Battery Options

D

designbug

Member
Hi All,

I need to replace my batteries and was thinking about installing two deep cycle Everstart Group 27 batteries for starting and house use. My concern with doing this is that the Honda 150 has a CCA rating of 622 and the Everstart batteries have a CA rating of 720 - will this work?

The boat is on charge at the marina most of the time, but we do spend the night on the hook occasionally.

Thanks, Dick
 
I use a cranking battery (Walmart, wet cell, 725 cranking amps) for the outboard b/c a deep cycle may not have enough cranking amps and with age have decreased capacity
 
Lots of battery expertise on the site. My own, non-expert advise would be to follow manufacturer recommendations and keep the deep cycle for house and a starting or dual purpose battery for the engine. It all comes down to walking the narrow line ofchemistry and physics of batteries and how use affects lifetime. It seems from my experience that boat batteries simply cannot be taken for granted like most automobile batteries. They are snotty little kids that need constant attention.
 
designbug":28u8q0m6 said:
Hi All,

I My concern with doing this is that the Honda 150 has a CCA rating of 622 and the Everstart batteries have a CA rating of 720 - will this work?
Click to expand...

Should work fine. Your Honda doesn't have a CCA "rating"; rather it requires as many as 622 "cold cranking amperes" (CCAs) to start on a frigid morning.

Your chosen battery can supply (is rated to supply) as many as 720 CCAs -- more than the engine should require.
 
On our Marinaut 215, Les installed a 115 AH house battery and a 65 AH cranking battery. It can be important to have a substantial-capacity house battery, particularly if you have higher wattage devices such as a Wallas stove, refrigerator or etc.

Rich
 
Much like Potter Water said - you cannot always count on a battery to deliver its full rated cca. Install the biggest battery you can fit in. Also like Brent said you should use 1 dedicated starting battery and 1 deep cycle. Using a deep cycle for starting can burn out your starting motor. :cry: The last starter I bought for a 25hp.merc cost $485. On the water our batteries and starter are our lifeline.
Good luck with your project.
Regards, Rob
 
We run two deep cycle group 27 battery as they were installed by Wefing's when we purchased the boat in 2009. Fourth year on them and we have used the boat a bunch. No failed starters, no problems. Just keep your connections clean and maintain fluid levels.
D.D.
 
Thanks for all your comments. I think what I'm going to do is get a strong Group 24 starting battery (switch 1) and 1 or 2 Group 27 house batteries (switch 2).

This raises another question though: can I hook up 2 parallel Group 27 house batteries (switch 2) using the existing GUEST 2610 Battery Charger?

Thanks, Dick
 
Of course you can always parallel any identical batteries, and the Guest will not know the difference. However, the guest will take...you guessed it (Pun intended) will take much more time to get to full charge. Your Guest manual should answer your question. I have run parallel BIG group 27's on Still C-razy, and they charge up just fine. However, when I'm charging from the twin Suzie motors and the 27's are low on charge, they charge back up REAL slow. So this spring I'll be replacing the two 27's with a single really good 27 for the house. I simply don't use that much power when not running the engines to worry about taking down a single 27. In fact, you might consider a single 27 that is one of the more expensive and high capacity types than dual 27's. You may be money ahead and still have plenty of juice. 27's come in all kinds of capacities that are directly related to cost of the battery. One really good on will serve you better than two cheapo's.
 
designbug":7lne9r9v said:
Thanks for all your comments. I think what I'm going to do is get a strong Group 24 starting battery (switch 1) and 1 or 2 Group 27 house batteries (switch 2).

This raises another question though: can I hook up 2 parallel Group 27 house batteries (switch 2) using the existing GUEST 2610 Battery Charger?

Thanks, Dick
Click to expand...

Hi Dick,

A lot of the answer is variable due to the way the boat is used. Some folks run a lot and the engine alternator is recharging the batteries fairly often and from not much of a discharge; some folks like to stay in one place longer and then the engine alternator has to work longer to recharge the battery. So really...different strokes and all.

It would seem that bigger is better with regard to battery capacity but remember when you're away from a power outlet you are the power company (or the engine alternator or portable generator is) and have to figure out how to replace the power used.

If you install, say, two 105AH Group 31 batteries (about the same size as a Group 27), sit there for two days and take them to 50% (you use about 85 AH) and then your next run is to a spot about an hour away you're not going to get the house battery bank charged back up.

On the other hand if you have one Group 31 and sit over night and use, say, 25 AH and then run a couple of hours your battery is right back up (as much as it can be which is about 85% of capacity).

You have a 40-amp alternator on your BF150. For electical system balance issues you should not ask the engine to charge more than about 4-times its output capacity; in this case about 160 Amp Hours. That would typically be a pair of Group 24 batteries.

If you go bigger (a pair of Group 27s would typically be about 200 AH) you'll be able to sit somewhere longer but you'll have to run darn near forever (or start a generator) to recharge the batteries if you discharge them very much.

Keep in mind that there are basically three variations on battery types (by use): cranking (starting), dual purpose, and deep cycle.

There are two basic "systems" installed on smaller boats: 1) a "runaboat/fishing" system consisting of two identical batteries usually controlled via a 1-2-All-Off switch, and 2) a "cruising" system consisting of a "house" battery and a "starting" battery and nowadays often controlled with a Dual Circuit switch and an Automatic Charge Relay (ACR).

For a runabout style system I suggest Dual Purpose Marine batteries as they crank easily but also will withstand some discharge from house systems (cranking batteries die a quick death if discharge very much or very often). True deep cycle batteries are not great for starting engines.

For a cruiser style system I suggest a cranking battery (or two if twins) and a deep cycle house battery (or bank of two). This system is a bit problematic if you want to use a 1-2-All-Off battery switch because the batteries (cranking and house) shouldn't be paralleled, which means that you need to keep changing the battery switch for different conditions.

The best system I've come across so far is using the Blue Sea System Dual Circuit Plus battery switch (it has an ON and an OFF position that controls the starting circuit and house circuit at the same time but independently, and also has a COMBINE position for emergency parallel) along with a Blue Sea Systems Automatic Charge Relay (it goes between (electrically) the positive terminal of the house battery and the positive terminal of the start battery). All electrical loads on the boat are then taken from the house battery.

This makes operation super simple. When boarding the boat you turn the battery switch from Off to On then go run the boat. When you're done you turn the switch from On to Off and depart. That's it.

What's going on behind the scenes is that when you turn the switch from Off to On it connects the start battery to the engine and the house battery to the boat loads (but doesn't parallel them). When the engine is started and the voltage comes up on the start battery the ACR kicks in and connects the engine (by way of the start battery) to the house battery and charges it (or keeps it topped off). When you shut down the engine and start using house loads the ACR opens and isolates the start battery so it can't be discharged.

This system makes life simple and allows easy use of a true cranking battery for the engine and a true deep cycle battery for the house.

Hope this helps,

Les
 
Les installed the ACR system on my boat last fall and it has been the best addition I have had. The batteries are always maintained and it is simple to occasionally check on their condition. I can watch the voltmeter and see which battery is being charged.
 
Hi Les,

Thanks for the detailed discussion. Based on your comments and my specific boating needs, I think the dual purpose batteries are the way I should go.

Sears has Group Size 31M dual-purpose starting/deep cycle batteries on sale for less than $100 each, so I'm going to pickup two to replace my aging Group 24s.

Thanks, Dick
 
designbug":h3szxqb5 said:
Hi Les,

Thanks for the detailed discussion. Based on your comments and my specific boating needs, I think the dual purpose batteries are the way I should go.

Sears has Group Size 31M dual-purpose starting/deep cycle batteries on sale for less than $100 each, so I'm going to pickup two to replace my aging Group 24s.

Thanks, Dick
Click to expand...

Sounds good! And glad you found the information helpful.

Les
 
About a year ago, I installed the Blue Sea ACR system Les discussed and what a difference it has made in my battery care.
So simple to operate and get top performance from the batteries and charging systems. Not only does it charge your house batteries from the motor alternator but combines both batteries in reverse from the battery charger. Sweet. Both the start and house batteries combine when charging and separate when in use.
 
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