What You Need To Know About Storage Batteries For Your Boat
When buying boat batteries, you will need to first determine the type of battery you need. If you are looking for a battery that can store generated electricity on the boat, you need marine batteries that fall into the deep-cycle battery category because they are designed to stand up to charging and discharging repeatedly.
Understanding Battery Types
Most pleasure boats—or any craft with a cabin designed to go out for more than one day—will most likely have two sets of marine batteries on board. The first is used for starting the boat and is similar to a car battery. The second is deep cycle marine batteries designed to store electricity to run things like your lights inside the cabin, emergency radios, and other electrical items on board.
The deep cycle batteries do not generate high amperage like the starting batteries, but instead, they store power that is used in small amounts over extended periods. Because of the way deep-cycle marine batteries are made, they can be used until they are nearly depleted, then recharged and used again. The cycle can be repeated many times without affecting the battery's condition, and it may last for several years or more.
Recharging Your Batteries
There are several ways to recharge your boat's deep cycle marine batteries. You can remove the batteries to charge them, add a charger to the boat powered by shore power so the batteries charge while the craft is docked, or you can use wind and solar on the boat to recharge the batteries while you are underway.
Before you choose how to maintain your boat batteries, you need to make sure you purchase suitable batteries for the craft, and often the best way to do that is to visit a marine battery supply in your area.
Choosing The Right Batteries
When you are replacing the deep-cycle marine batteries in your boat, it is a good idea to take one to the battery supply so you can match it and buy replacements. If you have several batteries, you may want to take all of them to leave the old ones with the supplier to satisfy the core charge and get your new batteries a little cheaper.
The size of the battery case, the layout of the connections, and the battery's capacity are all critical. Still, you can get all the information about the original batteries off the sticker on top of the case. Replace the old batteries with ones that are the same size and design so you can install them quickly and get the system back up and running on your boat. If you are not sure how to replace the marine batteries, you can take your boat to a marina and have a boat technician replace them for a small fee.
