what batteries to get and where

[jaybird]

Hollywood,

I agree nothing wrong with a good debate when the outcome is good knowledge. ANd yes we do not know the condition of the battery. We could go on about the combined or not for days. In some instances combined is actually beneficial and in some (shorted cell) it’s not. Let’s call this a draw and move forward. :-)

[AuMDLST]

Correct Craft does not add them because they are not necessary with proper maintenance of the two battery system. By occasionally testing the batteries, one can avoid ever being stranded unless complete negligence comes into play. I have the factory interstate batteries running four amps (5 at other times) and never touch the perko which is always on both. A simple load test will save lots of trouble.

[xrichard]

I'm debating whether to put in an isolator/combiner on my 2 battery set up (factory install from CC with a Blue Sea switch). I'm about to upgrade the stereo with three amps and can install a isolator / combiner at the same time.

I store the boat in my garage and have a two-bank Battery Tender hooked up...so, when I pull the boat into the garage I put both batteries on a charger.

While running the boat, I'm thinking I can keep the switch set so it uses only one battery (the same one the stereo amps will be hooked to). That way, I have a charged battery in reserve (...it won't get a charge during the day, but it is always on a charger at home).

The only problem I see is with longer trips (e.g. week long houseboat trips)...I would have to remember to switch to battery #2 occasionally to top off the charge.

Any thoughts from the pro-isolator guys as to whether it's worth installing an isolator / combiner under these conditions?

[jaybird]

It’s a personal call. If you install the ACR it’s just "One Less Thing" as Forrest would say. Can you justify the expense for the peace of mind?

The battery tender is a great idea regardless, keep using it and your batteries will last longer.

If you install the ACR you can simply connect the battery tender to one battery as the ACR will take care of the switching for the other.

[rosconole]

I have used Optimas for about 8 years now, red top about 10 of them and a blue top cranking. My F250 diesel burns through them before the warranty which is nice and i get free replacement. I put a blue top in the boat mid last summer and put a maintainer on it after labor day, so we'll see how long she lasts. I am kinda of curious on why the Red top optima has 36 month free replacement and the blue is only 18 month and it seems to be relatively the same battery add with the wingnut leads....I have noticed Sears ones suck no matter what grade you get. They used to make their own batteries back in the day but now its farmed out...Interstate I don't use because no one really sells them where I go. Actually Advance Auto Parts battery has been good in my Taurus spare car and it sits sometimes for a week at a time....

[Titan8750]

After reading all this I am confused. I have a 2010 226 (dual battery with build in charger). Both batteries are marine batteries. One battery (the working one and not sure how old it is) I believe is a cranking 1000amp and I can start the boat no problem. The second battery (brand new, seller purchased) is a deep cycle 650amps and is does not even start the boat much less light up the link dashboard. I'm thinking the amp to low or something.

My question is I will be buying two new batteries tomorrow and looking for recommendations on weather to get two cranking batteries or one of each. Also what the the recommended cranking amps?

Thanks

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[bturner]

Replacing a new battery that is not working doesn't seem to make much sense until you figure out what the source of the issue is if it truly is a new battery. One option would be to actually charge with a GOOD battery charger then take it to an auto parts store and have it load tested. If the battery tests good yet still fails in the boat you then know you have an issue like a bad connection or bad cable in the boat. Installing a new battery in a vehicle with other issues like a bad cable will just result in having the same problem but now you're X$ poorer for the effort and still have an issue.

You also need to understand what dual battery set up you have as this could be a source of your issue as well. Does your boat have an isolator installed or just a dual battery switch? If you have something like a Blue Seas "add a battery kit" installed connecting the batteries properly should be all you need to do to keep your batteries charged when in use as this kit will automatically switch between batteries to charge the battery that needs it. If you have a simple dual battery switch then it's up to you to switch between batteries to keep them charged. If you don't you have have just discharged the house battery. If you don't currently have an isolator I would highly recommend installing one.

As to batteries themselves..... Get ready for a holy war on this topic. Look long enough at any of these type posts and you'll see the sides drawn quickly on everything from size, lead/acid versus ADM to heart felt brand loyalty dissertations and yes I'm guilty of both myself. In general you'll have the cheapest is best crowd that will tell you to just buy the minimum sized, cheapest lead/acid batteries (typically Interstate) and replace them when they go bad or the AGM guys (guilty as charged) that are willing to spend twice the lead/acid battery price for the benefits AGM brings to the table but at a cost. What direction you take is something you'll have to decide for yourself.

So what would I do? First I'd get the installation dates off the batteries. This should be stamped on the batteries or marked with punch out labels or stickers. This would at least let you verify just how old the batteries are. I would then charge both then as stated above have them load tested. This will tell you the condition of the batteries and help you make an educated decision as to what you need to do to remedy your current situation. If the batteries are perished or near the end you can start planing for how you want to move forward. If they're still good you know you need to fixethe electrical in your boat.

If they're bad.... Well now it's time to decide which battery religion you what to join. Since I boat on a Great Lake at times I go big and with the best I can afford as you can't get out and walk if the boat won't start and there are times out there when you're going to be all by yourself. This is where AGM comes into play for me along with a Lithium jump box. The superior construction, reliability and performance (these will all be debated of course) make that the decision for me and I go with the largest dual purpose batteries (another feature of AGM batteries) I can get. I'll spend the extra $200 to feel better a mile off shore on Lake Erie. I personally run Optima Blue Top 34M batteries mostly due to the limited space I have. If I had more room I'd run bigger batteries for all the reasons I listed above. Again get ready to hear all the reasons not to run AGM and how bad Optima's are. Whatever, I have 7 seasons on mine and no issues. Others will have different experiences and recommendations. One last thing to note about AGMs is that you could quite possibly need a new battery charger to deal with then. The charger you got 20 years ago from Grandpa won't cut it and the same could quite possibly be the case for a installed charging system in your boat.

If your not into tech, boat on a small inland lake with tons of people around to get a tow from the equation could easily push you to the cheapest lead/acid solution. Going this direction most people will choose the best performing starting battery (typically a group 24MS, 800CCA) for the start battery and a deep cycle (typically a group 24 or 27 depending on how much room you have in your battery box) for the house battery. You can get the actual deminitons of the battery group size off the old Interweb....

http://affordablemarinesd.com/boatin...ize-explained/

The direction you choose will ultimately be one based on your own use case and what you feel comfortable with.

[Titan8750]

Thanks for this great right up. I took the boat to autozone to have booth batteries tested. Both were good. I have the factory battery selecter switch. I even physically swapped the batteries to see if it was a switch issue. Not sure what about the new battery will not allow the dash to light up. It just flickers. However, the other battery lights up the dash and starts to boat with no issues.

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[MN Ryan]

Solid advice from bturner. I'd do exactly as he said.

Depending upon your boating habits, a lithium booster is a great idea, too. The NOCO GB50 is affordable insurance and will crank your boat (or tow vehicle) over no problem. I've got a GB50 in my truck that usually comes into the cost and a GB20 in my commuter car. They're awesome.

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[bturner]

Thanks for this great right up. I took the boat to autozone to have booth batteries tested. Both were good. I have the factory battery selecter switch. I even physically swapped the batteries to see if it was a switch issue. Not sure what about the new battery will not allow the dash to light up. It just flickers. However, the other battery lights up the dash and starts to boat with no issues.

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So the problem is following the battery? That would be odd and would indicate that the battery is bad with most likely a dead or dying cell. In this case you could quite possibly get the proper voltage but when you go to use it you won't be able to draw the amps out of it. Did they load test? Most times a load test to detect this.

If this is the case it would seem to me that the issue is the battery, I mean where else can you go and bad new batteries do happen. Before I dropped the money though I'd be tempted to try another battery our of one of my cars before dropping the cash for another battery and see what happens. I'd also still take a real good look at those cables and connectors and would really be tempted to make new cables on a boat that age with these types of issues. But again that's me. I've done quite a bit of stereo and boat electrical work and have cable and cable lugs sitting around from other projects I could put together easily. Just really strange that the battery would test good from a load test and not work.

On the switch I would look into swapping that out with an isolator so you don't have to deal with switching back and forth. I've installed at least 3 of the Blue Seas kits I can recall for myself and friends and all have worked very well.

[Titan8750]

Thanks. I am going to pull the new battery and have them load test it. The battery is only 685 cranking amps and I was just not sure the battery was large enough to power everything up. I just got the boat last week.

The owner before me took to MarineMax in austin to have a compression check done. It's there they said the original battery was dead. He went and replaced it. Not there but went to autozone. When I went to go pick up the boat it was still not starting on that battery. I noticed that at that time it was a loose positive connection to the battery.

He discounted the price of the boat to cover any issues with it not being the battery. I assumed it was due to the loose connection. But here I am.

To me it's a battery issue, to small or bad like you stated.



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[bturner]

Too small isn't the issue here. 675 should crank that boat and light up the dash. If the battery shows good I'm going with the switch or cable.

[Titan8750]

Ok, the dash now lights up. But will not turn the motor over all you here is click. At autozone now taking it for them to load test.

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[GMLIII]

"Again get ready to hear all the reasons not to run AGM and how bad Optima's are. Whatever, I have 7 seasons on mine and no issues. Others will have different experiences and recommendations".

I agree with what bturner states above and I love my AGM batteries as well even though there are many on this forum that can not stand AGM batteries. I have had nothing but great performance out of my blue top Optima AGM batteries. On another note , I had to swap out my failing battery switch on my G27 last year. These fail quite often.

[XBIGPUN66]

Sounds like a bad ground or bad connection to me. Also we went up to group 35 batteries on my 210

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