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Posts: 100
| Need a battery soon. Is one type of cranking battery any better than another. Any recommendations? |
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Posts: 1184
Location: Iowa Great Lakes | Group 27 Interstate, never had a problem with them. |
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Posts: 3507
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
if you are running some electronics (depthfinder, GPS, radio, etc) off of that battery or through a circuit panel that leads to the battery, I would highly suggest getting a dual purpose battery that has both the capability of starting the motor and running...say an electric trolling motor. This gives you the ability to run your electronics all day without worry of not being able to start your outboard. Something along the lines of a Stowaway brand. Not sure if they still make them yet, although you can find the same make (GNB) at Walmart that will do the same thing.
Steve |
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Posts: 210
Location: VA | Hop,
I run deep cycles for everything, both cranking and trolling. Same reasons as Steve pointed out.
DR |
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| If you are near Appleton call me. I may be able to make you a deal on a west marine battery if you are intrested. 920 four 50 8363 |
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Posts: 100
| Thanks for the input from everyone. |
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Location: Des Moines IA | I'll be upgrading to this battery this winter. My battery is from 2001, I think it's a bit overdue?!
http://www.optimabatteries.com/optima_products/yellowtop/index.php |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Mike, you'll love the Optimas. I've been running two 31 Bluetops, really like them! |
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Location: Des Moines IA | I'm currently running two blue tops as well. I like them so much, I have no choice but to replace the cranking battery with a yellow top. |
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Posts: 994
Location: Minnesota: where it's tough to be a sportsfan! | This one gave me a laugh, I jsut replaced the deep cell pair in my boat this last weekend. I looked at the crank batt and it was from 2000! This was the second set of T.M batteries in my boat in the same time frame. |
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| Nothing beats a Trojan.Get the biggest one you can fit in your compartment.250.00 to 300.00 and should last you 5 - 6 years if you maintain it properly. |
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Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | As far as I'm concerned, no Trojan, beats a Trojan!
But, seriously there is a big difference in battery types- cranking versus deep-cycle (trolling motor). If you could cut them open, you will find significant differences in the mechanical construction. Those mechanical differences create very different performance profiles.
Do not use a deep-cycle as a cranking battery, it's a waste of money! Likewise using a cranking as a trolling motor battery is also a waste of money. Either one will work in the other's place in an emergency, but not optimally and should be replaced with the proper type ASAP.
The dual purpose is an good idea if you have a lot of electronics attached to the cranking battery. It's also a bad idea to run electronics from a trolling motor battery. The best solution for boats with lots of electronics is to give them their own deep cycle battery. Nothing's worse than an main engine that fails to start & you're miles away from camp. But, also nothing's better in that situation than a set of jumper cables in the boat either!
If you want the best cranking battery - use a sealed/no-Mainetnance (AGM) cranking battery, don't use a wet-cell. Why? AGM's inherently have better cold cranking power than wet-cells, again because of the battery construction and battery chemistry.
Have fun!
Al
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Cranking Battery