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best battery

A lot of people are running the gel celled batteries now. They are pretty much manufactured by the same company and marketed by different distributors.

Whatever you decide to run go with the lowest cold cranking amps that you need. Higher CCA batteries have more plates in them which makes the plates thinner. Lower CCA batteries have thicker plates. A common failure of batteries is erosion of those plates, they will flake and vibration will contribute also. The thicker the plate, the lower the CCA, and the longer the battery will last. Lower CCA batteries will outlast higher CCA batteries. Also the lower the CCA the battery the more reserve it will have.

Whatever brand you go with call the local distributor and see if they have a "blem". Blems might have mark or some superficial reason they will not be sold at retail.
It might save you some money and sometimes they have what you need.Do not go to low though make sure that you have sufficient CCA.
 
That was a darned good post DblJ.

Thanks.
I'll be remembering that next time I'm hunting a battery.
 
Gotcha Rich!

Beam me up to the Planet Marsh.

You know if theres any combustible atmosphere there?
 
Those FLUX capacitors are nice but you have size them properly for best results. The bus at Kissimmee has been known to corrupt FLUX capacitor performance. :lol:
 
JD,
Did some friendly intergallactic airboat operator get polluted at the bus?

Hell that's cool.
He probably dumped soot in some mercedes sl convertable at the T-pike toll plaza on his way home the next day.

Hey.... you gotta break a couple of eggs when you making the jump to hyper space with a hang over!
 
If memory serves me correct, I took a parrallell approach to ALL the stuff guys were getting stuck on....and I INCHED my way off, so the FLUX capacitor did it's thing...with no extra help. Come on over to Okee for some real rank ass stuff
 
I run the Orbital battery that we sell at NAPA. It's equivlent to an Optima and it comes in the 34/78 group series that has both top and side posts

I like it very much so far. It is completely sealed so I don't have to worry about it leaking and I don't have to run a battery box.
 
Rich made it off the sticky patch, it just took a little more fuel to get it done. :D Of course I don't think payload had anything to do with it either. LOL Just how much beer can that boat haul anyway?
 
I'd love to run sealed batteries, especially those Optima-type gel cells, but I bought two new Group 24 Interstates for $50 less than what one Optima costs, and with the same warranty.

That's a lot of difference where I grew up.

olf
 
Seem like I get about 2 years out of the Deep cycle battery that I have been running. The sealed battery are they worth the money? I like to run just 1 battery.
 
a/c delco bats are good if you dont live in florida ask any tech in florida we change them out of cars and trucks three or for times a day and back in 2004 the recalled all florida bats to michigan and sent us new bats that had better seals and could take the heat with oput leaking acid
 
I run the cheepest battery I can get from Wally Werld. I run a single battery also. Never been stranded due to a battery failure either. Earlier in my airboating life I ran the big 1,000 CCA batteries but they were huge and heavy so I got the way smaller 500 CCA battery. Over a year I saw no difference except that there was less weight I was hauling around. I guess in my new boat I will run the smallest battery I can find that will still crank the boat.

When I build a boat for myself I build for the lightest weight I am comfirtable with. I never run more than a 10-12 gallon tank either. I carry a couple extra gas cans so I can set them out where I'm going to and again not be hauling a bunch of weight around when I don't need to.

My kids first boat was a 90 GPU with no electrical system at all. Granted it was a trainer for him to learn with. It taught him how dangerous starting an engine can be if you don't do it right EVERY TIME. He never got stranded with a dead battery cause there was none. When he wanted to begin learning to ride at night we added an alternator and a battery and running lights. We used a tinly little import battery and it lasted until we sold the boat years later.

I think I like the idea of the gel cell batterys but havent used one in a boat yet. Seems like a good idea anyway.

Another note on the battery is that you can use it to help offset the torque roll by mounting it on the side that rolls up not in the center of the boat.

Brand name loyalty might not be the thing to look at, deep cycle batteries are a bit tougher for total discharge than normal starting batteries are but they also cost more. If you dont mind parting with the dollars then they won't mind taking your dollars. Smaller batteries are lighter and easier to mount. Actual function wise, I have never seen a hill of beans worth of difference in any of then over the period of a year. Dont think I ever ran one past a year, they always get given to someone else with a dead battery.

Scotty :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I agree about the added weight, Bear. They're heavy alright.
I like two just for the peace of mind I guess, and because, like you said, you can give somebody one if you need to and still be operational.

Also, if you run an automatic bilge pump you can completely drain one of them and still get cranked back up.

olf
 
I run two that way when my alternator or belt gives up I can use my battery switch which is usually in the both position to use one to keep the engine going and one for lights and by having a belt that is only for my water pump I don't have to worry about my engine overheating if I want to stay and run.
 
Cntry, I was always afraid to run my Perko in the 'both' position. No problems doin it? I thought it might overload the alternator..

olf
 
Olf

There IS a problem running the Perco Switch in BOTH.

Both batteries must be the same battery, both must have the same specific gravity in the electrolite, and they must BOTH have the same charge level or you are begging for a fire on board. Be VERY careful here. Especially if you have killed or nearly killed one of them already.

These things have no business having a both position on the switches. Any info I have though is 10 years old anyway so look for newer changes maybe.

Now to CYA I have to say this is just MY opinion. I do, however, make a living with electronics so my opinion carries more weight with me than anyone elses. Grinn :)

Scotty
 
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