Best battery

[shag]

What is everyone's best battery recommend? 08' 230. We sit and jam to tunes for an hour or more at a time while chilling in the water.... And adding some Serious Underwater LED's that draw a decent amount even for LED's....

[t.franscioni]

Far from an expert but I would think two group 31 deep cycles with a 100 amp alt should be stout enough to handle what you want to do. As for brands it's my opinion that the brand name doesn't mean a whole lot compared to group size and type I.e deep cycle or starting battery. All manufactures are utilizing the same lead acid technology so brand is not too important to me. Any well know brand should be fine.

[Full-Force]

Best is subjective but Im 4 years on yellow top optima and going strong. Longs periods of playing amplified stereo system with boat off. I have yet to maintain battery through the winter also, which I know I should. Just goes to show how good this battery is.

[BoardSkier]

I have two Delkos. Three years old. Never have a problem running the amps and all and starting. I have a Perko switch and alternate batteries each time I go out. The keybtonlife is the off season. Keep them on a trickle charger.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[skiking]

I am not an expert, but I have had every type of battery you can imagine. For high end car audio, boats, hunting trucks, and off-road vehicles. Also, as part of my work I deal with products running on Sealed Lead Acid batteries (SLA) to Lithium Phosphate (LiFe) batteries. AGM in my opinion are the best. Cost a little more but good for the rigors of being in a boat. You will want a Deep Cycle for any battery that is not just your starting battery.

Car batteries for the most part are SLA and the more popular versions are the liquid type you top off and maintain (lower cost) or Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries. Optima was one of the first batteries to really drive AGM style batteries due to the benefit of low maintenance, vibration resistance, and the fact that there is no liquid to top off. The AGM design has the liquid absorbed into the glass mat.

With all this being said, t.franscioni put it correctly. For stereo cove time look for large batteries with long reserve times like 31 size batteries. I don't care what brand it is power time is power time. Some will hold up to a 100% original full charge state longer than others, but most batteries of the AGM style no matter what brand will start to deteriorate after a year. They will charge full, but never have the capacity they once did. You can lengthen the life of the battery by keeping it topped off with a maintainer. Letting a battery sit or sit at anything less than 100% allows the internal cells to start to sulfide.

I just replaced my Optima Blue tops with two Deka 31's of the AGM variety. They cost less, have larger capacity than the Optima's, are well built, and USA made. They are also now the supplier for Correct Craft, I believe. I replace mine every few years because I use my stereo in coves a lot.

I am not pushing any one brand over the other. I would just tell you to look for an AGM style battery at a size 31 for at least your "house" (stereo battery) if you can fit it and good CCA and Reserve size. Reserve (which tells you how long you will get at amp draw in a cove with the boat off). 800 and up on CCA and 180 and up on reserve. Don't get sucked into the hype of brand, but also don't by a junk battery. A good name brand will give you what you need and allow you to replace every few years. And, if you want the most time in the cove, you will want a battery that still can charge to it's original new state. Remember, all SLA batteries start to deplete from that state after the first year. Some at 6 months. I'm not saying they don't work after this time, they just will never give you the same original reserve as they did when they were new. They will keep diminishing over time. This really only matters to people using them for big stereos with the boat off. Daily users probably would never notice a diminished four year old well maintained battery.

[SuperSquirt]

Despite having to replace them every 3 years, I have always used Optima blue tops in my 2008 210. I have a D31 on the starboard side and two D34 wired in parallel on the port (stereo) side. I've got 4 amps and a 10f cap that are being fed, and it works really well for a long time. I added the third battery last year and switched to parallel setup, and that helped a lot.

[Neverenough]

No expert either but I think this is like anything else..... Maintenance. When not in use have plugged in to a battery charger/maintainer.

[pSchwade]

The most important thing is to get a good high-current multi-stage smart charger to maintain the batteries after heavy discharge. You can get a decent one for around $100 if you shop around. As for the betteries themselves, I was under the impression that Optima's were sealed gel batteries (AGM's need to be vented). They use a cylindrical plate design to increase surface area (and CCA) and they seem to be more durable than standard batteries and better at surviving heavy discharges.

[skiking]

Optima batteries are AGM batteries. https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u.../agm-batteries
AGM doesn't mean vented or un-vented. It just means the Sulfuric Acid inside is absorbed into a gel state in the mat of the battery. Optima patented their spiral cell technology which they claim makes it a more durable and better AGM battery. Optima is now owned by Johnson Controls.

I have also heard Sears Die Hard Platinum AGM batteries are now made by Odyssey. Odyssey makes high end batteries that are used in lots of high end competition auto sound rigs. http://www.odysseybattery.com/

Just stating that there are lots of batteries out there. Find the battery with the power you need and with a price that makes you feel comfortable.

[shag]

Thanks! I think I have found a good battery supplier... Battery USA.... And can anyone recommend a charger that I can mount in my Boathouse so I can just plug in when not using?

[rman56]

We're 5 years on Optima blues tops and going strong. I will look tomorrow at the shop and see what brand our trickle charger is, very pleased with it.

Thanks

[Dave Rittiman]

I have 4 batteries in my 2009 230 SAN and using Northstar AGN batteries they are some of the best out there. We can listen to music cranked all day long on the 3 batteries connected in series. My boat has 5 amps and I recommend running 0 gauge power lines directly to the amps with power and ground distribution blocks. We keep the 4 for starting only. The stock alternator doesn't keep up very well.

Northstar AGN specs



The best thing to do for charging is to use a charger like the Noco and plug it in when you get home or back to the dock. I am currently running the NoCo 26000 which is mounted on one of my rear engine dividers walls works awesome.

NoCo Marine chargers
https://no.co/products/charging/onboard

NoCo 26000 Pro Charger
https://no.co/g26000

.

Cheers
Dave


Sent from my iPhone using PLANETNAUTIQUE mobile app

[pSchwade]

I've been really impressed with the duralast DL-75 and 85, microprocessor controlled multi-stage charger and it has a load tester if you need it - hard to beat for $100.

http://www.autozone.com/test-scan-an...er/451992_0_0/

[fb_rider]

X2 on the Genius maintainer. I bought one for $100 at Bass Pro about a year ago and it does a great job. Plus it's permanently mounted so all you do is plug it in.

I've always used Interstate batteries in my boats and have been very happy with them.