Which Starting Battery?

[Christian Van H]

Hi All! I'm trying to decide on a starting battery. I have 4-6V golf carts as a house bank, and the starting battery will be managed by an Echo-Charge. We have a 100HP Nissan diesel, and I am thinking Group 31 12volt...what do you think? Thanks, Chris

[jdoe71]

Spiral cell AGM like Optima or Exide spirals put out a whack of amps in a short burst, perfect for starting motors. I had a little tiny Exide spiral cell one that put out 1100 cranking amps. Was able to fit it into a shallow bilge locker on its side because it's AGM, couldn't do that with flooded. Had it charged off an echo-charger using same charge profile as the 6 volts and it was fine after 3 years.

[barnakiel]

I had a Varta 12 Volt on a 12 Volt starter. It was good for at least 7 years (more - because it was in the boat when I got her).

They say the max of cranking amps counts. I believe this is the case. Exide and Optima have great reputations, among others.

b.

[CarlF]

I've used an Optima red top Group 34 for eight years to start a 110hp Yanmar. Plenty of cranking power. Less than $150. Just make sure that there are no trickle loads. Starting only.

If I were to replace it today, I might try an Odyssey Battery (also rebadged as the Sears Diehard Platinum). It has even more cranking amps and a four year full replacement warranty.

Carl

[Christian Van H]

I'm starting to see a pattern here...

[James S]

Like Barnacle...Varta is what I've gone with as well....I went with two in parallel.

[Christian Van H]

Vartas are scarce around here, and I think an Optima is in my near future. Thank you all for your replies!

[OptimaJim]

Hello, I saw our batteries being mentioned here and wanted to help any way I could. OPTIMA offers two different styles of BlueTop marine batteries. Those with light gray cases are dual purpose batteries, which can be uses as starting batteries, but also in deep-cycle applications, where there are a lot of accessories in use when the engine isn’t running. BlueTops with dark gray cases are for starting applications and not intended to be used as a deep-cycle battery. All new BlueTops come with a two year replacement warranty. If you have any other questions, I’ll do my best to answer them. I appreciate your interest in OPTIMA batteries!

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.