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I'm looking at adding another battery to my boat. What type of battery do I need to be looking for? I can get a good deal on a few different brands of batteries such as Kinetik, Shuriken and I believe AAWS. Are those good batteries to use? I guess my main question is, are car audio batteries just as good to use or is there a special battery I need to use?
Lawdog, do a search for "add a battery" & dual batteries". There's a couple of extensive threads on the subject recently.
I did a search but didn't find the answer. I'm not really asking how to add a second battery but what kind of battery I can use. My question is more along the lines of, are car audio batteries the same type of battery you would use as a second battery in your boat?
Use a marine battery group 27 for the second batt. There are a lot of expensive batteries out there and whether or not they're worth it will get you various answers. Personally i don't see the need and have had great experiences with Interstates from Costco. Some batteries have more play time but unless your supporting a lot of power drain and will play the stereo for hours on end parked i don't see the need. BUT that's just my opinion.
This might not be the most correct answer, and I do not want to go into the minutae of hows and whys for a charging system; my buddy David from Earmark can guide you QUITE specifically based on what you think your needs are....
I use two LARGE group 29 marine batteris from Wal Mart, with a Blue Sea 7650 ACR wired in per manufacturer's specs, wtih no battery switch.
So far, no worries on my system.
Now, beyond my very general recommendation....
Get with David; he is a real good one to talk to to get a real good recommendation based on your needs, and he has teh stuff you will need to do it. Hopefully he posts up soon; he is good about responding here.
Phil
Kicker
Lawdog,
Thanks Phil.
There are countless battery brands that will work well including those which I've used and those I have not.
For a stereo application, go with a true deep cycle rather than a dual purpose or starting battery. The amp/hour rating is your primary objective. If its a true deep cycle, it shouldn't matter whether its for automotive, RV or marine use. If it doesn't clearly specify "deep cycle" then go another route, regardless of the brand.
And, without good recharging provisions and disciplines, that expensive battery and impressive amp/hour specs may be meaningless after just a season or two.
Hope this helps.
David
Earmark Marine
I did a lot of research on batteries last month trying to compare AGM vs wet cell. Unless you need to lay your batteries side ways, a wet cell should work fine, they just have shorter warranty periods from what I gathered. My two sets of criteria were: total cost of ownership over 4 years and ease of exchange. Most of the AGM batteries I researched came with a 2/3 year warranty and wet cells were 1/2 year warranty so over a 4 year period I figured I had to buy 4-6 batteries total. I approximated 4 AGM batteries at $250 x 4 = $1000 or 6 standard wet cell batteries at $70.00 x 6 = $420
I opted for two of the $70.00 Walmart Everstart MAXX-29 batteries which have 125 Amp Hour rating, 875 MCA (Marine Cranking Amps), 205 minute reserve, and 12 month full replacement/24 month prorated. Similiar batteries at Costco and/or Sams Club if you have one of those whole sale cards. Plenty of Walmarts in the US for easy battery swap. Most of the guys on the fishing forum say they are getting 18-36 months out of the Deep Cycle MAXX-29 batteries. This is my first season with these batteries so only time will tell but for at least 12 months, I get full replacement if one goes bad. Even if my Walmart batteries did go bad, I could buy 12 Walmart batteries and it would still be cheaper than buying 4 AGM batteries.
I had 3 Kinetik batteries in my old 2006 Supra 21v. They worked well for the two years I had the boat. I did put them on a trickle charger once a week to keep them maintained because I was paranoid about them after spending so much money to purchase them. I told myself, I was never spending that much money on batteries again!!!
Just my 2 cents!
Besides the initial cost factor, i've watched others with Optimas and such get 2-3 years out of them and they don't seem to reap any more benefits than i do with my $70 Interstates. I didn't need research to see it wasn't for me as i hate throwing away money. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by ausbill32
Good Point. I just picked up a Die Hard Deep Cycle Grp27. An audio installer buddy of mine said that they work just as good as any expensive brand when you get down to it :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Razzman
FWIW, i've also been using 2 of the Walmart group 29's along with a starting battery going on my 3rd season and have had no issues. I've also used the Interstate batteries in the past and had really good luck with them as well. If you look into it you'll find theres only a handfull of companies that actually make batteries. There was an excellent thread on Wakeworld a year or so ago, might try searching for it.