Need A New Cranking Battery

[stumpy041486]

My cranking battery is no longer keeping a charge. What should I replace it with? I love the optima blue tops I use for my trolling motor. Would the red top optima be the equivalent in a cranking battery? I also run my electronics off my cranking battery if that makes any difference on choice. Thanks.

[bh54lf]

what motor do you have? you need to make sure you EXCEED the minimum CCA for your engine because of the extra electronics/livewells/powerpoles, etc that tax your starting battery.

heres a page from the Merc boards in BBC
http://www.bbcboards.net/mercury-3-lite ... ement.html

I use the sears PM1, big heavy battery but have never had an issue.

thanks,
Brian

[stumpy041486]

My motor is a yamaha 115 2 stroke.

[bh54lf]

without knowing the exact model, looks like you will need 380 CCA and 502 MCA MINIMUM just to take care of the engine, doesn't count electronics. check your local battery dealers (sears platinum series is good) for what they can offer in the same size as your current battery (series 24, 27, 31 etc). if you cant find anything that meets the requirements with the same footprint, you may need to go larger and change out the battery tray in your boat for a larger one.

you can even go to Walmart for an Everstart and probably exceed the requirements above, just depends on how much you want to spend and need to rely on your battery (fishing big vs small lakes, tournaments, just for fun, etc)

hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

[KlingerNOK]

That PM-1 from Sears is a beast. I got the PM-2 to turn my Opti 200 and run an HDS8 & a 5" graph up front. I've had no problems even while running pumps all day in tournaments. Can't beat the warranty on the Sears batteries for a marine application.

[njbasscat]

I like the Sears Diehard AGM Group 31 PM1. I have a 250hp Optimax and 7" fish finders in the dash and on front and it handles them all no problem.

[bh54lf]

I guess I didn't say what I was using...

also using a PM1, have dual powerpoles, 10" and 8" graphs, jackplate, oxygenator, blah blah blah...never an issue