Battery-size for an 04 Marlin

[Jeff4741]

Anyone know what size batteries I need to fit in an 04 Marlin? I'm away from my boat and need to buy 4 new batteries. Thanks.

 

[Tuna Man]

I am almost certain they are group 27 in my 2006 Marlin. Hopefully someone else with a 2004 can confirm. Mine still appear to be fine, but please let us know what model you decide on as I will probably replace mine next year.

 

[gradyfish22]

Yeah they should be 27's Grady recommend's Deka's, West Marine sells a starting battery that matches the deka and both are made by East Penn, same battery and easier to obtain through west marine. There are other cheaper 27's, but the Deka's have the most RC, I went with Electro batteries, a local supplier has them for cheaper, they are about the same RC and CCA

 

[MiMarlin]

I have a 2003 marlin with f225's.
The batteries are dekas group 27's dual purpose.
put new ones in today.
cost 100 dollars a piece.
i got five and a half seasons out of them.

 

[Capt. Ed]

New Batteries

The batteries you need are high capacity starting batteries. Here's the West Marine # followed by the Deca #: GW cautions against using dual purpose or deep cycle.

5817861 27M6

I'm replacing mine now, the old batteries are fine, just don't want to take a chance 60 miles offshore.

 

[gradyfish22]

Miss sadie is right, only STARTING Batteries should be used, reason is Yamaha and Merc Charging system's are designed only for STARTING batteries, any other type will reduce the batteries life by a bit, a dual purpose and deep cycle cannot charge as fast as a starting battery, outboards produce a big charge in a fast period of time that only starting batteries can handle. Call Yamaha and ask them personally, but if you have electrical issues with your charing system and your engines are under warranty, if they see deep cycles or dual purpose it will NOT be covered by the waranty. Dual Purpose are a better choice for discharging and both starting and powering electronics as a battery, but will not take as well of a charge when running which in the end makes them a worse choice since they will not stay full as well. It is not just the best type of battery for your situation, it is what type of electrical charging system you have.

 

[Tuna Man]

I just want to make sure I am clear on this, when I need to replace the batteries on my marlin I MUST use starting four starting batteries or may have issues with engine electronics and or batteries, is this correct?

From gradyfish22 posts here and others he made recently I am sure he already did the research for me (and others). Kind of annoying that for those of us that stay out overnight on our boats cannot use deep cycle batteries that would likely do a much better job for our needs.

Is it safe to assume that our factory installed battery chargers are also set up for starting lead cell batteries? In other words there is no benefit of upgrading to a better charger that is designed for AGM or gel batteries since the engines are not compatable with these types, correct?

Thanks,

 

[rorkin]

Yeah they should be 27's Grady recommend's Deka's, West Marine sells a starting battery that matches the deka and both are made by East Penn, same battery and easier to obtain through west marine. There are other cheaper 27's, but the Deka's have the most RC, I went with Electro batteries, a local supplier has them for cheaper, they are about the same RC and CCA

I have had really bad luck with West Marine Batteries

 

[gradyfish22]

Rorkin, how old were the West Marine's? Only in the past few years have they been using the same manufacturer and battery as Deka. Also, if the West Marine batteries were a deep cycle or dual purpose on an outboard, that would be the likely culprit. I opted against the West Marine battery as I stated above, but Deka is what Grady recommends, and they will specifically recommend the West Marine battery with the same serial number, many boat maufacturer's in the same size range are using that battery as their stock battery and they aren't having issues. I went with another brand, have a few buddies who use them and love them and have been getting 5-7 years easily out of them and they are cheaper then the Deka batteries by about $20.

 

[gerrys]

I put Interstate gp 27 in my Marlin w/ a pair of Yammi F225's. SRM27B

They are dual purpose, no problem charging and they gave the extra backup needed when drifting w/o motors while the electronics were powered on. They also fit into the trays of the original set.
Void Yammi warranty? Nah, don't believe so.

http://www.interstatebatteries.com/cs_e ... rine_f.asp

 

[gradyfish22]

All depends on who your service tech is and how nice they feel, but directly from Yamaha, I was told it does and will. If you read on their sight as well as your manual it should state use of only starting batteries as well. I agree many Yamaha shops might not "enforce" it and might ignore the fact, but I was told directly by them it voids the warranty, if I had a copy of the convo I would post it up here. You might not see the wear on a dual purpose like you would on a deep cycle, but you are losing life on that battery if you realize it or not, and because the dual purpose does not take the engines charge as fast as a starting battery, you are holding a similar charge for your electronics either way, the starting batteries charge faster and stay fuller, but discharge more to power, a dual purpose will not charge as fast or full from driving unless your running a good distance, so for going back over a drift or short moves the starting battery will take more of a charge then the dual purpose will. In a sense they negate each other in usefulness, but the starting battery is healthier for the system then the dual purpose.

 

[Jeff4741]

Thanks for the battery suggestions. I did hear from the factory today and below is their response, which is also what most of the group concluded as well.
----------
We recommend DECA Marine Master 27-M6 cranking battery. The main battery issue concerning the newer four-stroke outboard engine is the reserve minutes. The 27-M6 meets these requirements at 182 minutes. Yamaha and Grady-White does not recommend deep cycle batteries, they require a constant voltage when charging or the use of a battery charger. Outboard engine voltage output varies with RPMs.

 

[BobP]

So if you use a starting battery to run a LW pump all day and ride it down, or if you use a deep cycle bateryt, and expect the motor to charge it, in either case batteries are ruined (?)

They get you coming and going !!

 

[BobP]

What's the highest motor voltage anyone has seen on their Yamaha digital multi-function gauge?

 

[Curmudgeon]

Sounds to me like a Yamaha problem, which makes it a Grady problem since they're in bed together. And many, many owners of other motors would disagree that starting batts are all one can/should use in any outboard. And fer sure, the boat don't know the diff ... :wink:

 

[gerrys]

Starting batteries, as they are called, have numerous, thin plates and are designed for short bursts of high amperage. Their amp-life or discharge rate is relatively short as compared to a dual purpose or deep cycle/trolling battery. The dual purpose batteries have thicker plate and are designed to allow for slow discharge over a long period. In comparison, however, they don't have tha fast discharge capability of the starting battery.

That being said, when used in "banks" (that is; multiple batteries wired in parallel as the Marlin where 4 batteries are wired as two banks) the configuration with dual purpose batteries well exceeds the Yammi reserve requirement (which is based on a single starting battery) AND provides substantially more reserve for running electronics and livewells.

Using dual purpose you are less likely to end up with dead batteries after being anchored or difting without having your motors running.

 

[BobP]

Starters can't be discharged deeply and expected to live another day. They are ruined from a deep discharge.
DEEP cycles can take repeated DEEP discharging normally and return to full charge for the next opportunity, my understanding is 100s of times.

The Interstate Marine 29 Deep Cycles I use have start CCA and reserve ratings well above yamaha specs, so why do these Deep cyclers have start ratings if they are not intended to be used to START ?

And if deep cyclers are starting motors, what motor doesn't have charge coils to charge the battery connected to it ?

I can tell you those 29s weigh a back breaking ton, much more than starters weight, hence the higher $$ (?).

Perhaps if a deep cycler pushing an electric motor on a 14 foot car topper around the lake all day, it may last 10 or more yrs, vs, if it was also used to crank motors, but whose looking for 10 yrs of battery life?

So it seems to me, if someone wants to start the motor AND run a LW pump and electronics / radar all day while drifting or non-LED lights all night, this is the application for which they are offered.

Seems to me.

 

[gradyfish22]

First issue are the new four strokes, they require more CCA then a 2 stroke, so there really are no deep cycles that will start them, and if you have one that just covers it, to use that power your putting a big strain on the engine, deep cycles can handle deep discharges over time, not quick rapid ones well, so each turn of the key hurts those plates and will wear them down over time, similar to what happens from a deep slow discharge on a starting battery, advantage a starting battery has is even with the electrical discharge for electronics over time, a typical user who drifts will move every half hour where they can rapidly be charged back to full and are charged properly for that type of battery, and starting it has no effect on the battery. Only problem a starting battery would have is for guys who sit for long periods of time, they might draw batteries lower, but no reason that if you know your gonna be anchored a while you cant switch to one of your 2 batteries to ensure you have one to start, we all have a spare battery since the house banks have 2, and if we don't should add one. If it gets low start the engine off both, charge both up again for 10-15 and then switch back, will never not be able to start. either battery is not the best choice, but Yamaha limits us with their charging systems style of charging. A dual purpose would be a far better choice then a deep cycle, I would not use a deep cycle at all.

 

[BobP]

From the Yamaha owner's manuals, "battery requirements" :

200 HPDI 2 stroke
CCA = 512A
Reserve mininmum = 182 minutes

F250 4 stroke
CCA = 512A
Reserve min = 182 minutes

-----------------------------------

Interstate Marine SRM29
CCA = 675A
Reserve min = 210 minutes


(The SRM27B is 180 minutes minimum reserve, CCA = 675A.)
------------------------------------

If a deep cycle battery has start ratings, it's a combo start/deep cycle battery, ipsofacto.
Same battery requirements; 2 or 4 stroke.

 

[gerrys]

Put two of them in parallel and refigure. Question was a Marlin that generally has two banks of two in parallel. To put GP29's in you have to change the battery trays - but they will fit otherwise. I'd go either way.