I have a 21' 1994 Chaparral with a 350Mag 235hp V8 Engine. I need to get a
new battery (the one i have in is a ghetto Walmart one) I have heard many
different opinions on battery's. Opinion 1 - doesn't matter if you get a
deep cycle or not. ANy help is recommended.. Suggestions on specific brands
and/or type of battery. The only major electronic equipment i have onboard
is a upgraded CD Stereo, Depth finder.

Also if anyone has any website's with some good deals please post.

Thanks in advance.

"ToneJohn" wrote in message
...
I have a 21' 1994 Chaparral with a 350Mag 235hp V8 Engine. I need to get a
new battery (the one i have in is a ghetto Walmart one) I have heard many
different opinions on battery's. Opinion 1 - doesn't matter if you get a
deep cycle or not. ANy help is recommended.. Suggestions on specific
brands and/or type of battery. The only major electronic equipment i have
onboard is a upgraded CD Stereo, Depth finder.

Also if anyone has any website's with some good deals please post.

Thanks in advance.


I always purchased deep cycle but always had 2 batteries....one for starting
and one for accessories.

If you get one consider a group 31....larger in size than the standard group
24 or 27.

Look at the amp hour ratings also. The higher the better.

Here is a nice site:

http://www.weatherusa.net/skycamnet/...ate=Ohio&id=32

"JimH" wrote in message
...

"ToneJohn" wrote in message
...
I have a 21' 1994 Chaparral with a 350Mag 235hp V8 Engine. I need to get
a new battery (the one i have in is a ghetto Walmart one) I have heard
many different opinions on battery's. Opinion 1 - doesn't matter if you
get a deep cycle or not. ANy help is recommended.. Suggestions on
specific brands and/or type of battery. The only major electronic
equipment i have onboard is a upgraded CD Stereo, Depth finder.

Also if anyone has any website's with some good deals please post.

Thanks in advance.


I always purchased deep cycle but always had 2 batteries....one for
starting and one for accessories.

If you get one consider a group 31....larger in size than the standard
group 24 or 27.

Look at the amp hour ratings also. The higher the better.

Here is a nice site:

http://www.weatherusa.net/skycamnet/...ate=Ohio&id=32





Oops...wrong link.

http://www.solar-electric.com/deep_c...attery_faq.htm

sorry...my bad. ;-)

Deep cycle wWILL matter if your battery frequently discharges and then
recharges ... this kills regular batteries quickly and is usually the
case on boats....

So dont save at the wrong end ang get a deep cyclke battery...

If your boat bounces a lot then a gel battery is worth a thought ..

Matt

You can start with a deep-cycle battery, adequately rated, without
damaging the battery. You cannot deeply discharge a starting battery
and say the same.

It does matter if you get a deep cycle battery. It doesn't matter if
you get a "starting" duty battery, provided you ave the amperage to do
the job. (That should not be interpreted to read that you don't need a
dedicated battery for starting purposes).

Well I plan on only getting 1 battery. Again i have limited electronics on
board that will take alot of juice. So that being said, should i get a
starting battery (auto one) or a deep cycle group 31 battery.....


wrote in message
oups.com...
You can start with a deep-cycle battery, adequately rated, without
damaging the battery. You cannot deeply discharge a starting battery
and say the same.

It does matter if you get a deep cycle battery. It doesn't matter if
you get a "starting" duty battery, provided you ave the amperage to do
the job. (That should not be interpreted to read that you don't need a
dedicated battery for starting purposes).

My advice would be to get a deep cycle battery, but make sure the CCA
rating is sufficient to start your engine.

Because you will be running your entire boat off a single battery,
there is a greater probability that your battery may ( even
accidentally) become seriously discharged. The deep cycle battery will
stand up to the deep discharge/ recharge event better than a "starting"
battery.

Starting batteries use thinner plates to increase the amount of surface
contact with the electrolyte within a given volume of space. That can
produce more CCA. However, those relatively "thinner" plates self
destruct more quickly under the stress of extended recharge and chunks
begin falling into the bottom of the case where they can create a short
and "kill" the battery.

I'm a fan of a dedicated starting battery, but if you don't have
sufficient space and can only fit in a single battery, get the biggest
deep cycle that will fit. IMO

On Fri, 8 Apr 2005 18:53:52 -0400, "ToneJohn" wrote:

Well I plan on only getting 1 battery. Again i have limited electronics on
board that will take alot of juice. So that being said, should i get a
starting battery (auto one) or a deep cycle group 31 battery.....


wrote in message
roups.com...
You can start with a deep-cycle battery, adequately rated, without
damaging the battery. You cannot deeply discharge a starting battery
and say the same.

It does matter if you get a deep cycle battery. It doesn't matter if
you get a "starting" duty battery, provided you ave the amperage to do
the job. (That should not be interpreted to read that you don't need a
dedicated battery for starting purposes).


Tomorrow I plan to put two new batteries in my boat. They will be the Interstate
SRM-24 Deep Cycle/Cranking batteries, at a cost of about $80.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

wrote in message
oups.com...
My advice would be to get a deep cycle battery, but make sure the CCA
rating is sufficient to start your engine.

Because you will be running your entire boat off a single battery,
there is a greater probability that your battery may ( even
accidentally) become seriously discharged. The deep cycle battery will
stand up to the deep discharge/ recharge event better than a "starting"
battery.

Starting batteries use thinner plates to increase the amount of surface
contact with the electrolyte within a given volume of space. That can
produce more CCA. However, those relatively "thinner" plates self
destruct more quickly under the stress of extended recharge and chunks
begin falling into the bottom of the case where they can create a short
and "kill" the battery.

I'm a fan of a dedicated starting battery, but if you don't have
sufficient space and can only fit in a single battery, get the biggest
deep cycle that will fit. IMO


Any boat used in the ocean should have 2 batteries. On a switch. Hard to
walk home or get a jump start at sea. You can add the 2nd battery for about
$50 more than the cost of the battery.

Sure, everyone will tell you, you need more back-up systems than a
nuclear power plant, but here's a real world practical solution that
balances safety with cost and space considerations. I have a similar size
size boat with the same sort of electronics. I'm guessing from your boat
and equipment that you use your boat for day time outings mostly on
inland lakes or close to shore. I stick to the lakes. I got one of those
combo starting batteries; half starting battery, half deep cycle. It
works great and is going on four seasons. Nevertheless, I did want a
back-up. However, there really was no room or good place on my boat for a
second battery. Given where I boat, there was little danger of a dead
battery situation becoming life threatening. But still could be a major
headache. I bought one of those portable jump start batteries and stowed
it under a bow seat. They're like Frosted Flakes, they're greeeeeat! I
thought there might be a problem holding the charge over long periods,
but they don't even seem to lose their charge over a year or more (I top
it off every more than that just to make sure, but one time I forgot and
there still was a full charge.) I had to use it once because like a
dummy, I drained my regular battery. I thought there couldn't be much
kick in the relatively small battery, but the engine cranked as fast as
always and started right up. Best $50 I ever spent.

"ToneJohn" wrote in
:

Well I plan on only getting 1 battery. Again i have limited
electronics on board that will take alot of juice. So that being
said, should i get a starting battery (auto one) or a deep cycle group
31 battery.....


wrote in message
oups.com...
You can start with a deep-cycle battery, adequately rated, without
damaging the battery. You cannot deeply discharge a starting battery
and say the same.

It does matter if you get a deep cycle battery. It doesn't matter if
you get a "starting" duty battery, provided you ave the amperage to
do the job. (That should not be interpreted to read that you don't
need a dedicated battery for starting purposes).