282 Battery Setup

[garethcayman]

Hey guys,

I've purchased a 282 with two Optima D34M batteries - one 2017 and the other 2021. I've been reading about having separate starting battery and deep cycle batteries. Is this a common approach?

The CCA of the starting battery looks to be only 800 CCA vs 750 CCA. Does that really make much difference?

Another reason I ask is the starting battery was a bit cheaper for some reason so I figured it must be worth a shot!

[SAB220]

No because its a AGM battery. AGM batteries are somewhere in the middle for both starting and house batteries. I own, ignoring the cars, 6 powersport batteries and I'm moving to AGM.

A "Deep Cycle (DC)" just means that it can take and hold a charge for longer period but is not very happy giving up electrons (amps) in short quick bursts. This is a marathon runner and is candidate for a house battery. House loads are for lighting, radio, etc. I would imagine a 282 has a lot of house loads. I would spend (pay attention to) the battery money on that battery. I might might consider going up a battery size for the house battery but more $$$....

For starting, you need a sprinter. Any starting battery should be OK.

IMO I think the most important thing you should do is, if your tied to a dock, invest battery tender. I would mount something permanently in the engine compartment (there are lots of battery type tender brands). I'm on a lake mooring, but when I come in to the dock, I plug that sucker in to the tender and top-off my batteries with a charge "IF" they it need it.

[garethcayman]

Thanks for the info, I'm currently slow charging the batteries now when not in use, but its a bit of a pain to jump in the engine bay each time.

Installing a battery tender in the boat is a great idea. I found this bad boy on amazon, looks great -

[SAB220]

Consider Blue Sea components/system, and learn what a Automatic Control Relay (ACR) is, or search this forum. Also you can use Noco, if you wish (Figure Source: Blue sea catalog). Helps if you want a fancy radio, more lighting, etc

Blue Sea.jpg

[Big Block Power]

Thanks for the info, I'm currently slow charging the batteries now when not in use, but its a bit of a pain to jump in the engine bay each time.

Installing a battery tender in the boat is a great idea. I found this bad boy on amazon, looks great -

I just looked at that one this weekend. I'm going with it also.

[garethcayman]

Thanks for the info, I'm currently slow charging the batteries now when not in use, but its a bit of a pain to jump in the engine bay each time.

Installing a battery tender in the boat is a great idea. I found this bad boy on amazon, looks great -

I just looked at that one this weekend. I'm going with it also.

My Noco Genius has been ordered, hoping to receive in 2 weeks. Did you get yours? Can't wait to get rid of all battery issues!

[Big Block Power]

Thanks for the info, I'm currently slow charging the batteries now when not in use, but its a bit of a pain to jump in the engine bay each time.

Installing a battery tender in the boat is a great idea. I found this bad boy on amazon, looks great -

I just looked at that one this weekend. I'm going with it also.

My Noco Genius has been ordered, hoping to receive in 2 weeks. Did you get yours? Can't wait to get rid of all battery issues!

No I didn't order it yet. But I just charged my batteries last weekend they needed it after sitting for 4 months. But my boat is warm and next to me All the time. So no big deal to jump in and give here some love

[garethcayman]

Mine arrived, its a great add-on but its not a panacea for old batteries. I fooked up the other day on the water and drained the batteries turning off and on the engine to many times. Now I think I've burnt out the solenoid as the boat won't start even with a new battery. sigh.

Now it just clicks and there is a burning\electrical smell when I try start the boat. Looks like I'm going to need a new starter. argh.

[Titaniumboy]

I never got more than 3 or 4 years of service out of the normal marine starting batteries. Tired of replacing expensive batteries so often, I asked my boat shop buddy what he did with the batteries on his personal boat. He told me that the answer was to use marine deep cycle batteries. I told him he was crazy as a loon.

So I figured, what the heck? Let’s give the crazy advice from the crazy boat shop guy a try. I bought a pair of marine deep cycle batteries from Costco in 2014. Despite having only a 550 CCA rating as compared to the 750 -850 CCA of the precvious marine starting batteries, the marine deep cycle batteries have worked great in starting our big block Merc 496 V8. In fact, those 2014 batteries are still in service in 2022.

I have found the deep cycle batteries to much MUCH more resistant to abuse than the starting batteries ever were. For example, in 2017 I had let the 2014 Costco deep cycle batteries sit unused and uncharged for an entire eight months. My previous experience with starting batteries was that sitting for eight months guaranteed that the batteries would be hopelessly sulphated, so I bought a second set of marine deep cycle batteries. After swapping the new batteries for the old batteries, I took the old batteries home and started doing some testing. Despite having a very low voltage (which would have killed a starting battery), I was able to resurrect the two “dead” deep cycle batteries.

When these two sets of deep cycle batteries finally die, I would be interested in finding deep cycle batteries with a higher CCA than 550. This will probably require a larger set of battery boxes.

I usually swap between the 2014 and 2017 deep cycle batteries at least twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. The removed batteries are taken back home and charged on a BatteryMinder Plus battery charger. This battery charger claims it can remove battery sulphation. While I am usually very leery of desulphation claims, in this particular chargers case it really does seem to work. I test and log the internal resistance of the batteries with an Ancel BA101 battery tester, which is about $55 on Amazon and a little less on eBay.

70C782C5-E3E8-4D65-8CF6-3442CA829FD1.jpeg

Caveats:

1. We don’t boat in cold weather, so the coldest engine starting might be in the mid-60’s.
2. We have dual batteries, so we always have the backup of a second battery or even tying both batteries together.
3. We don’t boat in the ocean or anywhere where we are very far from help.
4. We don’t usually anchor out and run radios and speakers for hours and hours.
5. The two sets of batteries are able to be swapped out and spend at least a couple of weeks at home on a charger to be restored to good health.
6. Our boat is stored on the trailer in an enclosed boat rack storage building, so we don’t have access to electrical power to connect a battery charger. Hence why we are doing all of the battery swapping.

[garethcayman]

Nice post, lots of good info in there. Mine are the Optima D34M Starting and Deep Cycle Marine batteries - one from 2017 and the other from 2019.

I have chosen not to replace them, I checked the voltage and while not new they are are still in decent working order and as you say, with two you have a bit more freedom to choose when to replace them.

I finally got the Noco Genius installed and am very happy with it. At least I now know that whenever I hit the water, both batteries are fully charged and no more opening the engine hatch and messing around with the batteries and cables to get them charging.

Simply plug in at the back of the boat and job done.