Boat Batteries

[Ash]

hey everyone,

just wanting some adv about boat batteries. I will need to buy soon and i have no idea where to start or what to look for. How different are they to car batteries? What should i look for in a battery? I dont know if i want second hand or new yet. I want it for depth sounder and hopefully eventually electric motor.

Any information (about the above topic) will be of much help!

Ash

[Brian D]

Hey Ash

I have learnt a bit so I'll give you what Iknow but it i ssubject to correction. Ray and Feral know a bit more then me.

I think you need a deep cycle dry cell 100 am hr battery. Deep cycle release a long slow charge that services all your needs like lights, sounders, air bubble things, etc. basicly any little gadget you want in your craft that requires a battery.

You don't draw on your battery to start you motor so do not get a cranking battery as they are designed to deliver a short sharp charge, these are called cranking batteries, hense crank over your motor.

Like I say both Feral and Ray know a bit more so lets see if I got it right and actualy learnt something.

[Ash]

thanks feral, do u know of est prices? also where is best place to get them?

[Feral]

I'll defer to Ray, I am not sure what size you will need, the 100a/h is good for an electric, but you might need as big.

I am pretty sure Ray gets his of Ebay, a lot cheaper.

[rayke1938]

Ash

there are 4 types of battery for you to concider. What you get depends on you use and how deep your pockets are.

1 for normal boating any marine battery will do. This will start your motor and run your electronics. Do not concider a normal car or tractor battery. They do not have the internal strength to support the plates and will fail due to the plates collapsing.The marine battery is not suitable for running an electric motor unless you are only going to use it intermittently and NEVER NEVER discharge it completely.

2 The next best is a deep cycle battery they start off at around $180 depending on size and country of origin. The ones with the best reputation come from USA.

3& 4. Then you move up to gel cell and agm (Absorbed glass mat) Which start off at $300 plus.

The size of your battery will depend how much you intend to use your electric motor. I fish hinze,baroon pocket ,and sampsonvale which are all electric only. A 55pound thrust motor draws about 45 amps which means in theory a 120amphere hour battery will last a bit over 2and a half hours running flat out. Just trolling it will last around 4 hrs.

I soursed my batterys from ebay and paid around $170 each for 2 X 120ah gel cell batterys that are made in malaysia they are now 18 months old and still going strong. Previously i was using supercharge deep cycle batterys and after 12 months they were down to about 60%capacity. I tried to maximise the life of these using an maximiser but after it stopped for the third time i didnt bother with it any more.

Another expense is a suitable battery charger especially if you get a gel cell or agm battery. You MUST use a automatic multistage charger. These limit the charging voltage and start off the charging with a high charge and when the battery nears full capacity they reduce the charge rate and when the batteys is fully charged they maintain a floating charge to keep the battery at full capacity. These start off at around $150 upwards.

If you buy a marine or normal deep cycle battery get one that is sealed otherwise you have to keep topping up the electrolite. Failure to top up results in the battery running dry and the plates drying out and distorting.= new battery.

Also at Baroon pocket the only batterys allowed are sealed type.

I see Steve wilkes has a second hand battery for sale with his minnkota electric motors.See add in general buy sell section. I would suggest giving him a ring as he will also be able to tell you how he looks after his batterys and what brand he uses.I would be a bit reluctant purchasing second hand batteries unless you know how they have been looked after. An gel cell or agm battery should last about 7 years if it is charged correctly and not allowd to stand in a discharged state for a long time. Some of the gell cell batterys that have been used as a computer back up system should be ok if they have been looked after.

Another tip is to never leave any of the batterys flat always recharge as soon as possible.

Hope i havent confused you too much give me a bell on 32068583 if you want any clarification or more info

Ray

[Ash]

Wow, thanks for the info. There goes my theory of just being able to wack a battery and hook up whatever in a boat!

I might just give you a tingle when i get closer to buying one. New job does start till Sept 11th, so may have to wait a month or so!

Heaps of help, thanks guys!

[Brian D]

What system did you get?

[Ash]

Havent bought battery just yet. Need to wait till first pay check, or for my tax return, which is surprisinly large this year!:laugh:

[Brian D]

What is powering you nav lights and spot

[Ash]

Nav lights, 2x D batteries and the spotty has rechargable battery. It also has connection to hook up to battery.

[IcemanII]

Would also highly recommend maintenance free batteries as I have never seen one with caps that doesn't leak acid, I recently installed dual batteries and threw the existing Century one away, I Installed a Sea Master starting battery and an additional Deep Cycle which didn't even need to be installed in a battery box. Worth checking out ebay as I paid around $400 in a shop for the Deep Cycle and later saw the identical battery on ebay with different branding for $150.00.

[buzzid]

hey guys,

from my personel experience with batteries i truely believe the difference between a car battery and a marine battery is a sticker and an over inflated price. for many years i have been using bosch car and machinary batteries in my boat and not even close to any problems. i have a dual battery system and both have 600 cranking amps. they cost about 170 bucks each and like anything if you look after it, it;ll look after you. i smother the terminals in vasoline, check fluid levels, and throw them on a charger every couple of months or whenever i feel it is needed.

thanks...jamie...

[buzzid]

hey guys,

from my personel experience with batteries i truely believe the difference between a car battery and a marine battery is a sticker and an over inflated price. for many years i have been using bosch car and machinary batteries in my boat and not even close to any problems. i have a dual battery system and both have 600 cranking amps. they cost about 170 bucks each and like anything if you look after it, it;ll look after you. i smother the terminals in vasoline, check fluid levels, and throw them on a charger every couple of months or whenever i feel it is needed.

thanks...jamie...