Golf cart batteries.... I'm a Stinger battery dealer, and I say golf cart batteries.

I had two brand new Interstates and they would get sucked dry over one night of stereo, lights, and two fans running while I slept. Couldnt start the motor the next morning and needed a jump. Since I bought the Odyssey's I have been able to do all of this plus easily start my motor the next morning on ONE battery...didnt even need to switch on the second. Yes they are more expensive, but the performance is much better and I have been told by several that they last alot longer as well.

What model battery?


Should I buy deep cycle or standard?

deka intimidator.....i run 2 of them in my jeep with 4k+ watts of power daily on stock alternator and they have held up incredible....blow away my optimas i had before....

I use the 34M-PC1500 . They perform both starting power and deep cycling capability. My local battery vendor turned me on to them. I buy a crapload of gell cell batteries (different type and manufacturer) for all of the fire alarm and security systems we install/service. Besides having rave reviews from customers he said they had a pair of oddball size versions that sat on the shelf for three years. One day a customer came in that had to have them "right then" as he was in a big hurry. They put them in his diesel truck and they worked perfectly even though they had never been charged since they left the manufacturer.

This suprises me as well. granted I can't speak for the new Interstates and I am not turning over nearly the motor most of you guys are (I only have to turn over a 400+HP 10.5 compression 355), but the Interstate in my boat was in it when I bought the boat 7-8 years ago (and it was not new then) and it has not failed me yet. The last few years I have kept it on a battery tender while not in use but previously it just sat during the winter months and then I would stick it on the charger the day or day before I was planning to use it the first time.

If all you are doing is relying on your battery to start your boat Interstates are fine. The topic of this discussion is "What battery for extended stereo play" which Interstates fail miserably IMHO. My Baja and MasterCraft were both delivered with two new Interstates each and in both boats they gave around a third of the play time (if that) of the Odyssey batteries. I can now run my stereo, lights, and 12v fans with confidence that I won’t be stranded the next morning :)

If you are using it strictly for playing the stereo with the engine off, Reserve Capacity is the determining factor for how long it will last:

Reserve Capacity (RC) is a very important rating. This is the number of minutes a fully charged battery at 80 ° F will discharge 25 amps until the battery drops below 10.5 volts.

There have been a lot of good suggestions on brands in this thread. You might also look at RV batteries if you are talking about really extended play time.

Edit: The other thing to consider is how much amperage your amplifiers are drawing. If they are class A/B amplifiers, they draw quite a lot of current. If you look at Class D amplifiers, they draw considerably less amperage for the same power. If you are upgrading your amps, I'd look into Class D's like the Alpine PDX series.

I run 2 Group 31 Deka (same manuf. as Interstate) wired parallel on position "2" of my battery switch. We run the Boat on a group 27 Interstate (position "1" on the switch). THen when anchored and time for tunes, we switch to position "2" (the 2 group 31 batteries). We can run 16+ hrs at a very loud level (and still able to start boat). Then when it is time to leave, switch to position 1 and go. When at the docks, all 3 batteries are hooked to a onboard charger. My on board charge will charge them back to full capacity overnight so we are ready to jam the tunes the next day.

My setup is 1 Kenwood 1800watt Class D Mono Amp powering 1 Kicker L7 12" sub, 1 Kicker 100x2 amp powering 4 Kicker 6.5 speakers in the cockpit (speakers are wired parallel @ 2 ohm load) and 1 Kicker 250x2 powering 2 DC Gold 6x9 speakers mounted in the transom.

I think the problem here is not with the manufacture of the battery but the "type" of battery being used. Most likely the Interstate batteries you had in your MasterCraft and Baja were dual purpose batteries (starting/deep cycle). Not a true "house" battery. The Odyssey battery you installed is most likely a tru deep cycle "house" batteyr, which has much less cracking amperage and a much larger "reserve" capacity. To my knowledge, Interstate doesn't make a true deep cycle "house" battery. They are dual purpose batteries. Deka makes the true deep cycle "house" batteries. Interstate and Deka are of same manufacture.

Also as probably mentioned, Optima makes a decent cranking battery and an OK Deep Cycle battery. But if you are running anything over a couple hundered watts, go with something else. I have had very good luck with the Deka Deep Cycle Batteries, I have a friend with 2 Kenitics in his F-150..... Keep in mind, your Alternator will NOT be able to keep up with the charging needs of a large capacity deep cycle battery (unless you have upgraded your alternator). A stock alternator will keep them charged fine, but will not be able to bring them back up after hours of stereo play. So you will need some sort of on board charge while at the docks (or on the trailer).