Marine battery or Car battery?

[Cheech]

When I bought my boat, it had a standard car battery in it. The battery in my car is now on the way out, so I have 2 choices

1/- Buy a new car battery for the car.

2/- Buy a marine battery for the boat and put the old boat battery in the car.

The motor is a 35 Johnson.

The car battery has worked without any problems so not sure if a marine battery is really needed. They are also a lot more expensive.

What is the difference, and which should I get?

Cheech

[bungie]

Not all batteries are suitable for marine use – that’s why manufacturers make different types for specific purposes. Car batteries are not recommended for use in a boat. A car battery is not designed for the constant load that boat equipment such as fish finders, GPS radios and even lights place on a battery – and it probably won’t have the cold cranking power to start the engine more than a few times. Using a car battery in this way will soon wear it out because the cell plates soften from continual charge and discharge.

A marine battery has a different external design, is vibration proof and has cycling duty plates. The external design has special attachment terminals to provide for the extras needed on a boat, most also have carry handles to lift them in and out of a boat safely. The vent plugs should also incorporate some protection from gas ignition.

[Cheech]

Thanks Bungie. So option 2 it is. One further question. The size I was using was just a standard car size. There are many sizes available in marine batteries but apart from physical size, is there any guidelines I should use in making a selection. Or will they have manufacturer recommendations at the boat shop?

With a 35hp I suppose I will not need very big, but then, I don't want to be in the middle of the bay with a flat battery either.

[NQCairns]

I have a different take on batterys than Bungie. A marine battery is not needed in a boat IMHO. Buy a light truck battery 700cca with 90cca reserve for around $120 - $130 dollars or you can go up or down from there, lead acid and you will never look back. I have over many years given light truck batterys in 4wds such a beating and never a problem, there is no way a boat can dish out the unrelenting treatment some of our outback roads give unless it is being towed at the time. I have yet to see a marine battery give better performance than a 'vehicle' battery would have. They are cheap too. nq

[joeT]

I think the main attraction of 'marine' batteries is the ability to deep cycle - to be discharged and recharged many times without significant wear. Car batteries are designed to be constantly topped up, so won't last long sitting idle in the shed or being used without being charged at the same time.

In marine applications you often run electrical items while the boat is not running (ie. at anchor). If you had a car and you parked it with the lights and radio on frequently, the battery would die in no time. This is where the robustness of a marine battery comes in. Saying that, many truck batteries are just as rugged, and probably better value.

Personally, I don't have the luxury of an electric start motor, and only run nav lights a few times a year. So I can't justify buying a marine battery and just use a normal car battery. It lasts ok but I don't expect it to give long life. If I had an electric start motor I would get a marine battery for sure, its not worth saving a bit of money to be struck out at sea.

[Cheech]

Thanks Joe and NQ. I went the Marine battery. If I only did estuary fishing then would probably have gone the cheaper version, but I go out in the bay a lot and at night so Bungie convinced me that Marine is what I needed and why.

But as for cost, I was pleasantly surprised that it was only $109.00 for the size I needed. A 400 which was exactly the same ratings as the old one so I know it was big enough.

Was expecting a bigger bill, otherwise I would not have hesitated. Was expecting around $200.00 Don't know if this is a normal price, or just cheap and Sundown Marine in Redcliff.

The truck batteries sound good as well but too big for the size for my boat.

[NQCairns]

Cheech you sound happy, I would be too, that is a good price. What brand?nq

[SeaHunt]

Hi Cheech,
Going out in the bay I would make sure I knew how to pull start my motor (especially a small one like that), and had actually praticed doing it, for peace of mind. Your battery wont always be new and same as in a car, they will fail when you need em most. ???

[Cheech]

NQ, is a Century. So good battery as well as a good price. By the way, the 500 was $144.00 but I did not get a price on the 600.

SeaHunt,, Yes have tried to pull start it but no success. But I think I know why. I actually discussed this issue with my boat mechanic last week whilst it was being serviced, and he pointed out the manual choke switch that is at the motor end. Apparently even though I had someone at the key and applying the choke, it was doing nothing as it is electrical at the key. So will give it another try on the weekend. Thanks for the reminder.

Cheech

[priemsy]

Does anybody ever take a jump start pack out with them? Always wondered if they are a worthwhile buy?

[jimbamb]

Priemsy.
Ive got one of those jump packs. its the handyist thing iv got in the shed.use it for lighting out camping, ive got a good flouro light that draws 1 amp an it will runn for ages.fishing at night i tape the flouro light to the jetty etc also use it in the boat at night. also runs the shower pump. as well as bein a backup if required.
I see there on special at supacheap for $39 this week

[dnej]

Cheech, you have received conflicting information here. I will see if I can copy a section from my book for posting. Also do a search on batteries on this site. THis has been discussed on several occassions.
However the fact is that a marine battery,has high crank amps, for good starting, and quick charge replacement of the discharge used in doing the start.
The do NOT like being run down,and having long recharge applied to them. Note well
You need a deep cycle battery if you are going to run lights, radio, and other equiptment for long periods of time. They dont mind being discharged and dont mind heavy recharging.
What sort of running do you do.?
David

[priemsy]

I see there on special at supacheap for $39 this week[/quote]

What sort do you have Jim? There's that many of them. Do you leave it on charge when not in use?
Paul

[Cheech]

David, I do a bit of night fishing so run anchor and stern lights, and sometimes during the day I run a live bait tank, but nothing draws much power when the engine is off.

Actually just checked the original old battery that was in the boat when I bought it and it was a 270 so going to a 400 marine, I have more than enough.

Cheech

[Bazza20]

I have a mate who works at a battery shop and he told me that their marine batteries are exactaly the same as the car batteries they just put a marine battery sticker on it and charge $50 or more extra so marine batteries may not be that special after all.

Now i don't know how common this practice is but i would guess it to be fairly common. I have a 90hp merc and i just use a light truck battery and it never plays up.

[bidkev]

Does anybody ever take a jump start pack out with them? Always wondered if they are a worthwhile buy?

Hi Priemsy.

Just bought a jump start battery pack at super cheap auto (on special) at 39 bucks. It can be recharged from 12v or 240 and is a third of the weight of a spare battery. We use it for lighting when we are camping and put it on a 25 buck solar charger (also from supercheap) during the day. That way it keeps topped up and is always available to jump start if needed.

That said, I'm a "be prepared" kind of guy and still carry a spare battery :-)

kev

[Cheech]

Kev,

Is called a jump start pak, but by the posted info it appears that you can use them just as a normal power supply. Is that right? If so, would probably be great for camping, prawning and just a general backup. Are they good for each of these? How do they work if they are not actually a battery?

[peewee]

But as for cost, I was pleasantly surprised that it was only $109.00 for the size I needed. ..... Was expecting around $200.00 Don't know if this is a normal price, or just cheap and Sundown Marine in Redcliff.


Shhhhhhhh....think you have just discovered Brisbane's best kept secret...Sundown Marine... :D.... I buy all my tackle there also.... not even AMart All Sports can beat their prices. As a matter of fact in the past I've had AMart renege on their promise to beat any price by 10% ! :o .. Told me Sundown's price (which was genuine,and I had in writing),was too cheap,and they would even match it... WTF ! [smiley=thumbsdown.gif] [smiley=smash.gif] [smiley=thumbsdown.gif]

[bungie]

I have a mate who works at a battery shop and he told me that their marine batteries are exactaly the same as the car batteries they just put a marine battery sticker on it and charge $50 or more extra so marine batteries may not be that special after all.


I was on the understanding that marine batteries had buffer plates between each cell to stop them being damaged as they get smashed around a lot more than a car battery

[subzero]

Gidday Bungie, for sure.
Their are a number of differences between your standard car battery and a Marine battery. An off road battery for a 4 wheel drive is approaching the demands of a marine battery but they still do not really measure up over all.

Bazza50, your mate has given you a bit of a bum steer, perish the thought that in the event of a COMMERCIAL vessel getting into some trouble in relation to the battery, especially in the case of a death occuring, the investigation by the authoritys would turn up a falsely labled battery pretty quickly as they are extremely thorough.
If it could be found to be a "Contributing Factor", I would not like to be in the shoes of the owner of any company that falsely labels a battery.
This also could cross over into the "Duty of Care" through Workplace Health and Safety, not to mention false of misleading advertising/labeling through the office of Fair Trading or whatever they are called in QLD.
Just a couple of points to ponder, but at the end of the day their are probably 10,000 boats a day on QLD waterways with car batterys in them. (To bad you cant call R.A.C.Q, get out and hitc-hike home, or borrow a phone on the water though).
Anyway, long story.....
Check out this site and the different links on it for some interesting stuff on the different types of batterys.
Safe Boating
Cheers Lloyd

[subzero]

OOPs, Bazza20, I just promoted you by 30, humble appologys. (Bazza50)

[subzero]

Jesus, I will get it right yet. Long day at work, and late night last night.
Here is the link to the batterys.
http://www.vonwentzel.net/Battery/

[Mudcrab]

Having pulled/pushed/towed and jump started God knows how many broken down Boaties all due battery problems I can assure you that anything except a marine battery is a bad choice. The biggest problems with batteries is that the physical space between the bottem of the plates and the battery case is critical to their reliability. This space in Marine Batteries is much higher than the car/truck types. All the crap, sediment and chemical debris that settles on the bottem never gets in touch with the plates. In a car/truck battery, the gap is much smaller and the second a plate makes contact with this garbage on the bottem you have a battery that will fail or become very unreliable on your hands. Additionally, the plates on a Marine Battery are of a totally different composition and built to withstand the jarring and crashing of a boat. And again, on most of the better Marine Batteries, the distance between plates is wider than the non-boat types. This again gives you that little extra protection against sediment buildup and the plates touching. They are
constructed with additional plates to suit the variations in the rated performance levels.They are made vibration resistant by lock bonding & fibreglass separators.
And I am led to believe that the chemical composition of the hydralyte is also different, though not 100% sure on this one. Again do you want a cranking (starting) battery or a "house battery for running all the lights and radios etc. An 800 CAMP (cranking amp) battery will start a locomotive although these are very expensive (about $250 for the new Apollo Brand) but sure as hell won't let you down. In my opinion, every boatie who is serious should have two marine batteries on board. One SHIPS battery for starting and one HOUSE battery for the other stuff. Buy a good Smart Charge battery selector that automatically routes the altenator charge to the battery in need and you are in business. Also as a hint, if you have two batteries ganged up together, you should start on a different one each time you go out as the two together can often camouflage a deficient or on-the-way-out battery! 2 x 12 V batteries in parallel doesn't give you 24V, just the sum of the amperages available in each battery. Hopefully enough to ger her going. Do I keep on? OK, many car/truck batteries have much thinner plates than the marine jobs so on a slow discharge (pretty common) the heat buildup in the plates can twist and distort them enough to stuff the battery. Our bread and butter is flat batteries! Don't leave home without two good marine batteries, trickle charged by a timer switch during the week, tested for a dead cell (still full voltage 12V) and the correct hydralyte level. End of sermon!

[chesscrazy1964]

Don't even consider a car battery, not made for the job
cheers

[chesscrazy1964]

I

[Cloud_9]

there's so much contraversy over battery's here!
with reguards to the battery with the sticker change it could be like a story my father inlaw told me when he worked a Taubines paints years ago. with varnish or clear finish as we use it today, was infact the same product in house hold varish and in marine varish cans because it was cheaper to manufacture 1 product than 2 and it didn't cost more to make marine varnish, just to buy it.
so cutting to the chase if the manufacturer see's fit to make a battery thats up to marine standards and labels it heavy duty for 1 applacation and labels the same battery marine for defferent applaction. who's to know. did you see it made??

anyway mate has battery / auto electricasl business.
i questioned about deep cycle for electrric bow mount, which is high demand
and his advise was, If you are going to use the bowmount ALL day go deep cycle.
but if you don't use it for the full day go 700amp hr HD truck battery, but have 1 to go out and 1 to come home. because the cost of the deep cycle battery was still more exspencive than 2 700amp hr battery's.
if your a commercial opperator you buy what is required by law to cover Public Liable.
but for us joe's going fishing why go to the exspence of some thing you dont need ( my opinion and his, the battery guy ) how many light do you need for a night fish 1 anchor lite 5 watt max , maybe 1 fluro again maybe 5watts and a radio if you want to scar the fish, all those things on all night aren't going to flattin a good battery.
i still run 1 700 amp hr it starts my 90Hp merc after running all the crap for a nights fishing trip. first time it shows any sign of fatigue it'll get the chop for a new 700 amp hr , curent 1 is 2 years old i don't top up charge the battery between trips and it starts me with outfail every week . the chose at the end of the day is your s.

every body has there own oppinion this is just mine, nodoubt this post will be bagged by some one with a different oppinion.

ALL BATTERY'S HAVE A LIFE SPAN,

Cheers Cloud 9

[Bazza20]

Subzero
the place were my mate works is a specalist battery place that sells batteries to heaps of other places, like outboard dealers, so if they are putting the marine battery stickers on the same batteries as the car batteries heaps of other places that sell batteries are getting them without even knowing. My mate isn't giving me a bum steer he was just telling me what happens

I know that marine batteries are ment to be stronger and all that but how can you tell by just looking at them. Unless you know a heap about batteries and cut them open you would have no idea.

And sorry for not replying sooner my house got broken into and my computer was flogged.

[subzero]

Quote "I have a mate who works at a battery shop and he told me that their marine batteries are exactaly the same as the car batteries they just put a marine battery sticker on it and charge $50 or more extra so marine batteries may not be that special after all".

Gidday Bazza20, sorry to hear about your place getting knocked over.

With your above quote, I dont see that it makes it any better that companys, no matter how many do do it, KNOWINGLY, relable batterys and sell them for $50-00 more. In the event of your mate from the Specialist Battery place "not giving you a bum steer", then he does not work for a very reputable company.....
I would like to think that he is only a worker like myself, and therefore has little or no control over his employers less than honest actions.
I hope you dont take offence to my above comments, I am not going to shove down your throat my preference for the use of "Marine Batterys", but their is definitely differences in their manufacturing, durability, capacity etc... I would like to think that when I had my boat that I was not ripped off by this apparent common practice.
Kind Regards...
Safe Boating
Lloyd

[Bazza20]

No offence taken. I understand that marine batteries are made for the job and are what should be used in your boat so i agree with you, i am just saying what i have been told happens.

Yes my mate does just work there and has no control over what happens. Also you say that there are differences in manufacturing processes of the marine and car batteries but how do you know the one you have bought is a marine battery you are just relying on the sticker telling you that.

[subzero]

;D ;D ;D... Got me their Bazza20, when I went and brought my marine battery when I had my boat, I relied on the sticker on the side and the salesman... by the sound of things, not such a smart move.... >:(
When I am at the base, I will have a good look at our ones to see any readilly obvious differences.... I have NEVER paid a great deal of attention to how they LOOK before to be honest... ???
Ho hum, the old story, buyer beware I guess :'(

[fishingrod]

Ive got a century marine pro 600 and u can see the stuff on top of the plates (like a silicon blob for support) when u take off the caps....... thats suppost to be one of the features in a marine battery.
Ive also seen "solid support blocks" in a NRMA brand 4x4 battery in the same spot.
cheers
Rod