what battery to use? done research need answers

[ctaylor2069]

Hey guys I have a 63 evinrude 75 hp speedifour with out a alternator or stator. I am trying to figure out which battery to use. I have only used my lights once and run NO accessories. All its used for is cranking. Please help thanks

 

[ondarvr]

Buy the biggest starting battery that will fit in the space.

 

[robert graham]

Autozone and similar places keep marine starting batteries that are good....I remove my battery from the boat and charge it about once a month so it's always full charge....

 

[ctaylor2069]

You guys think that a starting battery is better than just a regular deep cycle marine battery?

 

[ondarvr]

You aren't using it like a deep cycle is designed to be used, you are just starting the motor.

Both types would work, but there's a reason they call it a starting battery.

 

[ctaylor2069]

Can I run my night time lights off a starting battery if necessary?

 

[ondarvr]

Yes, it can run the lights for many hours at a time. You just need to buy a large battery so you don't need to worry about shortening its life by draining it.

 

[Grub54891]

We used a regular battery years ago on our 63 evinrude,went all summer without a charge,just starting the motor,and night fishing.

 

[ctaylor2069]

Grub what do u mean regular battery? Like a regular car battery or a marine battery?

 

[Grub54891]

Yeah,it was just a car battery. The boat is on a 350 acre lake,and just water skiing,and night fishing. There was no fish finder,or radio onboard,just the nav lights.
Now I will use a dual purpose these days,and install an onboard smart charger,but then again,I'd have a graph,and radio on it,and a automatic bilge pump. We were pretty basic back then.

 

[ondarvr]

Dual purpose batteries are like other products designed to do two functions, they don't do either all that well.

 

[bruceb58]

Dual purpose batteries are like other products designed to do two functions, they don't do either all that well.

For his use, a dual purpose battery is perfect.

 

[ctaylor2069]

I decided to buy a big ac delco voyager marine battery. Hopefully if will work. Its a 750 so I guess well find out. Thank u everyone for your help and advice. This site rocks

 

[ondarvr]

For his use, a dual purpose battery is perfect.

At one time I used dual purpose batteries thinking they would serve me well, after many years I found they didn't last as long as a battery designed for starting the motor. When researching it further I found that a shorter lifespan was normal, and while they sort of do both jobs, they don't do either one as well as one designed for a single purpose.

 

[bruceb58]

At one time I used dual purpose batteries thinking they would serve me well, after many years I found they didn't last as long as a battery designed for starting the motor. When researching it further I found that a shorter lifespan was normal, and while they sort of do both jobs, they don't do either one as well as one designed for a single purpose.

The difference is that the dual purpose has thicker plates. Because of this, the cold cranking amps will be lower. Since the OP has an outboard, the current needed to start his motor is small.

I have always used these type to start my 7.4L in my Wellcraft! They have always lasted over 5-6 years. If a battery lasts less than that, it is usually because the owner let it discharge and didn't charge it back up.

 

[ondarvr]

I have ondoard chargers and normal portable ones. I had electric down riggers and that's why I went with dual purpose, thinking that when using only one battery it would work better. What I found was that the draw down from using down riggers for a day wasn't significant and had little affect on a starting battery, and they lasted much longer than dual purpose batteries.

this was on smaller boat where weight and space were the limiting factors.

 

[bruceb58]

I would assume your engine is running while you are using your downriggers so they wouldn't get discharged right?

The OP's engine doesn't have a charging system so a dual purpose battery is perfect for him.

 

[ondarvr]

No, this is the thing with boating and fishing in different parts of the world, people always make assumptions based on whats done locallly to where they live.

We troll with kickers at a low speed, it wasn't until more recently when these small motors had charging systems, and even if they did back then it was only 6 amps at high RPMs.

The main motor was only used to get to and from where you were fishing, so charging with it was limited to 15 minutes or so.

mine was used in the exact same way the op plans to use it. When using lights for only a short time every now and then a starting battery works better. Better yet, just swap the bulbs for LEDs and their use becomes almost irrelevant.

 

[bruceb58]

Yep, I would recommend dual-purpose for you as well. Maybe you bought cheap dual purpose batteries.

The OP uses his batteries to start his motor so he could discharge it a lot if he started it many times during the day.

No, this is the thing with boating and fishing in different parts of the world, people always make assumptions based on whats done locallly to where they live.

BTW, I know where Monroe WA is. My grandparents had a house on Lake Roesegir and we also trolled with downriggers in Puget sound and up into Canada.

 

[ondarvr]

I live on the Skykomish river, its not that far from Lake Roesiger.

As I said in one of my first posts, any of the batteries will work, I just related what I found from my experience while doing the exact same thing the op plans to do.

The rectifier went out on my 90hp Evinrude, it hadn't worked for at least a year but I didn't know it. It had a jet pump on it and was only used in the shallow river so it did have a FF on it for the first couple of years, so I didn't have a way to read the voltage. What I noticed was that after about a month it would start to turn over a little slower, and the way we fish on the river it was being restarted every 15 to 20 minutes each trip. I would stick it on the charger thinking that the motor's charging system couldn't keep up with the repeated starts. It took that long to discharge a large starting battery being used 3 to 5 times per week on a 90hp motor. After two years I put FF on it and found out it hadn't been working the whole time.