Best Deep Cycle Marine Battery 2020 | Buying Guide

With the fishing season around the corner, every boat owner is all set to drive their boat across the deep blues. But before you go for the trip, it’s crucial to check your boat and prepare it. 

The biggest challenge in this part is to find the best deep cycle battery for your boat. There are a number of those available in the market that you can consider, but each of them is different in multiple ways. The provider may tell you about some of its specifications, like type build and prices, but there is a lot more that you need to check before buying a battery. The following guide will introduce you to these aspects and also guide you with which one to choose for your vessel.

Top 5 Deep Cycle Marine Batteries

1. Optima Batteries801 6-103 D34M

This is by far the Best Starting battery. Its tight seal not only makes it durable and free from spillage but it is strong enough and neither extreme loads, vibrations or longer idle periods are a problem to this kind of battery.  

This is a very powerful and durable battery with 750 cranking amperes on cold. The stainless steel body makes it more durable. Do you have limited space and you want a powerful yet easy to mount battery? Then optimal batteries 8016-103 D34M has an airtight seal to prevent any spillage whichever hence can be mounted in any vertical position.  

Specifications:

• Battery type: SLA/AGM 
• Product dimension: 10 x 6.88 x 7.8 inches 
• Voltage: 12 volts
• Cranking amperes: 870
• 120-minute constant performance
• Support trolling and RV motor 
• Spiral cell technology 

2. UPG 85980/D5722 Sealed Lead Acid Battery

A durable battery can be such a fortune for us, but a flexible battery is one choice that we cannot regret. This kind of battery supports UPS backup systems and can as well be used in flashlights, exit lighting, spotlights among other similar products. It is UL and Ce certified and it has a high recovery power each time you recharge it.

The battery holds a great charging capacity and can make a complete serve a 4-hour trip out in the waters. It can be used with various trolling motors as well as with a smaller Minn Kota Endura C2 30-lb motor.

Specifications:

• Dimension: 10.2 x 10 x 6.5 inches
• Weight: 8 ounces
• 2.5 hours average battery life 
• Voltage: 12 volts 
• SLA battery cell type 
• Amperage: 35 AH

3. Expert Power

This kind of battery features an AGM battery that has attained the trust of many battery users. One of its greatest features is its wide range in temperature it operates in. Unlike most batteries it features screw-in battery technology which makes it easy to install and recharge. 

Expert power is a user-friendly battery with an easy installation process and goes for longer periods with less or no maintenance. It has a valve regulator that gets your system, RV or trolling motor running with no time. Operation discharge feature makes it more reliable to use under any temperature.

Specifications:

• Item weight: 23.2 pounds
• Dimension: 7.7 x 5.2 x 6.3 inches
• Voltage: 12 V 
• Amperage: 33A 
• Dual screws 
• Operation temperature: -40°C to 60°C

4. VMAXTANKS VMAX V35-857

With less maintenance practices, this battery is a good choice when you have less or want to spend less on maintenance. Its features and standards fellies a different path as compared to most batteries out in the market. It is highly durable and guarantees you more years of service. The battery has a strong seal that protects it from shock or vibrations.

Unlike most batteries out there, these batteries use a VMAX BC1204 12V 3.3Amp type of charger on every recharge. You need not to worry about adding water or the electrolyte gravity since VMAXTANKS VMAX V35-857 supports free operation and zero maintenance.

Specifications:

• Item dimension: 7.7 x 5 x 6.1 inches
• Voltage: Voltage: 12 volts 
• Weight: 25 lbs. 
• Up to 75 units of reserve capacity 
• Low-speed run time: 5.8 hours
• One year warranty

5. Weize 12V 100AH Deep Cycle AGM

This kind of battery can be used to power different kinds of home appliances, work garage, RV or a trolling motor. The battery is UL and CE certified. You will love the terminal positions since they are easy to access whenever you are recharging. Just like other marine batteries, this battery is fully sealed to ensure that vibrations and shock does not prevent the performance of the battery.

If you are looking for a battery that you can use with a solar panel then you might consider this battery type. It Can be used to power electric vehicles, hunting, golf carts, garden tools, alarm security, lighting among other uses. More so you are covered with a thirty-day refund policy as well as a one year warranty.

Specifications:

• Dimension: 12.8 x 6.8 x 8.5 inches 
• Voltage: 12 volts 
• Amperage: 100A
• Low self-discharge 
• Features GEL technology 
• You get 1x battery screws

Buying Guide: Deep Cycle Marine Battery

Battery Design

When you are looking for the best deep cycle marine battery for your vessel, battery construction is the first aspect to check. It will affect not only the cost but also the strength of the battery and its fitting requirement. There are mainly two types of construction that you need to check:

• Cell Design: this is the most common design for batteries in the market. It consists of a mixture of Sulfur and water that runs it. You may find them in variants that replace Sulfur with lead and water by some other solvent, but the overall working will remain the same. They are half in weight that the AG batteries and yet provide an equally good backup. The only limitation of this variant is its maintenance. It needs cautious handling and can spill acid if left idle for a longer period or not handled properly.
• AGM Design: AGM translates to Absorbent Glass Matting. It’s a type of matting material that goes between the plates of your batteries. It contains an electrolyte acid, which helps it to restore the battery fluid without any external source. These batteries are a seal type battery and won’t need very low maintenance due to its fluid retaining technology. The sealed structure also makes it anti-spilling and flexible for angular fitting. Users also prefer this battery type due to its shock resistance. The only drawback here is the weight of this battery and its overcharging issues. It fails to discharge if you overcharge it. Not to mention, the battery is also a bit costly. Therefore, you can count it as the best deep cycle marine battery for your boat only if you have a decent investment. 

Cold Cranking Amps

The deep cycle batteries are a specialized type for running a motor and not jump-starting it. However, that doesn’t mean you cannot use it for cracking up your boat in case of an emergency. Therefore, whenever you check the specification of the battery, it’s a good idea to check for it CCA or the cold-cranking amp rating. It is the amount of current that the battery can provide for the first 30 seconds at a temperature of 0-degree Fahrenheit. 

Some manufacturers use an MCA rating to represent this current. It translates to Marine cranking Amps and is the same as CCA, except for the temperature part. Here, the standard temperature to consider is 32-degree Fahrenheit instead of 0-degree Fahrenheit. 

Now, you don’t need to stress on this aspect as you may not even need it, but it is good to go for a higher CCA battery. It will add a bit of cost but can come in handy during an emergency scenario. Therefore, if possible, try to go for a battery that offers at least 500 CCA. It will offer 10 Amps of current, which will be enough to crank up an engine. You can go for a higher capacity but try not to go for a lower than it. 

Battery Capacity

The battery backup that the battery provides is one of the most crucial factors while buying it. No one would want something that cannot power their vessel for more than just a few hours. Therefore, before deciding the best deep cycle marine battery for your boat, check its Amps, and rating. You will need both these numbers to estimate the backup of your battery. Let’s take an example of a 150Ah battery with a C-20 rating to understand this part. The 150Ah is the total current your battery can provide while fully charged. The C-20 on the hand is the time it will last, which in this case is 20 hours. So, the total current you will be getting from the battery will be around 17.5 Amps per hour. 

Now, this current may be enough for some vessels, but not for all. There will be models that can work with less than this current or more than this current. Therefore, you need to consider a total load of your appliances and the vessel to come up with the current you need. Then you need to check if the battery you plan to buy meets this requirement. 

Cycle Life

The process of charging and battery to a certain capacity and then discharging it completely marks one cycle of battery life. The aspect may not seem like much as you can always charge the battery, but it plays a huge role in the overall lifespan of the battery. 

Every time your battery completes one cycle, its lifespan will decrease. Therefore, it is ideal that you search for a battery that can last long with a single charge. Theoretically, the aspect has a direct relation with the battery capacity and will depend solely on it. However, in real life, it gets affected by the build of the battery. The process used to make it, quality of the cell, design, material, and a lot of other factors affect it. The aspect is a bit tricky, and you might need a bit of research and comparison. Not to mention, you also have to check the cost of the battery model. It increases with respect to the increasing life cycle duration of the battery.  

Dimensions And Weight

Almost every best deep cycle battery has an identical looking design. It will be cuboidal in shape and have the terminal at the upper part. However, their size and weight will differ with every model. Usually, the high capacity batteries will be much larger than the low capacity marine batteries. The bigger batteries will be a great idea as they will offer much more backup and a lot better life cycle duration.

The smaller batteries, on the other hand, will be much easier to store, maintain, and handle. They are also cheaper than the larger variants.  Therefore, try to balance the capacity and the size of the battery. Besides, you can always wire small batteries to generate higher amps. 

Maintenance

Every boat is different and will have a different location for installing your battery. It is possible that the spot that has the battery is easily accessible and has enough space to clean it, but it’s not mandatory. Now, you can go for a battery with the least maintenance requirement, but it will be costly. Therefore, it’s best that you analyze the time you can spend on maintenance and the accessibility of the battery placement location and buy a battery according to it. Usually, for a standard location, the flooded batteries are the best option. They are cheap and easily available. The gel and AGM batteries, on the other hand, are preferable for users who cannot guarantee regular maintenance. These batteries are a bit expensive, but they don’t need much attention. 

Frequently Asked Questions