Deep Cycle Battery not good for starting??

[cyclops222]

IF no Regulator ? Then a slow over charging is possible. If your motor start in 1 to 2 seconds ? Battery is probably slightly being overcharged. Better than under charged. Which decreases battery capacity over time. I would just do a low current 2 to 5 amps. charging if boat will not be used in a off season. Or only every month or so. A trickle Charger is not needed if you fully charge it BEFORE a storage. My way and I get 8 years.

 

[airshot]

Yeah, just purchased a group 31 one for a customers work boat. Made in the USA in Pennsylvania....decent price. Having trouble with a local battery company (father died and the son has screwed it up) and interstate.

Never again.

Go into any Costco with a volt meter/load tester....you might be surprised.

Yes....I never buy a battery without a thorough test first. Also make sure the battery was made within 3 months of purchase !! I take my filtered anytime I shop for a battery....

 

[phx5kegsman]

Yeah, it only charges at 10 amps. So, if I'm only doing short trips from spot to spot fishing, by the end of the day I'm crossing my fingers each time I go to start the motor. I'm wondering if it will make much difference if I had a regular cranking battery. Would it recharge faster of the meager 10 amps?

 

[airshot]

Yeah, it only charges at 10 amps. So, if I'm only doing short trips from spot to spot fishing, by the end of the day I'm crossing my fingers each time I go to start the motor. I'm wondering if it will make much difference if I had a regular cranking battery. Would it recharge faster of the meager 10 amps?

If your motor starts quickly, the battery should recover quickly, it would take quite a bit of cranking to drop your battery low enough to not restart your motor. Back in my younger days, my motor did not have a charger to recharge the start battery, but I only needed to charge the battery a couple times thru the summer.

 

[saltchuckmatt]

I fish bays and the ocean. I have two start batteries and I would never leave the dock without it. Isolated by a manual battery switch....I run on one (alternating) and sometimes start it on two if I believe the battery is down. Have always ran deep cycles but will purchase the hybrids from now on.

Here is the battery company that I was talking about....made in the USA and no used or recycled lead.

I'll be doing some testing as my customer continues using them and will repost if I find anything unusual.

 

[KD4UPL]

There's nothing wrong with using a deep cycle to start the engine as long as it can deliver the necessary MCA. Appadently it can or your engine wouldn't be cranking. You can look up the MCA requirement for your engine. It may be hard to find that rating for a deep cycle battery.
Deep cycles are often used in very high current applications like powering inverters. The high current won't damage it. The difference is a starting battery has lots of thin plates for lots of surface area with the acid to source a large amoynt if current. Deep cycles have fewer thicker plates that are better able to withstand frequent deep discharges. The thicker plates might be more durable and thus last longer in a marine environment where physical stress is prevalent.

 

[JKLknik]

All I have ever used were deep cycle batteries and I have had 3 larger boats all with big block V-8's. One boat with 454's, one with 460's and current boat has 496's. No issue with starting.

 

[Mc Tool]

I use a solar panel and budget charge controller to charge my extra batteries when the boat is parked between outings.

 

[airshot]

I fish bays and the ocean. I have two start batteries and I would never leave the dock without it. Isolated by a manual battery switch....I run on one (alternating) and sometimes start it on two if I believe the battery is down. Have always ran deep cycles but will purchase the hybrids from now on.

Here is the battery company that I was talking about....made in the USA and no used or recycled lead.

I'll be doing some testing as my customer continues using them and will repost if I find anything unusual.

I have a Decka a battery plant in my area, they have a following, but bang for the buck, I have had better service for the dollar from Walley World batteries in my 30 plus years of using them.

 

[saltchuckmatt]

Well I just started using them so we shall see. I used to get 8 years easy out of my batteries, recently (last 10 years or so) they have been lasting 4 before a noticable loss in voltage.

I have a mis-used EverStart group 24 from 2015 that has 12.8 volts on it and I haven't used it for months.

Weird really.

 

[dingbat]

I have a Decka a battery plant in my area, they have a following, but bang for the buck, I have had better service for the dollar from Walley World batteries in my 30 plus years of using them.

I’ve used Wally World Ever-Start batteries with good luck in the past. The issue I have with them is that they frequently change suppliers, not necessarily for the best.

Went to change out my pair of grp 27 deep cycles last year after 10 years of service. Had to have them shipped in since they didn’t have them in stock.

When I picked them up they were noticeably lighter than the ones I was returning. Upon further investigation, they also changed the AH rating from 110AH to 85AH. Same part number mind you. Time will tell

 

[Watermann]

Hi, I have a 1978 Johnson 115 on my 82 Ranger 130V. I currently have two Group 27 deep cycle marine batteries powering my trolling motor. And I have one Group 27 Deep cycle marine for my starting/house/electronics. Is this a good configuration? Lithiums are not in the budget right now. Also my trolling motor batteries are wired in parallel because I currently have a 12V trolling motor. Any suggestions on a better battery configuration? Does using a deep cycle for a start battery hurt the motor?

Is there even a problem with starting or anything other than wondering about hurting the motor? No a deep cycle lead acid battery won't hurt your Johnson but using a starting battery for anything other than starting could lead to a problem with a dead starting battery.

 

[Lou C]

I have had good luck with Deka lead acid dual purpose gp 27s. Not too expensive and hold a charge well.

 

[cyclops222]

I have never had a bad 12 volt car battery size 24 or 27 used in boats or cars.
Or in any of my standby lawn & generators.
But I do have a load test before buying any new battery.
All my motors start in 1 or 2 seconds. Even in freezing cold snow storms. Even the hand pull motors. I am just lucky ?

 

[dingbat]

I have never had a bad 12 volt car battery size 24 or 27 used in boats or cars.
Or in any of my standby lawn & generators.
But I do have a load test before buying any new battery.
All my motors start in 1 or 2 seconds. Even in freezing cold snow storms. Even the hand pull motors. I am just lucky ?

If you’ve never had a battery failure, your not trying hard enough….lol

Grab one of your 1-2 second “start” batteries…..make sure you load test it, it’s 18 degrees and I need to start the tractor (diesel) to plow the drive.

Seriously, if you’ve never had a battery failure you need to play the lottery more often.

 

[flyingscott]

Lets be realistic about Lead Acid batteries. And their Lead being recycled. WAY WAY too much used EXCESS lead battery lead building up to be recycled.
Electric car batteries using Lithium are causing less need for lead batteries. So all those Leads are sitting too long on shelves getting weaker.
Oh well.

Where is that happening? I do not know of any Internal combustion engine with a charging system for lithium batteries? Lithium is 3 times the cost and need special chargers.

 

[airshot]

I have never had a bad 12 volt car battery size 24 or 27 used in boats or cars.
Or in any of my standby lawn & generators.
But I do have a load test before buying any new battery.
All my motors start in 1 or 2 seconds. Even in freezing cold snow storms. Even the hand pull motors. I am just lucky ?

That is called proper maintenance ! I have that same " luck"....but I have had some bad batteries in the past.

 

[saltchuckmatt]

Funny you mention "load test" When I went down to have it out with the local battery manufacture, the place where I've purchased 25 years worth of batteries for diesel dump trucks, track hoes, loaders and all my past boats, and remember this is the son of the owner that died, he sent out his yard guy while he scurried back into his hole. His yard guy came out rambled on about gibberish than he put on his digital load tester to show me it was fine. I got out the old "toaster" load tester and it was WAY lower. These two batteries were 6 months old.

So what load testers do you guys believe? I'm sticking with the "toaster"!

 

[cyclops222]

I do a jumper cable test on the Honda Accord 1.5 L engine with my digital voltmeter connected. Should be at least 12.5.v d c while cranking. A few tenths lower ? I do a 10 amp charger recharger. If it reduces amps in 10 minutes. I keep it and do a full 5 amp recharge for about 1 hour or 13.7 to 14 vdc.

 

[phx5kegsman]

My cranking/house/electronics battery was a dual purpose deep cycle 600 CCA/750 MCA that I bought less than two years ago. The problem was that, by the end of the day on the water, the battery would struggle to start the motor. I figured it was because of too many starts followed by short runs to the next fishing spot. I assumed that the motors 10A charging system did very little charging of the deep cycle battery. I was curious if a regular cranking battery would be a better way to go. Also, I charged the battery after every trip and, sometimes load test it with my old analog meter. Assumed it was good, but on Sunday I check the cells with one of those turkey baster type gadgets and all of the cells measured on the very low end of FAIR. Apparently, these O'reiley's batteries (Super Start) only have a year warranty! SMH!