What battery do you all like?

[RussGW270]

Ok, splain this to me... heh...

I am used to Group 27... is all I ever really used.

If CCA is all you really care about, that and I assume this really needs to be dual purpose... why would you, or would you, look at a different group vs the 27?

I thought I wrote down the model it was like 27MS Interstate 27MS-XHD.. yea, that was it. I am not sure of the differences and what they matter for.. anyone?

This is the ones I have.. seems they are not dual purpose.. so, maybe that does not matter, or maybe they should not be.. engines may not support charging more than those 3.. who knows... would be smart to understand that aspect rather than just add a 4th battery. For now, will focus on the 800 cca and group 27 till I learn otherwise.

R

 

[RussGW270]

Ok, just size so, will look at the options avail.

 

[drbatts]

Look at the battery requirements for your engines. The larger Yamaha four strokes require a high RC usually around 180. Which will put you in the range of a 1050CCA battery. I believe Grady Recommends DEKA batteries which are also rebranded into several other brands including west marine. My experience with batteries is that I typically only get threes seasons out of a battery regardless of brand, and at this point just replace them proactively. I have used interstate, diehard, west marine, astro among several other off brands and always the same experience. I have west marine now as they had the best price and a boat club discount. If you have a smart charger make sure is set for the battery type i.e. flooded vs agm etc.

 

[RussGW270]

Good morning. Slow charged the first battery with an old charger. Got it to about just under 12, swapped it to a larger new charger and it is not faulting now. Will do the same for all three and then go re-test them to see if they were just low or dead. Still going to swap them out, but gives me time to buy new better quality ones while I test the engines at least.
R

 

[seasick]

Good morning. Slow charged the first battery with an old charger. Got it to about just under 12, swapped it to a larger new charger and it is not faulting now. Will do the same for all three and then go re-test them to see if they were just low or dead. Still going to swap them out, but gives me time to buy new better quality ones while I test the engines at least.
R

Just under 12 volts is still basically totally discharged. Keep charging to see if the standing voltage increases. Then you need to load test.

Open circuit voltage, or specific gravity per cell

 

[RussGW270]

I believe I said I was still charging it, didn't I? lol....(just teasing you.. heh)... I needed it off of 9.5-ish, so the other charger would detect and not fault. So, being just under 12, the newer charger now is able to actually charge. The older one was slow, but old enough to not have a fault trip.. heh

Thank God for old stuff that just work. It slow charged under 2amps all night and was able to get it to register. Now, charging at 6amps. Don't want to go too fast as it needs to be brought up slowly. Once all 3 are up to full, I will load them back on the truck and take them down to get tested again. Then, if any of them fail, will replace them all. No way to beat 6+yr old batteries.. they are what they are. All I want to do now is get them to let me run the engines long enough to test the engines. Either way, it is time for them to go, imo.

R

 

[wspitler]

I'd buy a cheap 100+ Amp battery load tester on line. I broke down and bought one several years ago. I have two boats with a total of 7 batteries, two cars, a generator, lawn mower, etc. I find I use it frequently and it saves me buying batteries when I don't need to. A battery must be fully charged to get an accurate reading. One example:
"OEM TOOLS 24338 100A Battery Tester" Amazon $26.99 free shipping

 

[Lsquared]

That's interesting that you had issues with interstate. What were the issues ? Deca is a great battery I have good friend that is distributor and I run Deka on both my diesel trucks. I have interstates on my Grady with no issues.

service life, they just didnt last very long.

 

[RussGW270]

Some very interesting discoveries. Looking at the Group 27 differences. Figured to list this all out for the next poor sap to be able to google.

Weight - We all look at how much we add or remove from the boat. The Interstate batteries I have wegh like 53-54 lbs each. The other brands I am seeing are at 55-73lbs, depending on what you go with. Not all are Group 27, but right now I am trying to keep it at 800 CCA or thereabouts. I am not sure yet if I can get away with 700 or whatever, but looking at the reserve capacity, the only comparable battery in the same price range is 180, vs the Interstate at 182.

Brands - I cannot even find an Odessy brand that is Group 27, but even then, when you get away from the "name marine brands"... it really is about the same...just less reserve time etc.

Warranty - In order to get anything above 12 months, you have to pay more, almost double.. and then, it is like a 24 month warranty. The likelihood of it going bad is not very high, so.. why pay more for a warranty.

Cost, pretty much negligible. I could pay $99 each for a battery that is identical to the Interstate in all aspects, just 1/3 less.

So, it really is a lot of whether you want Interstate or another brand. While Deka gets good reviews, dollar for dollar, you can get the same out of a local buy.

R

 

[Flot]

Russ I'm not sure what the wiring looks like on a 270, but if you've got two 2014 batteries and one unknown, at least 2/3 of them are due for replacement.

And I'll say that there's no reason to miss a fishing season. You can absolutely take the cheap route and put three new batteries in for $300 which will get you on the water by this weekend. For $450-500 you can do better quality ones. I don't know why you'd spend $90 on a shorepower cord rather than throwing that $ towards the batteries. Sounds like you already own a handful of chargers, and I assume your boat is on a trailer, (?) so what's the difference?

The batteries you've got were dead as a doornail, even if you can coax them back with the charger they'll have reduced life going forward.

As for battery size, weight, capacity, we can't answer that unless we know what you do with the boat. If your motors are running all the time you're using the boat, then all you need is enough capacity to start them. If you are drifting with motors off and livewell, stereo, etc, going then you'll need more capacity.

 

[Parthery]

Russ...Yamaha's recommended battery for the F225 is a 512 CCA / 675 MCA battery,

Batteries and Bulbs sells a 650 CCA/800 MCA Group 27 Dual Purpose (made by Deka) battery for $99 apiece. It weighs 49 lbs.

Go on their website and you can save another 10% when you order online.

Link: https://www.batteriesplus.com/produ...ose-(starting_cycling)/bci-group-27m/sli27mdp

 

[RussGW270]

Russ I'm not sure what the wiring looks like on a 270, but if you've got two 2014 batteries and one unknown, at least 2/3 of them are due for replacement.

And I'll say that there's no reason to miss a fishing season. You can absolutely take the cheap route and put three new batteries in for $300 which will get you on the water by this weekend. For $450-500 you can do better quality ones. I don't know why you'd spend $90 on a shorepower cord rather than throwing that $ towards the batteries. Sounds like you already own a handful of chargers, and I assume your boat is on a trailer, (?) so what's the difference?

The batteries you've got were dead as a doornail, even if you can coax them back with the charger they'll have reduced life going forward.

As for battery size, weight, capacity, we can't answer that unless we know what you do with the boat. If your motors are running all the time you're using the boat, then all you need is enough capacity to start them. If you are drifting with motors off and livewell, stereo, etc, going then you'll need more capacity.

I already have a shore power cord and an onboard charger. Not sure where that was part of the story... heh

I am planning to buy all three batteries, after they are tested. Not planning to spend a lot.. the key for me here is the weight. I do not want to add another 20lbs to the stern, so, I will either go with the same ones I have for 150 each, or get ones for 99 each, or, based on what Parthery just saved me time on.. (Thanks @Parthery ... grin).... downgrade from a 800 CCA to what is needed. We will see. I do not mind having 800 CCA, but would prefer to go with better quality ones more in-line with those recommendations.

R

 

[Parthery]

The Dekas from Batteries Plus also have a $10 mail-in rebate. For $240 + tax you'd have 3 brand new batteries that you won't have to worry about.

Sorry - I'm wise with my $$$ too but the existing batteries are 6 years old...this one seems like a no-brainer to me.

 

[RussGW270]

Guys, I am replacing all three batteries. I am not sure how many times I can say that. I am simply not spending the $300 all this month. Thanks for all the great input. I'll go make my purchases based on this and my research. I am simply trying to get these batteries, which 2 of the three are registering 13.5 and still charging, charged up enough to test and run the engines in my driveway, not in the water. I have maintenance to do still, and so I wanted them to crank... in the driveway.. not in the ocean.

Thanks again for the input.

R

 

[Doc Stressor]

The Batteries Plus group 27 on sale now appears to be the Deka DP27. 650 cold cranking and 800 marine cranking amps with a reserve capacity of 150 min @ 25 amps. This a good dual purpose battery, but it doesn't meet the Yamaha spec for reserve capacity. The one that you want is the Deka 27M6. These have 840 cold cranking and 1050 marine cranking amps with a reserve capacity of 182 min @25 amps.

Daka Battery Specifications

The 27M6 was specifically designed to meet the Yamaha specifications. Yamaha engines use more current than the alternator can put out at low rpm. So they run off the battery at low speeds. When you add electronics and maybe a sound system to the mixture, you really want all the reserve capacity that you can fit on your boat.

Gradys used to come with 27M6s installed. I don't know if they still do now that other batteries can also meet the Yamaha specs. But they are great batteries. They are maintenance-free, and really hold up in the marine environment. I replaced my original after 7 years just because of their age. They still passed a load test.

 

[RussGW270]

Good input, Doc. The issue to consider is it is recommended to always look for the "M" for the express reasons you mention. I am most definitely not going to 'downgrade' the batteries, and they currently have 180 reserve. So, my goal is to get that at the very least with whatever cranking power is recommended. To me, it is not about a "cheaper price", it is about the best buy, quality, price.. everything added in.

I think at least 2 of these three batteries would pass a load test once I fully charge them. That would be fine for the local small lake, it is not fine for taking 30 miles out on the coast. So, I am fine with replacing them, just not doing so all at once without planning for it. Now, I have a plan.. heh, so will move with that

R

 

[RussGW270]

Russ...Yamaha's recommended battery for the F225 is a 512 CCA / 675 MCA battery,

Batteries and Bulbs sells a 650 CCA/800 MCA Group 27 Dual Purpose (made by Deka) battery for $99 apiece. It weighs 49 lbs.

Go on their website and you can save another 10% when you order online.

Link: https://www.batteriesplus.com/produ...ose-(starting_cycling)/bci-group-27m/sli27mdp

That battery looks nice, but I am not a fan of the reserve... but, will check the site out. Once the price approaches the Interstate ones, I may as well get that one as I know it lasts.. heh.. since these lasted at least 6 years, and that is not bad in my book. Always had good luck with Interstates. Just have to find a local place and see if they have any.

Thanks!

R

 

[RussGW270]

Okay, it is as I thought...

1 battery is "okay" but only lost like 300 cranking amps.
Another has a short, so... holding a charge, but not much.
3td has a bad cell, may not even hold a charge.

So, all 3 need to be replaced, but I have enough to get the engines going in the driveway this week.

Going to go buy a new battery today or some time this week, but not installing it till I get all three in hand so as to night harm it by having 2 crap batteries with it.

R

 

[RussGW270]

Welp.. found a 25% off coupon for an online order.. so.. can get 2 and then 75% off the third, essentially... may be worth getting all 3 today

Now to decide 675 CCA or 800 CCA. I think, given the circumstances.. 800 would last me longer, even though 675 would "get it done).

 

[RussGW270]

Change of plans....wife gave me the okay to get all three now muahahaha...so, going to get the best deal on a 800 ca 27m.

hoping they have some sales this weekend, will see.