Boat Batteries

churchy · Posted: Apr 13, 2011 11:22 am Post subject: Boat Batteries

Sorry for the boat talk in this forum, but it is the only one I post in, and I know good peeps will see it here.

I have a friend asking which batteries he should get for his boat. He wants the most bang for his buck. I told him to get Optima, but said they are kind of pricey. He said that he had heard good things about Vmaxtanks... I have never heard of them. Any of you guys have any recommendations?

ChrisG · Posted: Apr 13, 2011 11:33 am Post subject:

Optima hands down. They are a little pricey but well worth it. A battery is not something I want to go cheap on.

JRW160 · Soul Rider Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 367 City: Huntsville

Is he looking for stereo bank batteries or just general boat batteries? We ran optimas for a while, but were pretty disappointed in their performance as stereo bank batteries.

Sinkoumn · Posted: Apr 13, 2011 6:56 pm Post subject:

Costco has the warranty on their Optima blue-tops, basically bring them back within a year (I think) and they will replace them for free, no questions asked. Great deal (I bought my D34M blue tops from there 3 years ago for secondary power, separated from starter for the stereo, and they are still as strong as when I bought them).

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

churchy, I've been looking at these for the houseboat battery bank. I have not met anyone with first hand experience though so I look forward to responses.

Chattwake · Posted: Apr 15, 2011 10:22 am Post subject:

www.4xspower.com

Not the cheapest, but everyone I know who has them has been pleased. I have two D3100's running a monster ws system and I'm thrilled.

JRW160 · Soul Rider Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 367 City: Huntsville

We decided on some deep cycle marine/rv batteries from Sam's. For under $100 a battery, you can get a 125Ah deep cycle. Running 2 of those allows a 2000 watt system to play all day. At that price, we figured even if they have to be replaced every other season, it will still be cheaper than buying some expensive batteries.

Wheeler · Criminal Joined: 04 Sep 2010 Posts: 74 City: Decatur, AL

I've always just bought automotive batteries that have the 3 year free replacement. If they get weak after 2-3 years, they just give you another.

PimpinD2 · Posted: Apr 18, 2011 10:29 am Post subject:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00167ZF8S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

picked up one of those for the stereo battery... cheap and free shipping with prime...

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

PimpinD2 · Posted: Apr 18, 2011 12:55 pm Post subject:

the people who i talked to that have em have em hooked up to isolators and a primary battery. Several others have them in battery banks, so im assuming 4 post. plus the pic looks like 4 post... ill know on thursday haha

J-Ro · Posted: Apr 18, 2011 1:39 pm Post subject:

Nor*Cal, I would reccomend some 6v golf cart batteries for a houseboat setup.

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

Commodore · Ladies Man Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 11636

Nor*Cal You can put them in series and create a large power supply that won't drain one if the other is weak. They are also easy to change and cheap.

What I have on the 41' is two banks of batteries. Two large 12v batteries per bank. The banks are NOT in series. They are separate, but can be put into parallel for starting an engine. With a cruiser/houseboat you might want to research that option. I know you're probably running small blocks, at most big block gas engines on your houseboat. But with the power draws on a houseboat/cruiser you really need to overcompensate. Don't just think cranking engines. Think, engines, onboard lights, plumbing systems, generator cranking battery, etc. You put enough 6V's in series you can get that power. But have a backup. Always have a backup, for everything.

churchy, sorry for the hijack. I run an Optima red top 800 CCA battery for starting. I also have an Optima Yellow top 700 CCA for the stereo and lights for the day. The Yellow top is what I'll start the day running with and run all my accessories. When I fire up the boat it will recharge very quickly. Even with my standard 60amp alternator. But if for some reason I don't pay attention, or run too long all day, the red top will more than get everything running, for a long time. It's a solid backup to have. The red top recharges slower, but with that much power I can enjoy the end of my day and not worry. My last optima's lasted 4 years of hard abuse.

PimpinD2 · Posted: Apr 19, 2011 5:28 am Post subject:

oh hi haugy

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

haugy, doesn't make complete sense. My cranking battery for the small block is isolated from the house. I just don't want those concerns. If I was going to go 6V I would have to pair them up in series to hit 12V then in parallel to get the amps that I would like to have. Currently have 5 flooded deep cycles for the house and 1 gel for cranking. The 5 batteries in parallel are completely isolated from the cranking battery and charged with the onboard generator.

I do want and need to update/redo almost all of the electrical so if 6V is the way to go, now is the time to start that planning.

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

Also, any thoughts on chargers vs. maintainers would be great, but I guess that depends on the size on the bank.

Commodore · Ladies Man Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 11636

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

haugy, I overdo things also.

So my research today on 6 volt is the batteries are a higher quality for price. 2X6volts in series will be cheaper than a high end deep cycle 12 volt and have almost or as many amps/hours as 2X12volts in parallel. I'm going to explore this as my batteries are old and I need to rewire the house for my state of mind.

I get what you're saying about parallel and that's a risk but I see large banks wired up like this all the time. Is there a way to prevent that equalization if on battery in parallel goes bad?

Let's see this 41'er...

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

Would a fuse between each battery in parallel prevent this? If a battery fails the good batteries will overpower the failed (lower voltage) battery, causing large currents within the batteries' connecting wires, a fuse between each battery would protect the system. Just found a schematic to this sorts but I like the idea. Sound pretty overkill though and I'm not exactly sure how I would do that, like what fuses to use... Any thoughts?

churchy, sorry for the hijack.

PimpinD2 · Posted: Apr 20, 2011 8:35 am Post subject:

isolator would help wouldnt it?

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

J-Ro · Posted: Apr 20, 2011 9:00 am Post subject:

Nor*Cal, After 10+ years of seeing tons of houseboats being built or modified I can tell you that the vast majority choose to use a bank of 6v batteries (AKA golf cart batteries) for the house connected to a solar panel for 12v outlets/lights and an invertor or generator for 110v plugs. The 6v tend to hold a charge longer and I think (not positive as the memory is going at my age) that they are easier on the solar charging system. Either way you want a seperate 12v for starting. I am not sure how to wire them to the alternator as a back up source of charging but I bet Haugy knows.

Like I said that's what I have seen over the years at McClure and Pedro on a lot of low and high end installs.

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

J-Ro, thanks, after some research it seems the way to go mainly due to price and quality issues raised by you and others on the interwebs.

PimpinD2 · Posted: Apr 21, 2011 5:57 am Post subject:

Well i got the exide battery.

Someone asked about the 4 terminals...

There are 1 positive and 1 negative which stuck up from the top, and then on the front there are 2 more terminal which look to have threads in them.... so im assuming that makes for 4?