What would be a good replacement battery for my SN

I have the Optima Blue Top ( Starting only) battery in my 1980. I love it, I also had the Blue Top Dual Purpose in a pontoon boat that I sold last year after using that battery for many years. Blue is for marine and the other colors are for on road and off road. It is probably just mental, but the Optima's always seemed to start better. I realize that really does not make sense when you are talking about an electrical circuit. I am just paranoid about the boat not starting in the middle of the lake. I always turn it off and on when working with sking and such.

Many on this site will tell you that an expensive Optima is not needed and they get many many years of service from Walmart Brand Starting Batteries. Just be sure to use a starting battery and not a trolling motor battery.

I hope this helps,

Donald

A starting battery is meant for a high current draw over a very short amount of time. A deep cycle is meant for a small, slow current draw over a long period of time. Neither does the other very well, which is why you often see guys with larger stereos adding a second deep cycle batt in addition to their starting batt.

Since you're not talking a huge current draw over an extended period of time, a dual purpose battery would suit you well. Optima makes a dual purpose marine battery- and they also make a starting batt so make sure you buy the right one. Optima is the only name I know by heart, but there may be other good dual purpose batteries on the market as well. Might be worth looking into them.

The 34m is not what you want- that's just a starting batt like the red top. Either the d34m or yellow top would suit your dual purpose needs.

randall wrote: My QUESTION, does bilge pump and bilge fan really put us in a category of DEEP CYCLE too??? or is this still within the parameters of just a STARTING battery.   Don't run bilge pump much, but fan a good bit.

Unless you are running the bilge blower and bilge pump for hours and hours without the engine running, no, their load is not the long term low amp draw where a deep is needed.

The search feature is a wonderful tool!

TRBenj wrote: Group 65

   

Thanks all.   I know, search, search.

Diehard looks great. 11.8'' length looks tough. My compartment hole is only 11.5'' roughly, I measure (with carpet trim).

Group 65 works great for mid-late 70's boats and newer, when CC was putting the battery in the middle of the boat (between the 2 front seats or slightly forward of that). A group 65 will NOT fit in the under-seat battery compartment of the 60's and early 70's boats. I do not recall what size battery Im running in the Skier and Mustang, but its smaller than a 65.

I have used the DieHard Platinums for many years and have not had any unusual issues. When I was in the car stereo business we used the automotive diehards exclusively. The marine batteries are good and Sears is pretty good in holding up on their replacement warranty which I believe is 3 yr replacement.

Great thread, thanks.

We recently bought our first wake boat, a 1984 SN2001. I've got the floor up and some engine parts off making everything "just so". The battery from the previous owner is too tall for the compartment (in the middle between the two seats, like TRBenj mentioned). So I came on here looking for the right battery group size to buy.

Group 34 batteries are 10-1/4" L x 6-13/16" W x 7-7/8" H.
Group 65 batteries are 12-1/16" L x 7-1/2" W x 7-9/16" H.
(from BCI Battery Group Size Chart)

For the 1984 SN2001, I'll be looking at the Group 65.

I'll eventually be adding a stereo (already have the amps), but I'm planning to put a battery box with a deep cycle up under the closed bow, where many owners put a ballast weight, anyway. The amps will be mounted under there, as well. So I'll stay with a starter battery within the CC-supplied battery compartment.

Like Donald80SN, I always turn off the engine when skiers and boarders are near the boat. Our other boat has a 40 year old Mercruiser 140 I/O. Previously, the longest-lasting battery I had was a dual purpose bought from Batteries Plus. It lasted 7 seasons. Then I bought a WalMart battery, which I replaced after 6 seasons (it probably could have gone longer). Then I bought another WalMart battery--this is it's 7th season, and it is still very strong.

I see online that WalMart has several Group 65's in their stores. I need to check our Mercruiser battery to see if it was the EverStart Plus or the more expensive EverStart Maxx. I think it was just the Plus or even the more basic battery. Given the great luck I've had with WalMart batteries, I think I'll put one of their Group 65 batteries in the SN2001.

My current WalMart batteries are made by Johnson Controls. They used to be a customer of mine, and years ago they had the contract to manufacture the Sears DieHard, which is a great battery. It's interesting to talk to their engineers about any (meaningful) differences between these various brands.

Thanks, guys, very helpful as always.


edit: I forgot to mention that cranking the 351W will obviously be more demanding than cranking the 181 cubic inch 140, so it will be interesting to see how many seasons we get out of a battery in the SN. On the other hand, the stereo in the Mercruiser boat runs off the starting battery, and it gets played a lot (pretty loudly, too, when we're anchored at a sand bar). I start the engine now and then to give the battery a little charge.

Big Pappa wrote: Do some research on the optima, I have read a lot of occasions on where the battery died fairly early in their life. I was dead set on an optima when I was looking but all the reviews made me change my mind. Everyone does not have a bad experience with them but enough did to make me not want to risk my money. Hope this helps. Kris

optimas have been hit or miss since they moved manufacturing to mexico. mostly miss. they can not seem to get it back together. if you think you need an agm, in no particular order;

exide orbital
diehard platinum (rebranded odyssey)
deka intimidator (note; most napa batteries are rebranded dekas)
odyssey

For a stockish stereo I'd say you could get away with running a single battery and a battery draw switch. The draw switch will automatically cut off the stereo, or any other power draw, when the battery goes below a certain voltage setting. They're fairly cheap and effective. In general you should be able to run your stereo for an hour or so with no starting issues. The switch just gives you the piece of mind that it will turn it off when needed to ensure you have starting power every time.    As soon as I put in the new stereo this is the route I will be going. On my big boat which has 2 amps and color gps I run dual batteries(one being a optima blue deep cycle) with a Blue Sea isolator/auto charge switch and a rotary on/off/dual knob. The isolator keeps the batteries from drawing off eachother and auto switches the alternator charge to the battery that needs it. The rotary switch lets me kill all draws when its in storage and then gives me the ability to use both batteries to start if my starting one has an issue.

gsyogi, I'll be happy to share photos and any details once we get to the stereo phase of our "project". We just bought the boat and are still going through the mechanicals and wiring (no problems so far, I'm just kind of anal about not having issues on the water if I can help it). Then I need to teach my 14 year old how to make the boat shine, and we are also looking for an affordable wake tower (gasp) solution. He wakeboards and my daughter slaloms, and both want the tower for towing, to clean up the interior (board racks), and of course to be "cool". I know some folks feel they ruin the lines of these classic boats, but I actually like the looks of some of them. I'll need to find wake speakers to mount on the tower, and then I'll get to the amps and stereo battery. The main reason I'm going to go with a separate battery is because a lot of owners are running lead ballast under the bow anyway, so I might as well make my lead something useful (and isolate my starting battery). I agree 100% with Foot_Fungus that a battery's life depends heavily on how you care for it. My boat batteries spend Wisconsin winters in the heated garage, and I teach my kids to check the electrolyte level and to keep the connections and batteries clean.

I've always run Deka batteries by East Penn in all my boats & vehicles. Very satisfied with their performance and longevity.