Help With Batteries

[breamie]

Hey all, my brother and I have just purcahsed a fishing boat and the battery that it came with is a little old and goes flat quickly.

Just wondering if anyone could suggest what the best battery would be to buy, we have a pretty old 135hp mercury engine and also running nav lights, sounder and radio off it. we usually fish at night as well so were looking for something that will be able to run these for most of the night.

If anyone could help this would be great!!

Thanks all

[Geoff]

Just wondering if anyone could suggest what the best battery would be to buy, we have a pretty old 135hp mercury engine and also running nav lights, sounder and radio off it. we usually fish at night as well so were looking for something that will be able to run these for most of the night.

If anyone could help this would be great!!

Thanks all

Considering the night fishing , it may be wise to set up a 2 battery system.

If staying with a single battery suggest a 80 or 100amp marine battery.

As to brands ,I've been using SeaMaster & found them very good however ,

there are several other good brands available from marine dealers.

Geoff

Edited April 29, 2012 by Geoff

[The Incredible Hull]

I have a deep cycle Seamaster too, they are awesome and hold charge for months without charging.

[boattart]

A 2 battery set up is ideal but if space is an issue consider getting a jumpstarter. You can pick up one from 600-1000Amp for less than $120 from most auto retailers and they are a great backup. If you are doing a lot of night fishing it may be worth running lights from the 12v cigarette lighter socket on the jumpstarter to preserve your main battery. Personally I think every trailerboat that goes offshore should have one on board as backup.

[bisso]

I use the Century Marine Pro 720 batteries for my 350chev inboard cruiser. although it is a dual system, i havent had any problems running a 12v fridge, sounder, lights, toilet fushing, shower use and the stereo for a night with the battery going flat. (need a full battery for starting). any 80 - 100 ah battery should do the job for you. just be careful with deep cycle for starting applications as they are buggers to get fully charged. like the other brands members have posted, you wont go wrong with them either. it might be worth looking for a portable solar panel to give the battery a charge in the morning if you drain it too much... cheap insurance and has got me out of trouble before.. AGM's are best but expensive... you choice and you need to look at what devices you are running to determine the best power source for your particular needs.

Cheers

[Juggs]

Too top up a deep cycle within a few hours of full sun you would need about 20 m2 of solar panels

Those little sub $100 jobs will do nothing to a discharged battery

Best bet is two batteries a cranking batt just for starting

And a deep cycle for running accessories that can also be switched too if the main battery fails

I've just done this and the cost was about $1-150 in materials plus $400 for the deep cycle

Never switch between batteries while the engine is running as it can bugger the charging circuits

And don't run the switch on "both" unless both batteries are identical in size capacity and type

[breamie]

Thanks guys for all your help, I think we are going to go with the 2 Battery set up