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Replacement Starter Battery


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I need to replace the boat's starter battery.  The engine is a Beta 35.  Any recommendation for an online supplier, or even a specific battery.  As it is hard to get to the starter batter, I was thinking that a sealed one would be good.

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Mine is just a 110Ahr 'leasure' battery same as the domestic batteries.  From memory it was a numax (came with the boat), one of those sold as suitable for domestic or engine starting.  Engine is Beta 43 so probably near enough the same as yours to crank.

When I replace it I will probably buy a Lucas or Numax, depends upon what deals I can find.

Edited by Chewbacka
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Pretty much any 'car battery' will do the job - its not a big engine so a standard mid-sized car one will do. (Maybe do an Ebay search for 'Mondeo 12v battery')

The important things to check are :

1) battery box dimensions - will it fit

2) Battery terminal locations ( which 'side' are the + / - terminals on) Different makes can be in different positions (sides) on the battery.

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1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Pretty much any 'car battery' will do the job - its not a big engine so a standard mid-sized car one will do. (Maybe do an Ebay search for 'Mondeo 12v battery')

The important things to check are :

1) battery box dimensions - will it fit

2) Battery terminal locations ( which 'side' are the + / - terminals on) Different makes can be in different positions (sides) on the battery.

As stated. I would always go for sealed cheapo also. It will last you ten years anyway so who can be arsed checking levels. I have a biggish one fitted simply because its akways on top of the job.

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Because boats don't usually get the same intensive use that cars get, especially in the winter and if your not on a mains charger. An extra reserve of capacity is needed in case the engine gets sluggish to start, also for the slight natural self discharge that batteries do, I'd go 90amp minimum.

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The one that was originally on there was 90AH (not sure what CCA), and that failed at 7 years old.  The one on now is a dual purpose horrible cheap one, I had some as leisure batteries and they failed after not much more than a year.  The current one has been on 5 years, but the engine is starting to turn over slower then it should so I believe it is on its way out,  the electrolyte look very "scummy" the no load voltage seems ok at 12.9V, but my assumption is it is what happened under load that matters.

The Beta spec for the B35 which is the same spec for B38 is 70-75AH, 450-540 CCA.  Most car ones don't seem to come up to that.

I was looking at
https://advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/product/heavy-duty-250/#tab-description
or
http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/batteries-by-application/starting-batteries/hankook-mf31-750.html

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6 minutes ago, Robbo said:

Do check it's your battery that's at fault, dodgy connections to the starter motor n engine can look like a battery issue.

Have checked all the obvious.  So at the point where replacing the battery seems the next thing.

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3 minutes ago, john6767 said:

Have checked all the obvious.  So at the point where replacing the battery seems the next thing.

A quick check would be to link up your main batteries and if the engine turns over as it should then it does point to the battery

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If you do replace the starter battery with a smaller one, make sure that the installation still meets BSS requirements for battery clamping and limited range of movement. Might need some alterations, or bits of wood packing. My 110AHr leisure/starter battery died after nine years. I replaced it with a little 063 car battery. The reasoning was that in the winter the boat is on a shore line and the Victron multi has a starter trickle charger output, so it would always be charged. The Beta 43 is a very reliable engine for starting. Six to ten seconds on the glow plugs and a second or two of starter, so a big capacity battery wasn't needed. If it does fail I can jump start the engine from the four leisure batteries anyway. That works for me. Others will have different circumstances.

 

Jen

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Tayna batteries can give good value - if you're canny. I bought an 096 recently and wasn't fussy about "which way round the lugs were". I ended up with a battery from their posh range much cheaper than the other way round - if you see what I mean.

Pricing, I suspect was either due to stock they wanted to cycle, or more possibly they sell more of what I bought - so be canny when you're looking.

sample - 096 £73 ish 096R £53 ish....

 

Edited by OldGoat
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I'll stick my neck out here and say that there are only 2 types of battery currently worth fitting to a boat. If you are using it a lot and don't mind a bit of maintenance then Trojans are your battery. If you are not going to use the battery much and don't want hassle then Varta LFD. Tayna are quick and cheap. See A and N Caravan Services for a well researched piece about Varta and Bosch batteries.

Edited by keith.
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10 hours ago, keith. said:

I'll stick my neck out here and say that there are only 2 types of battery currently worth fitting to a boat. If you are using it a lot and don't mind a bit of maintenance then Trojans are your battery. If you are not going to use the battery much and don't want hassle then Varta LFD. Tayna are quick and cheap. See A and N Caravan Services for a well researched piece about Varta and Bosch batteries.

I thought Trojans were deep cycle leisure batteries and not starter ones, and if you opt for a car battery make sure it's got round posts and not square.

Neil

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4 minutes ago, Neil Smith said:

I thought Trojans were deep cycle leisure batteries and not starter ones, and if you opt for a car battery make sure it's got round posts and not square.

Neil

Same here.  I bought one of the ones that I linked to earlier, it should arrive between 11:19 and 12:19 today, I then just need to get to the boat and fit and and hopefully that will cure the problem.

14 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

If you do replace the starter battery with a smaller one, make sure that the installation still meets BSS requirements for battery clamping and limited range of movement. Might need some alterations, or bits of wood packing. My 110AHr leisure/starter battery died after nine years. I replaced it with a little 063 car battery. The reasoning was that in the winter the boat is on a shore line and the Victron multi has a starter trickle charger output, so it would always be charged. The Beta 43 is a very reliable engine for starting. Six to ten seconds on the glow plugs and a second or two of starter, so a big capacity battery wasn't needed. If it does fail I can jump start the engine from the four leisure batteries anyway. That works for me. Others will have different circumstances.

 

Jen

Thanks, that is all good thinking.

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19 hours ago, Robbo said:

A quick check would be to link up your main batteries and if the engine turns over as it should then it does point to the battery

I know I should have tried that.  I don't have any jump leads, which is silly I know (I will get some), so I would have had to move one of the leisure batteries across to the other side of the boat where the starter battery is, and they are very hard to get to, so being lazy replacing the battery was simpler as I only have to do it once.

Edited by john6767
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7 minutes ago, john6767 said:

I know I should have tried that.  I don't have any jump leads, which is silly I know (I will get some), so I would have had to move one of the leisure batteries across to the other side of the boat where the starter battery is, and they are very hard to get to, so being lazy replacing the battery was simpler as I only have to do it once.

And, if there is no improvement -

1) What do you do with the surplus battery

2) What do you try next ?

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7 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

And, if there is no improvement -

1) What do you do with the surplus battery

2) What do you try next ?

The battery is old so no great shakes in replacing it, they are cheap enough, and it can go in the garage with all the other ones!  As to what next, that would be a question, but I will cross that when I get to it.

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10 hours ago, john6767 said:

I know I should have tried that.  I don't have any jump leads, which is silly I know (I will get some), so I would have had to move one of the leisure batteries across to the other side of the boat where the starter battery is, and they are very hard to get to, so being lazy replacing the battery was simpler as I only have to do it once.

You should only need the one lead as the negatives should already be common, you could save money by going halves with another boater who wants a lead ;)

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In case anyone is remotely interested, I have just put the new starter battery on, and all is good, engine back to turning over at normal speed :)

I also bought some jump leads, for next time, but hopefully that is not going to happen for a very long time.

 

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