Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Questions on Marine Batteries

All:

Four mainly starting a 115HP 4 stroke, what is the difference between a $100 battery and a $400 battery? This is a recreational boat, with a battery charger installed on boat. Boat also has a 9.8 kicker that has its own fuel line to main tank. It’s a pull start. One Garmin fish finder, and stereo.

Side bonus question:

Wouldn’t doubling up on two $100 batteries with a switch be better than one of the $400 batteries?

And the double or nothing side bonus question:

What battery do you recommend for the above application?

One cranking battery, two more for running electronics, live well, trolling motor, pumps, lights, ect.

I like the Optima Yellow about $300, & it’s all about reliability & long cranking ability during engine troubles, for me, in Marine or “ far from anywhere” four-wheeling.

A lot depends on that battery under those conditions.

I also like Bass Pro Shop’s wool blend Redhead socks.

Is Buying A Cheap Marine Battery Worth it?
At one time or another, every boater will have to purchase a battery. At some point during their time shopping around, looking at different types and different prices, they will all ask whether they should go with top of the line or a more value priced battery. Some choose pricy while others choose cheap. Are you curious about whether buying a cheap marine battery worth it? There are pros and cons with each choice, but here is what will make a difference between satisfaction and disappointment.

Choosing a High End Marine Battery
There are reasons you should choose to spend more on a top of the line marine battery. However, many people simply do not want or have the money to spend. Some can cost as much as 2, 3, or 4 times the amount of a cheap battery. However, by paying more up front, most people can expect a much longer lifespan. This is a good example of it saving you money in the long run. With that being said, though, even the best battery on the market can come up short if you are not able to take care of it properly. This is because high end does not always mean indestructible.

The Cheap Marine Battery
When choosing cheap marine batteries, you have to go into it with the idea that you are not buying a battery that will last you 10 years. If you get a couple years out of it, you can feel as though you found a true value. It will still require maintenance to give it longevity, but it is possible in some cases to have a cheap battery last longer than most would expect. Cheap batteries can also mean throw-a-way batteries. You cannot purchase a cheap battery and really be surprised when you have to replace it three times as often as you have to replace the top dollar marine batteries on the market, but it does save you from having a huge initial investment on the battery.

Choosing the Middle Ground

Since there is such a broad range in battery prices, many people choose to opt for the middle ground. Those batteries that are not rock bottom cheap, but will not cost them an entire week’s pay, either. This is why people look for a marine battery sale so that they can get top dollar batteries for lower prices. It does take a little time to find marine batteries for sale and sometimes you may not have the time to search. If that is a situation you are in, you may consider one of the top choices for mid-range marine batteries. They are popular because they are longer lasting and more durable than a cheap battery, but not as expensive as the top dollar marine batteries.

If you’ve got an auxiliary motor, PLUS it’s a fishing boat (with at least one, if not two other batteries, for the trolling motor), then I don’t see why you’d need a $400 starting battery. You already have two extras to jump start off of, plus a backup motor.

Keep the $100 battery charged, and don’t let it sit out all winter. Replace every 3-4 years.

That’s my philosophy. Of the ones I’ve run I rarely get more than 2-3 years out of them. I don’t know that it’s the best solution, I’ve used everything from Walmart brand to Interstate but mostly use Interstate because the local hardware store carries them.

Keep them on a charger when not in use and expect to replace them every couple of seasons.

A 115 horse fuel injected can get by with a 400-500 CCA marine starting battery and should be around the hundred dollar mark.
It will run the radio and fish finder fine as long as its fully charged and still start the motor with 25 percent of its capacity.

The difference between the $100 and $400 dollar offerings is going to be composition. Traditional lead acid battery versus AGM or Lithium battery; the kicker is the on board charger. Its probably automatic, made for traditional lead acid (wet) batteries, which won't work well with the $400 dollar whiz bang (and unnecessary) AGM or Lithium batteries.

Doubling the $100 batteries, provided they are both fully charged, will provide more capacity than most need on a day on the water.
It depends on the radio and locator use and their output, but spending more money for a different composition isnt going to double the output you can atrain with two traditional wet batteries.

Ive seen few need anything more than a standard group 24 lead acid battery (the $100 one) for their uses.
What makes the biggest difference is the state of charge of the battery, regardless of composition.

My advice with onboard, automatic chargers is to run an initial charge, disconnect for 24 hours and connect again. Disconnect and repeat a day prior to use.

That's all pretty f'ing funny.....

The best solution is to get a hydrometer and learn how to use it instead of using an automatic charger.

I have 4 Walmart Batteries on board 1 for Cranking,2 Fish Finders and 3 batteries for 36V Trolling Motor.When i get back home from fishing the on board charger is plugged in and stays on all the time.Get 4-6 years on the Batteries.

Automatic chargers are limited to where they cutoff in voltage.

They aren't a panacea to not knowing jack about what ACTUAL state of charge your batteries are at, which is ONLY read from the specific gravity of the electroyte, NOT any open current voltage reading, which is the only thing automatic chargers operate by.
Yes, an automatic charger can say 100% and put you on the water with a battery with a lot less, even less than 50%...

Last deep cycle I had was ten years old, still wasnt toast, but took a bit of goading to hit 1275-1300 specific gravity. The current one is seven.

Tournament fisherman won't see that type of annual life in a wet battery because they generally expire them cyclically.

If your starting motor is only used for starting, you really don't want a deep cycle marine battery for that purpose............a sealed, mid-range automotive battery is best.

For the other 2 batteries that run accessories, you do want marine deep cycle batteries.

There are only 2 real battery manufacturers left today, so no matter what "brand" is on it, it's made by one of those two.

Rule of thumb is $$$ = longevity, but not always in every case.

YMMV

MM

Best advice I have here is listen to Hawkl. From what I've read here he knows his shiet.

All I will say is that with what I've dealt with the last 10 years as far as boat batteries is take them in in the fall and put them on a trickle charger and check the water (distilled) in the spring when you take them out. I am currently running a sealed and an unsealed battery I bought with the boat 5 years ago and they both hold a charge well. Buy decent and take care of them and they'll be good to you from what I've seen.

Why a sealed automotive battery?

My boat has four batteries, two with a switch for starting and running the electronics, and two more completely isolated from the boat's electrical system that are for the trolling motor.

Most saltwater boats will be set up with two starting batteries and use a switch like this one that allows you to choose battery 1 or battery 2 with a third position combining them in case you're having starting troubles. I use battery 1 for one day then battery 2 the next day, you don't use the combined position unless you're having trouble.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-900...mp;psc=1&refRID=QTPFRYAVFMET0WPE39FE

Two batteries are better than one for redundancy, I wouldn't want to take a boat with one starting battery very far away from land.

There are three general types of lead acid marine batteries, one meant only for starting, deep cycle batteries means for high draw things like trolling motors, and dual purpose batteries that are about halfway between the two. Mine are group 24 dual purpose types (group 24DC), they're for starting the motor and also run the electronics like the GPS/fishfinder, stereo, pumps, etc. The two trolling motor batteries are type 27 deep cycles (group 27DCX) and only run the trolling motor. My batteries, both the starting batteries and deep cycle batteries, are duracells from Sam's Club and I've been happy with them. They're about $80-90 each. The expensive batteries you mentioned are probably AGM or lithiums. Only you can decide if they're worth 4X the price, they're not to me.

Opinions vary but I'm of the opinion that the full time trickle chargers do more damage than anything. People complaining that their batteries don't last usually start their post with "the batteries have always been kept on a charger". I never charge my starting batteries unless it's the beginning of the year and the boat has been stored for the winter, the boat's charging system keeps them charged. My trolling motor batteries I charge fully when I get back from using them then again before taking it out if the boat has been sitting for more than a couple of weeks. I don't keep them on a constant charger.

What would I recommend for the OP's purposes? I'd recommend two dual purpose batteries 24DC batteries wired with one of the aforementioned switches, that'll keep you out of trouble and won't break the bank. Many of the high dollar designer batteries are overpriced junk.

Thank you.

And here I thought all those years in the business was a waste!

Anyone with a hydrometer can verify state of charge or test how in-accurate their automatic charger is (EZ RED makes a nice, simple one).
A battery reading 1275-1300 is good for three months if away from heat above 70 degrees and direct sun and won't freeze above -15 nor sulfate internally.

If its a wet battery and its sealed, it will need monitored with a voltmeter or charger by OCV readings away from surface charge.

My understanding is freshwater bass style boats usually run one battery that is in charge of starting and running the electronics. In addition, they run between one to three batteries for the trolling motor. These run only the trolling motor.

Most marine cranking batteries are likely ‘dual purpose’ because they also run the electronics. They are kind of a compromise between the thin plate high amp starting battery and thick plate durability of a deep cycle. If all you do is crank with your cranking battery, then I would think a regular crank battery would work fine. The trolling motor batteries would be best if they were true deep cycle, but I am sure some dual purpose batteries are used in this application as well.

As an aside, I carry a set of jumper cables in case I have to jump from my trolling motor batteries to my start battery. I haven’t had to do it yet but it is my backup plan. If you try this, make sure you understand how to hook up the jumpers so you don’t accidentally run 24V or 36V to your 12V starter and motor computer.

I had one of my two interstate trolling motors die after about 1.5 years. Always replace them in pairs (or threes if you have a 36V system). So...I wound up buying two replacements and kept the good battery for other uses.

One more thing, I believe a good carbon pile load tester is a pretty good investment for someone who had lots of batteries. It will help you sort out the wheat from the chaff regarding what’s good and what needs to be replaced.

Year 6 on my Costco Marine batteries (2 batteries setup). I take them out of the boat for winter and trickle charge (0.5 amp) once a month while inside. Think they cost a little north of a C-note.

I buy Walmart upper-end marine batteries they exchange them if they go bad. And have seen several fires with trickle chargers I make sure they are fused!!!

Had a fire on my boat from a solar charger regulator some one caught it in time burned my canvas top. Everything is fused now!