Just bought a boat. I need to know what 12V battery is best, and what charger I should get for it.

Thanks in advance

bnhcomputing

Optima makes a great battery. It's a dry cell, no fluid. They also make them for marine use. however the only differance between the marine and a reg batt. besides the top terminals is the resivour at the bottom of the inside of the battery (acid filled types). Marines have a deeper resivour to collect the sediment that is shed during the recharging cycle. As for charging. any slow charge rate charger will work. You never want to charge a battery fast, overheating will occur and battery life will deminish. As a general rule of thumb, batteries like to be charged at the same rate they were discharged, so slow charging is the best, Expect up to 24 hours on a 2 or 4 amp charge rate to fully recharge your battery. One other note, after a battery has been fully discharged, it will only charge back to 80% of it's previous charge. a new fully charged battery will read 12.6 on a dvom, older ones may only get to 12.4 or 12.5. hope this helps.

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