Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

[DavidPJ]

We bought our deck boat last year used so I really don't know the age or condition of the battery. I haven't had any problems with it, but for preventative maintenance I'm thinking about replacing it. The previous boat owner converted the battery connections to post connections for a car battery.

I rarely use the battery for accessories when the boat isn't running. And if I do it's generally for an hour or two to power the radio while docked. For this reason I'm still planning on using just a single starting or dual purpose battery for the boat.

Should I replace the car battery with a marine battery? Would the wiring have to be converted back to marine connections or do some marine batteries also have the car battery style posts? Adapters? What CCA/MCA would you suggest for my Honda outboard BF200A motor? Gel vs. AGM?

I like the idea of a less costly car battery, but I want to make sure this is a reasonable practice for boating.

Thanks for your help.

 

[briangcc]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

The battery I use in my boat is this one right here:

Duralast/Marine battery (29DC) | Marine Battery | AutoZone.com

This is turning over a 5.0L fuel injected V8 so it should be just fine for your Honda....by the way, I like your motor choice!


If your cables are long enough, you can lob the ends off of them and install the correct ends for your battery.

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

... I'm still planning on using just a single starting or dual purpose battery for the boat.
Should I replace the car battery with a marine battery? Would the wiring have to be converted back to marine connections or do some marine batteries also have the car battery style posts? Adapters? What CCA/MCA would you suggest for my Honda outboard BF200A motor? Gel vs. AGM?

I use Marine batteries of the dual purpose type in my Sea Ray and would recommend the same to you.

The optimum connectors in a marine environment are the larger top-post style where you use a wrench or socket to tighten down as wing-nuts can vibrate loose some of the time.

Avoid adapters if you can help it.

Around here in SoCal, AGM batteries tend to be the most expensive so I just went with maintenance free lead acid group 27.

Compare what brands are available in your area cca/mca/reserve capacity and warranty.

Not sure what you use to hold your battery in place, but a few years ago here having batteries in "boxes", not just trays became best safety practice and is what will get you passed on a Coast Guard Auxiliary safety inspection. That the guy told me is the #1 reason they fail most boats.

Mark

 

[brnschoneck]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

y nice boat thats gnna be my nexy one !!! just luv them ....lets get some pics up huh ???

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

I also use just one group 29 and just haven't had a need for more. Most will allow both terminals, Personally I like the marine style but both are ok. Mine is kept in a full battery box not just a tray.

 

[JB]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

I've had good luck with Walmart's Everstart Marine Maxx dual purpose. The big yellow one.

 

[brnschoneck]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

U def.. Wanna use a marine batt... I went to batteries plus and bought the best one available deep cycle battery are meant to last longer and charge faster versuses ur car batteries ....i think it cost me like 125 or so !! Of course it is a dual purpose i use it for my starting batt...good luck

 

[roscoe]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

What! No one told you to buy one of the $479 batteries yet?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

BassPro usually has a pretty good sale this time of year. I got a marine starting battery for my boat of some size that is totally overkill for a good price and man does it spin that starter!

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

Marine Batteries usually have both Posts and Studs.
Unless your current auto battery has Side Mount Post; You should be good to go!

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

We bought our deck boat last year used so I really don't know the age or condition of the battery. I haven't had any problems with it, but for preventative maintenance I'm thinking about replacing it...

There is usually a date stamped somewhere on the battery, or the warranty label should indicate when it went into service.
Even then, properly maintained, it could last over 10 years.
Replacing a battery for no reason is just wasting money.

Any auto-parts store will test it for free. Just make sure it is fully charged before testing.
If you have a voltmeter, and the battery has been sitting for a few days, and the voltage is at least 12.4,
The battery is fine. If it is below 12.0, its days are numbered.
Be sure nothing on the boat is draining it or the voltage test will be invalid. Master/Battery switch Off?

The most likely time it will not start is after it has been sitting for a week or more.
The first start of the day will be the problem, not the restart after running for an hour.
If you can run the radio for a few hours and then restart the engine without problems, your battery is not weak!

If you are not having any problems, save your money!

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

U def.. Wanna use a marine batt... I went to batteries plus and bought the best one available deep cycle battery are meant to last longer and charge faster versuses ur car batteries ....i think it cost me like 125 or so !! Of course it is a dual purpose i use it for my starting batt...good luck

The charge rate on deep cycle vs standard is the same, do not exceed c/3. VRLA AGM batteries can approach up to around 1.5c with an extremely good charger/monitoring system to make sure it doesn't overcharge. (8c to 9c is possible if you have a massive power supply behind you, and you shut it down around 80%. In real life terms that is recharging a battery in about 2 or 3 minutes!!)

 

[DavidPJ]

Re: Car or Marine Battery Suggestions for Honda BF200A

Thanks everyone for the excellent suggestions and education. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but now I have a good feel for my options.