By Erik Watkins

Deep Cycle vs Starting Marine Battery: The Difference Between

Last updated: May 15, 2023
Deep Cycle vs Starting Marine Battery

In hot weather conditions like these days, participating in sailing excursions will make your summer days as wonderful as ever. However, preparing the right power supplies for this hobby is never an obvious task, especially when you don’t understand the difference between deep cycle and starting marine battery.

If you are stuck in this situation, this article is everything you have been looking for! We’ll provide you with a detailed comparison to decide which standard battery meets your requirements. Scroll down to explore the article under the most comprehensive insight.

Difference Between Deep Cycle And Starting Marine Battery

The similar appearance design has led many people to mistakenly believe that these two automotive batteries are interchangeable in all cases. But please beware as that confusion will make your engine face a lot of trouble!

We have helped you explore the key differences between deep cycle and starting battery through three aspects- energy usage, features, and battery life. To learn more, scroll down and join us in discovering how each product works!

Starting Marine Battery
Starting Marine Battery

Intended Use

When starting the boat, you need a reliable power source to make your engine work. If your vehicle lacks a power supply for the engine to work, then the starting marine application will surely be all you are looking for.

The rotating shaft integrated into the product acts as a source of power to the engine while the ignition switch is activated. Once you start the engine, this product will emit powerful electrical energy sources at a fast speed, allowing the ship to enter a state of readiness.

But then your vehicle will need a more stable energy source to stay afloat and power the onboard electronics (such as GPS, sonar, and radio). Therefore, choosing deep-cycle batteries will be a great idea in this case.


Features

The design of the panels inside the power supply greatly influences the features that the product can provide to the user. Usually, the more panels a product has, the more power it can deliver.

The battery manufacturers integrate a lot of thin plates inside the motor start battery, which increases the surface area of ​​​​contact and produces more energy sources simultaneously. However, this feature inadvertently limits this cranking product in continuous discharge, resulting in short operating times and being non-rechargeable.

The deep cycle products (rolling batteries), meanwhile, have fewer thick plates than their rival, allowing for stable battery power for a period of time. In addition, they allow users to recharge and use them many times before replacing them with new products.

Deep Cycle battery
Deep Cycle battery

In terms of overheating during operation, we rate the deep cycle higher as the thick sheet construction allows their heat resistance to be better than the competition.

Lifespan

Whatever product you use, its shelf life depends on maintenance, external influences, charging, and how you use it. Therefore, it seems that you cannot accurately determine the battery lifespan.

According to experts’ estimates, the marine batteries can serve you from 1 to 6 years. The cycle life of deep cycle batteries typically ranges from four to eight years. Therefore, we rate the deep cycle higher than the competition in terms of battery lifespan.


Quick Rundown Of Deep Cycle Battery

ProsCons
Deep Cycle Battery– Ensure the engine running
Long life
– Can serve as trolling batteries
– Less risk of overheating
Rechargeable
– Mid-range discharge capacity
Starting Marine Battery– For starting the engine
– Powerful discharge capacity
– Unrechargeable
– Sometimes cause thermal overload
– Shorter lifespan
Simple Explanation of “Starting” vs. “Deep Cycle” Batteries

A Third Option: Using The Dual Purpose Marine Battery

Some people came up with the idea of saving money by using a single-engine alternator for both the starting and operating areas of the boat. But don’t forget that the starting and deep cycle battery design never allowed them to do both simultaneously!

In this case, you can refer to the dual-purpose marine battery – a “2-in-1” product that can solve all the above problems!

This comparison between marine starting battery vs deep cycle article provides the most useful information regarding distinguishing the above two cranking and rolling pin products. Hope you have a great experience with the product you have chosen

Everything has two sides, and so do the dual-purpose batteries. They tend to be overcrowded if you set sail in inclement weather conditions. Therefore, you should only consider them for short trips and thorough maintenance.

Faqs

Is A Typical Starting Battery A “Deep-Cycle” Battery?

The answer is a big “No”! They are two separate samples and serve different purposes.

The marine starting product is dedicated to starting boat engines. Meanwhile, the deep cycle product allows your vehicle to stay stable and power devices like radios and GPS.

Can You Use A Starting Battery For Trolling Motor?

Due to design peculiarities, a starter battery is not suitable for generating power for trolling motor. The deep cycle product will be the ideal choice if you are looking for a suitable battery type for this engine.

Should You Trickle Charge A Deep Cycle Battery?

Trickle charging is not suitable for automotive batteries with low discharge rates. Thus, it is best to use a charger designed specifically for deep-cycle products ( such as Ionic bank chargers) instead of a trickle charger.

See more: How To Charge A Deep Cycle Marine Battery

Automotive Mechanic at PowerAll

With 7 years experience in management positions leading automotive mechanics at PowerAll, Erik Watkins wishes to share useful knowledge and information about automotive mechanical equipment.

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