Battery question

[SteveM4A1]

The battery depends upon the outboard. If you are using an Optimax, the Optima likely won't cut it. I had 3 Optima 31's go bad in 3 years. Needless to say, I was not happy with them and will never buy them again. But there are plenty of people out there that get good results from them. Personally, I buy good batteries now that cost a lot, because I have been stranded enough to not let it happen again. It is worth it to me to have that piece of mind that a quality battery brings.

[smashdn]

I've heard good things about the Deka batteries.

Batteries Plus or Batteries Plus Bulbs is supposed to be a good place to buy batteries as well.

I couldn't tell you what brand batteries I run in my boat. I know I am not very good at charging them like I should. I typically pull the boat beside the house and put them on the charger the night before I plan to use the boat.

[Shellkat]

Mantainance,cheaper or high dollar wont last if you dont take care of them,charge as soon as possible,then depending on length of dormaint period,charge night before and your good.

[Moveon]

The battery depends upon the outboard. If you are using an Optimax, the Optima likely won't cut it. I had 3 Optima 31's go bad in 3 years. Needless to say, I was not happy with them and will never buy them again. But there are plenty of people out there that get good results from them. Personally, I buy good batteries now that cost a lot, because I have been stranded enough to not let it happen again. It is worth it to me to have that piece of mind that a quality battery brings.

Was there anything wrong with the boat or wiring or the motor? My Johnson 35HP Motor has a charging system that outputs a DC current into my battery to keep it charged up. A couple of times a diode in the system went bad and the charging system didn't work. The battery went down and I had to use an external battery charger to get the battery charged back up until I could replace the diode in the motor. After that the battery stayed charged.

[SteveM4A1]

Was there anything wrong with the boat or wiring or the motor? My Johnson 35HP Motor has a charging system that outputs a DC current into my battery to keep it charged up. A couple of times a diode in the system went bad and the charging system didn't work. The battery went down and I had to use an external battery charger to get the battery charged back up until I could replace the diode in the motor. After that the battery stayed charged.

Nope, two of them were on the troller and at that time had a different charger than the cranking battery. The cranking battery went first, followed by 1 troller battery a month or so later. The final battery gave up about 18 months later. I just got some bad batteries. They wouldn't hold a charge for more than an hour or two when they went.

[Dobe Mejuwa]

I use

INTERSTATE

24M XHD

800 CCA 1000 MCA

Bought Boat in 2010, with Honda 135 and these batteries mounted. Bought just peach in 2016. 2x starter batteries.

Trolling motor uses: INTERSTATE SRM-27 600 CCA, 750 MCA that powers a 24 Volt Minn-Kota Autopilot. Again, came with the boat in 2010 and still alive and well in 2016.

And oh yes....hurt me.....hurt me.....I'm soooooo looking forward to having to replace all 4 at once when they do finally go bad. But for right now, and 6 years later, they be amongst the living.

[smashdn]

Four batteries is a lot of weight in a boat. I don't have to have two but I like the insurance. They are wired together using heavy gage wire.