advice - starting battery

[Fishing Buddy]

I need a little advice from the experts - need to replace my starting battery in my boat - what would you recommend

Thanks

 

[SRT8]

just go to walmart and get a everstart deepcycle starting battery they last as long as batteries tha are way more expensive

I would like to thank Denali custom rods, The Rod Glove,X-zone Lures, IMA Lures and Numa Optics for their support

 

[big guy]

Finding the right battery is like finding a good woman. You have to try a few before you find one that's right for you. I am currently dating a couple Interstates that like how I treat em.

 

[Duck Soup]

I can easily help with that one. I've used the Canadian Tire top of the line (the most starting amps) Marine Starting Battery for almost 10 years without a problem. I run all the electronics, including the live well from it and I leave the sonar and GPS on continuously. Although technically illegal, if I'm taking fish home to eat, I run the aerator in the live well until I'm home and that usually takes an hour or more. One tip with a starting battery...replace it immediately if you have a hint of problems. I've towed quite a few people who figure they will fix the problem by charging up the battery. Once they (battery)go they do not recover, even if almost new. I've gone less than 3 years with some.

 

[marshman]

I have two interstate deep cycle batteries I took out of my boat for sale. You can have both of them for 125.00. They were the wrong ones for my verado. I used them this fall in my duck boat and they still are in very good shape. If interested email me. marshman73@hotmail.com

 

[G.Mech]

Deep cycle batteries are typically not a good choice for a cranking battery since they are built for low amp/long duration loads and not for high load/short duration engine cranking. As Marshman says, most deep cycles do not have adequate cranking amps for modern motors. I know the Mercs require minimum 1000 MCA (marine cranking amps) or your electronics could be damaged (not to mention your warranty being voided) and I'm sure the same goes for other modern brands as well. You won't find too many deep cycles with 1000 MCA.
I guess the point is, make sure you buy a big enough battery with suitable MCA for starting your motor. Normally this would mean you pick a marine starting battery or marine dual purpose battery and save the deep cycles for running trolling motors and livewells which is what they are meant for.

Here's a link to a good article explaining how to select the right one and the pros and cons of different battery constructions:

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&mode=article&objectID=32826

 

[Helmut]

I just bought 2 new ones this year. Both canadian tire Nautilus. The starter batter is the 1000MCA and the deep cyle is rated for starting and deep cycle use. They were both in the 140 dollar range. Dont use a standard deep cycle as a starter battery if you can help it.