Marine Battery

When boating season comes around, there's always a rush to retailers to purchase marine batteries for boats, but is it necessary to have a marine-specific battery for a boat and if so, what makes it different than a car battery? We can't speak for other manufacturers, but we can tell you that OPTIMA BLUETOP marine batteries (which you can purchase factory-direct and have shipped to your doorstep) are pretty much identical internally to their YELLOWTOP automotive battery counterparts.

The one exception is our Group 34M BLUETOP marine battery, which is the BLUETOP marine equivalent of our REDTOP Group 34 starting battery, neither of which is designed or warrantied for deep-cycle use, including trolling motors. All of our BLUETOP marine batteries do come with additional threaded terminals for marine and RV connections, but inside of the batteries, they are essentially identical to their automotive counterparts.

The newest addition to OPTIMA's marine battery lineup is our ORANGETOP batteries, which come in either deep-cycle or dual-purpose models for both engine starting and deep-cycle use.

If marine batteries are identical to automotive batteries, except for the terminals, then why do marine batteries tend to have shorter warranties (two years for BLUETOP batteries, versus three years for most YELLOWTOP & REDTOP batteries)? The simple answer is because many boat owners simply don't take care of their batteries. When they get done using their boats, they park them somewhere and don't even think about connecting a battery charger to recharge and/or maintain their marine battery. The end result is that many lead-acid marine batteries will develop sulfation in their plates from sitting in a partially discharged state, which diminishes marine battery capacity and lifespan.

That makes a quality battery maintenance device an excellent investment for any battery owner, whether it's marine or automotive. In fact, we're so confident regular use of a battery charger will help maximize the performance and lifespan of your OPTIMA battery, that we'll extend the free replacement on your OPTIMA battery warranty by a full year, if you purchase an OPTIMA battery and an OPTIMA 1200 series battery charger from us at the same time.