I have a 1989 Carver Montego 2157 that I purchased this winter as my first boat. The batteries that came with it are dead (I knew that when I purchased the boat). It has a two battery layout. Can anyone recommend what kind of new batteries I should buy? i.e. 1 starter, 1 deep cycle, or two deep cycle batteries etc. And how many amps etc. they should have. We hope to spend a lot of time on the hook this year and would like batteries that can keep the lights on for a while without having to worry about them dying. Thanks in advance for the help.
What batteries do I need Carver 2157
- Thread starter Volffas
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- Dec 10, 2002
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One of the first items is what size are there that are dead. Size being 24's 27's 31's etc. How big of battery footprint can you take? Second, how hard are they to service, thus making flooded VS gel or agms'. I feel that the largest you can afford and fit for one of them based on your needs from your org. post.(house batt.). You didn't mention what size of engine for starting purposes. Be resonable in doing the work, because this can get heavy lifting depending on your purchase. Did our 8 batt. one day, and didn't think about store to car--car to boat/onto boat/with old ones coming out and then install. Think I payed for it for about a week.
the first thing to do is verify that you have a way to keep house loads seperate from starting battery. Then look at existing batteries. If they look like car size they are probably group 27 or 24. look here for dimensions if you arent sure
http://www.trojanbattery.com/ProductLiterature/documents/PrtoductSpecGuide_1008_000.pdf
you can find a lot of user info here
http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/UsersGuide_English.pdf
Assuming they are group 27 and you have a way to separate load control I would replace them with one starting and one deep cycle. You need not go overboard on price or specification for the first time around because your needs should be modest on a 21' boat with a little careful use. interstate or any local battery store will have decent prices. Then go boating, if you need more jusce for the house just add another same battery for the house in parallel with the first. Buy a cheap multi meter and hydrometer to measure your actual battery use for the first few times.
http://www.trojanbattery.com/ProductLiterature/documents/PrtoductSpecGuide_1008_000.pdf
you can find a lot of user info here
http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/UsersGuide_English.pdf
Assuming they are group 27 and you have a way to separate load control I would replace them with one starting and one deep cycle. You need not go overboard on price or specification for the first time around because your needs should be modest on a 21' boat with a little careful use. interstate or any local battery store will have decent prices. Then go boating, if you need more jusce for the house just add another same battery for the house in parallel with the first. Buy a cheap multi meter and hydrometer to measure your actual battery use for the first few times.
low maintenance means higher price. You decide, but IMO standard wet cells are the best bang for the buck. What is the big deal with adding a little water from time to time. It will get you to spend time in your engine room where you will be more likely to notice other stuff going wrong.
I was at the boat today and pulled the old batteries out. They are interstate Marine/RV deep cycle batteries. They are group size 27 with marine cranking amps at 32F of 750. The reserve capacity is listed as 160. I did see some batteries today at AutoZone that were Duralast group size 27 that said multi purpose marine batteries, do you think that those would work? Thanks.
the quickest way to estimate battery capacity an quality is weight. If they feel significantly lighter than the old batts they are probably lower capacity. if they feel about the same they probably are. There aren’t many battery makers and the name is simply a label attached for the retailer.
I used interstate batteries for the first four years of ownership of my boat. I was not happy with them. They drank water and died prematurely and although still under warranty, I had to return them to some remote location and not my marina store. I have not bought one since. For the last 5 or 6 years I have used Auto Zone marine batteries exclusively. They last longer require less water (sometimes none) and the store honors the warranty. My two cents.
Just make sure there is not some other power drain before you put those nice new batteries in the boat and leave them for a week. Otherwise you'll come back to dead batteries again. Make sure nothing has been left on and the floats for the bilge pumps arent stuck...