Thermoil® Battery / Houseboat Magazine
THERMOIL BATTERY.
Reprinted from houseboat magazine August/September 1995
Technology changes many things and it has finally caught up with the deep cycle battery. What you are about to read is not a paid advertisement. I have received three batteries, which I am about to describe to you, and which I think are unusual enough to be really exciting. These batteries are sold by the Power Up, Inc. company and the name of the battery is THERMOIL. Claims made for the battery are, greater durability, higher specific gravity, increased power, greater security, and better performance in hot and cold weather.
First, let’s talk about performance. The battery has 220 minutes of reserve capacity and that is a whole bunch! In a totally unscientific test, I set it to running my Minn Kota trolling motor on a barrel with a static load. The trolling motor is a Model 565 with 28 pounds of thrust and 5 speeds. I set the speed control on 3 and let the motor run…. and run. For fourteen hours, it ran! No other battery of this size that I have tested has even come close.You should not try this next test with your battery for they are not meant to do this. I hooked the terminals on the Thermoil battery to the starting system on a T6-354, 240 horsepower, Perkins diesel and used the power of the battery to start the engine.I then placed that battery into my bass boat, without charging, and ran the trolling motor for a long day’s fishing. In one test, we hooked two Johnson Fast Strike outboard engines of 150 horsepower each to the battery and cranked both engines simultaneously. Remember, batteries can be dangerous under rapid discharge so please, do not use your batteries to crank engines which they were not intended to start.
There is nothing mystical about this battery, but it is a very good piece of equipment based upon sound scientific principles. The name, Thermoil, gives us an indication. Thermoil is a very special oil which is added to the cells of the battery. The amount is critical and the chemical composition of the oil is even more critical so do not go dashing out to buy some oil to stick in your battery. What happens after the oil is added is pretty exciting. Gaseous emissions are reduced dramatically, corrosion of the terminals is virtually nonexistent, and there is no noticeable odor during recharge of the batteries!
Oil laden battery cells have a higher acid density and the voltage is increased measurably at the terminals. The company claims a 2 percent to 10 percent advantage over conventional or gel cell electrolytes. Our own tests show about 3 percent on an average, although some cells may occasionally read higher.
There is no doubt that the Thermoil battery uses less water. Long charging sessions do not cause rapid loss of water from this battery. We ran the batteries down to zero and charged them back, many times. The water loss is minimal. Oil in the battery traps the gasses and returns then to the cell again. I will not get into a lot of scientific jargon here, it just works! Charge the battery at 10 amps to 15 amps and very little water boils out. The claimed difference is 20 percent to 65 percent less evaporation. I am unable to quantify this but there certainly is a difference. Are your batteries hiding away in a black hole, forgotten until the morning that your engine groans instead of starting? You still have to add some water to the Thermoil on occasion but you will have a much longer time to remember.
Here is one test that any person could make if they had a Thermoil battery. Begin with a fully charged battery, which you connect to any outboard engine with a starting system in good shape. Crank the outboard and then shut it off immediately. Go ahead, crank it three of four times and then wait thirty minutes. Go back to the battery and put a voltage test to it. The battery will have recovered its power, up to 95 percent.
Thermoil batteries are available in a wide variety of sizes. The battery I received for test was approximately one inch longer that a standard 27-group battery, and it is an excellent piece of work. The technology has been around for over twelve years and sixteen manufacturers or motor coaches use these batteries for standard equipment in their motor homes. They include Georgie Boy and Gulf Stream coaches. Now the manufacturer is entering the marine world.
Listen up, I believe this battery is an important addition to the choice of marine batteries available to the house boater. They will do much for those of us who use batteries to power lights or other appliances while away from the dock. Enthusiastic supporters of this battery include GM of Canada and a manufacturer of powered wheel chairs. If you are interested , you may call or contact the manufacturer at the below listed address. Good luck and happy house boating.
Endorsements
Nathan Brown
It has always been necessary to add water to the batteries on these trucks on a monthly basis. it was also necessary to clean corrosion from the posts and cables every three months. The Interstate batteries required the traditional maintenance, but began to notice that the Thermoil batteries never needed water or cleaning. My original Thermoil batteries are now two and a half years old. I have never added water to them or had to clean corrosion. Both Thermoils still look like new. The Interstates, which I had added, had to be replaced after 13 months. Thanks for the great money saving and maintenance saving product.
Mike Luce
Jack V. Jolley
Larry S. Smith