Best Budget Cranking/Electronics Battery?

[StetsonBasser]

So as I continue to chase down my battery woes, I have found that my cranking batteries not holding a charge anymore. I currently have a Duracell Group 27 (SLI27MA) that is just over a year old (and naturally just past warranty) which isn't holding a charge anymore. My boat is a 1996 Stratos 285 Pro XL with a same year Johnson Faststrike 150. For electronics I've got 2 Lowrance HDS 9 gen 3 units and my standard live well and bilge pumps. By the mid day fishing the voltage gets so low that it if i turn on a live well pump it shuts off my fish finder.

So what I'm looking for is a cranking battery recommendation that will not break the bank. I think I paid about $160 for the Duracell one and I'm pretty disappointed it has lasted only a year. I do not have the budget to buy a 3-400 dollar battery. But I want something reliable that I can fish all day and depend on it during a tournament.

[Welaka]

NAPA industrial battery group 31. Cheap and was beast in my old boat. Do not remember the numbers. Search on here it is used by several guys. I ran 2 9's and live wells all day with no problem.

[CJ1]

Fix the problem, not the symptom. You either have charging issues, too small of batteries [need more capacity guessing this is it. do you fully charge every time you use it, no parasitic draw when not used], over drawing beyond 50% capacity ect ect. Good batteries arnt cheap and cheap batteries arnt good. You may have to go with lithium for what power you are pulling all day. Hard to say without a better description. CJ

[KandKKustomz]

Duracell 31 dtm agm believe now in low 200 range. 18 month warranty

[illinifish]

You may want to check out Oreilly auto if you have one close. They currently have a 20% off code cyber20. I ordered my group 31 AGM cranking battery from them a couple of years ago using this savings. It is the heavy duty fleet battery and I have not had an issue. I am running 2 Garmin graphs and live well with it during tournaments which are 9 hours. The discount ends today.

[catdude28]

Fix the problem, not the symptom. You either have charging issues, too small of batteries [need more capacity guessing this is it. do you fully charge every time you use it, no parasitic draw when not used], over drawing beyond 50% capacity ect ect. Good batteries arnt cheap and cheap batteries arnt good.J

My thoughts also. Is your charger working properly? What charger do you have? Any parasitic draw? Although a group 27 battery is too small, I would be disappointed in just a year out of it, especially with a low demand cca engine like yours. If everything else is in order, then you just may need a battery with a larger RC. Yours only has 182 RC. It should be up around 200 with todays electronic demands, and a group 31

[fishnhams]

I’m looking to replace before next season also and havent found a clear answer if it is ok to run an agm or not. Ive had good luck so far running a group 31 Duracell flooded. Would be nice not to crawl into the bilge to check water levels if it’s not necessary.

[MCIPinkie]

Get to the closest Wal-Mart and buy their marine starting battery. The biggest you can afford. Best bang for the buck out there.

I have a 2020 Skeeter ZX200, 200 SHO, Helix 10 at bow, Helix 12 at console.

It came with Interstate batteries. When they go down, this year most likely, I'll buy the Wal-Marts. Group 27 should be more than enough unless you run hard and often.

I'm pretty financially secure and can afford what I want. I've been running the WM batteries as long as I can remember and have no complaints.

I live on a private lake and have a little boat on it. Put the O'Reilly's on it. No complaint, and they have some fantastic sales. Probably the same as the Wal-Mart's just a different sticker.

Be honest and objective. Look at what you really need and buy that. Don't get caught up in the hype.

[haus9393]

I normally don’t even suggest agm and tell people to go lithium but with your motor it might not really support a lithium battery. Or look at getting a dedicated lithium 100ah for your electronics and keep the pumps and outboard on an agm. Start periodically checking you voltage with a meter through the day every hour or 2. It should start around 12.80v for full charge and as the day goes on it should drop in voltage. 12.00v is about 50% dead. Once you get below 11.5v you might have issues cranking the motor over.

[haus9393]

2 hds 9 gen 3 units running all day will at most do 1 amp of power draw each per hour. Most group 27 batteries are in that 70ah range. Which means if you draw 2amps per hour with your graphs you can theoretically get about 35 hours of run time out of the battery, in reality you don’t get the full 70ah with lead acid batteries so you really will probably get 50-60ah so let’s just call it 25 hours of run time on a single charge. As you add more pumps it will increase that draw as well. I believe each livewell pump does around 1 amp per hour of draw as well, so if you run 2 livewell pumps on Manual for 10 hours straight and 2 hds9s for 10 hours straight that will be 4 amps per hour. That should last you somewhere in the 12-15 hour range.

what I’m getting at is you have an issue. You shouldn’t have issues with this battery lasting your demands. You either have a bad battery or an onboard charging issue. Have you verified your battery is charging when the outboard is running. But like I said prior you need to make sure you are around 12.80 v before your day of fishing even begins and then check from there as the day goes on.

[catdude28]

If you are considering AGM, it would be a good idea to check to be sure it is fine to use one with your Faststrike. That engine I believe has a stator charging system. I know Merc does not recommend an AGM with their stator systems, but not sure about that OMC. Like mentioned above, check for an issue first before replacing that battery though.

[Lightning 6]

Catdude28’s warning is spot on. Generally, AGM batteries are NOT compatible with stator outboards.

Recommend you:
-Upgrade to a 31 series flooded battery with the most MCA and largest RC you can afford.
-Clean & check electrical connections.
-Check to ensure your outboard is providing sufficient voltage to recharge your batteries.
-Test your stator…..they go bad over time.
-Make a habit of putting your HDS’ in standby when not needed (bow unit in standby when at helm & vice versa).

[StetsonBasser]

what I’m getting at is you have an issue. You shouldn’t have issues with this battery lasting your demands. You either have a bad battery or an onboard charging issue. Have you verified your battery is charging when the outboard is running. But like I said prior you need to make sure you are around 12.80 v before your day of fishing even begins and then check from there as the day goes on.

Yes, I did have a couple issues that I have recently resolved. 1, the voltage regulator on my faststrike was drawing all the time even with the motor off. I have since replaced that (it was causing other issues too). The second is that a fuse holder on my MK battery charger was burned up. So I wasn't fully charging and I didn't realize it. I plug it in every time when I get home, but I was just assuming it was charging. Obviously that assumption was wrong and I'm guessing that could be what killed the battery? Is that possible? It was low on water a number of times.

[haus9393]

Yes, I did have a couple issues that I have recently resolved. 1, the voltage regulator on my faststrike was drawing all the time even with the motor off. I have since replaced that (it was causing other issues too). The second is that a fuse holder on my MK battery charger was burned up. So I wasn't fully charging and I didn't realize it. I plug it in every time when I get home, but I was just assuming it was charging. Obviously that assumption was wrong and I'm guessing that could be what killed the battery? Is that possible? It was low on water a number of times.

absolutely that could be it.

[MCIPinkie]

Sounds like you have charging problems to solve, or have solved.

Are you sure your battery is bad?

Do you have, or have access to, a standalone charger. If so, disconnect your battery and hook up the standalone charger and see if the battery comes up.

If so, maybe you're lucky. If not, head to Wal-Mart after you get the charging problems under control.

[StetsonBasser]

Sounds like you have charging problems to solve, or have solved.

Do you have, or have access to, a standalone charger. If so, disconnect your battery and hook up the standalone charger and see if the battery comes up.

If so, maybe you're lucky. If not, head to Wal-Mart after you get the charging problems under control.

I do have a separate charger. It comes up to charge for a bit, but then pretty quickly the voltage drops down within an our of any charger being unplugged

[haus9393]

I do have a separate charger. It comes up to charge for a bit, but then pretty quickly the voltage drops down within an our of any charger being unplugged

What does it drop to?

[KandKKustomz]

know you say lithium not in your budget however our all purpose cranker/ trolling thats internally heated with bluetooth reg 950 is now 759.00 free shipping and no tax. lowest price of the year and cant be beat with its 10 year non prorated warranty.

Screenshot_20221201-103325_Instagram.jpg

[CJ1]

Yes, I did have a couple issues that I have recently resolved. 1, the voltage regulator on my faststrike was drawing all the time even with the motor off. I have since replaced that (it was causing other issues too). The second is that a fuse holder on my MK battery charger was burned up. So I wasn't fully charging and I didn't realize it. I plug it in every time when I get home, but I was just assuming it was charging. Obviously that assumption was wrong and I'm guessing that could be what killed the battery? Is that possible? It was low on water a number of times.

A battery being low on water is a symptom of either overcharging or a bad/weak battery. Before a battery dies in a solar application they start using water faster than normal. If you have to add water in a automotive or marine application start looking for issues. Personally I never have unless a charger or regulator messes up and starts cooking things. CJ

[Blue76]

How do you test a charger to see if it is working properly?