alternative to

[fnelson71]

is there an alternative to size 8d batterys i just got sticker shock when i looked at 8d battery price

[EastCoastCB]

Have you tried Rural King?
I think they may have 8D's for under two hundred bucks.
Or you could go with two group 31's.
I got mine at Rural King on sale for like $75.

[fnelson71]

east coast on the 31s do you wire them in series.

[fnelson71]

local napa can get it for 192. 1400 cca and 430 min stand by

[EastCoastCB]

Parallel.
If you search online there should be lots of pics and info.
On here lots of folks prefer the 8D's but on lots of truck and bus commercial operator oriented forums, it seems the opposite.
I just went the cheap and also easy route and replaced my stock setup of two 31's. But if it gets super cold and your bus is a slow starter then three may be needed. But I doubt that.

[fnelson71]

Its Not to cold here in fla did u wire them in series or parallel

[EastCoastCB]

Sorry, yeah they are parallel.
Two 12v's in series would be 24v wouldn't it? No matter how many you hook up in parallel it would only be 12v.
You *could* *maybe* even get by with one battery here in Fl. Mine started and ran from just one till I bought a second.

[roach711]

Here's proper parallel cabling for two batteries. Note that the positive cable attaches to one battery while the negative cable attaches to the other. This keeps both batteries equally charged. Parallel cabling with two 12v batteries essentially gives you you one big 12v battery with double the amp hours.



Price out your battery options both ways (two size 27 or 31s or the 8D, if that's what it is) and add two new battery cables if you go with a pair. You may be better off with one big battery than two smaller ones.

[roach711]

Also, with a two-battery system, if one of the pair fails you still should replace both. Adding a new battery to a not so good one makes both not so good. The weaker battery will pull down the stronger one. The conventional wisdom is to get two batteries with the same date code so there's no age difference.

[fnelson71]

I work for mine here in fl I'm able to buy both the 8d and the 65 for $225 for both.

[nat_ster]

No battery will last as long as a 8D.

Two small vs one big battery is never a good idea. It will work, but hard on battery's.

Anything you replace it with will be needing replacement at last 4 times to the 8D's life span.

Nat

[EastCoastCB]

If not used regularly, aka STARTED AND RAN which nat says he doesn't like to do, an 8D can have a greatly reduced service life. That's why lots of folks prefer the dual 31's.
Here is a good discussion by operators of fleets of school buses-8D or Group 31 Batteries - School Bus Fleet Magazine Forums

[Tango]

Like Nat, I have a preference for the 8D's where they are appropriate. But any battery system will suffer from sitting too long. Which ever way you go, if you don't like starting and running it every few days...invest in a good battery maintainer. And look for one that has the capacity to automatically go into float mode as well as regularly desulphate the plates. Anything less is pretty much a waste of money to my simple mind.

PS...I tried a little Northern Tool solar charger on my seldom driven Cherokee. It did ZIP. Nada. Nothing. Live & learn.

[fnelson71]

I have solar charger from harbor freight on my car trailer for the wench battery and it seems to do OK.

[roach711]

The 8Ds I looked at had around 1450 cold cranking amps while two 31s gave me 1850 CCA so I stayed with a pair of the 31s.

My rig sits all winter but I throw a charger on it once a month or whenever voltage gets below 12.2v.

[lornaschinske]

I think the one I used was a group 27 starter battery from Wal-Mart. We used it in the food cart to run the water pump and lights. Used it to crank the bus up every so often, then the bus charged up the battery. Bought it in 2009. Used it in the bus to power the water pump since 2011. Replaced it with a new deep cycle marine battery back in Nov or Dec since all I use it for is the pump (haven't hooked the lights up yet). No one here thinks our bus will start on the single battery. But we used the same size battery to crank an Eagle 05 with a much larger engine than the skoolie (8v71N65). That is how we knew the original bus batteries were overkill.

BTW, I don't really give a flying fig what others think about my battery setup. It works for me and that is all that counts.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

I think the one I used was a group 27 starter battery from Wal-Mart. We used it in the food cart to run the water pump and lights. Used it to crank the bus up every so often, then the bus charged up the battery. Bought it in 2009. Used it in the bus to power the water pump since 2011. Replaced it with a new deep cycle marine battery back in Nov or Dec since all I use it for is the pump (haven't hooked the lights up yet). No one here thinks our bus will start on the single battery. But we used the same size battery to crank an Eagle 05 with a much larger engine than the skoolie (8v71N65). That is how we knew the original bus batteries were overkill.

BTW, I don't really give a flying fig what others think about my battery setup. It works for me and that is all that counts.

Actually I've ran only one on mine before.

[nat_ster]

Everyone of us should be using a battery disconnect when the bus is sitting, and not in use.

I live in one of the harshest environments on battery's. The 8D is the only one that will make it through the winter without being charged.

I also now use a few small solar panels to help maintain the few battery's I don't remove, and store indoors.

Nat

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by lornaschinske

I think the one I used was a group 27 starter battery from Wal-Mart. We used it in the food cart to run the water pump and lights. Used it to crank the bus up every so often, then the bus charged up the battery. Bought it in 2009. Used it in the bus to power the water pump since 2011. Replaced it with a new deep cycle marine battery back in Nov or Dec since all I use it for is the pump (haven't hooked the lights up yet). No one here thinks our bus will start on the single battery. But we used the same size battery to crank an Eagle 05 with a much larger engine than the skoolie (8v71N65). That is how we knew the original bus batteries were overkill.

BTW, I don't really give a flying fig what others think about my battery setup. It works for me and that is all that counts.

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Actually I've ran only one on mine before.

First gen Dodge trucks with a Cummins only ran a single battery.

Bus having the same engine is no different.

It's only when it's cold as hell out I have ever needed the 1400 CCA. Summer as little as 700 CCA seem to start the Cummins reliably.

Nat

[EastCoastCB]

My bus started first turn of the key with one battery in 10 degrees. I'd hate to see the winters where you are, nat.