Unlike a starting battery a marine battery is made to be charged and discharged over and over again.  Actually that is why the marine battery was invented.  A marine battery has special made cells that are able to take the abuse of cycling.  The marine battery is used in many applications such as recreational vehicles, golf carts, fishing boats (trolling motor battery), forklifts and uninterruptible power supplies.

There able to be abused and recycled due to the thicker plates that are used while construction.  A marine battery may not be able to deliver a peak current of what a starting battery may be able to, but with the thicker plates and better separators can withstand many discharges making them more durable and in most cases more practical.

You can find marine batteries at many of your local automotive shops like Autozone, Checker and Pep-Boys.  Many offer the standard quality battery that will be able to handle the typical day to day they may be subjected too.  For a higher end quality stick with Optima and Interstate.  A Optima marine battery is a great battery to have in your boat while an Interstate battery is my choice for our motor home. Personal preference really, and you can debate too what is the best marine battery on the market today.  Trust me, that debate will go on forever.  It’s like Chevy and Ford both sides have its critics and choosing a deep cycle battery that will last a while will depend on the type of use you subject it too, the climate — marine batteries do not do all the well in hotter weather and of course how you maintenance it.  You can spend $400 on a good quality battery, but if you don’t take care of it…then you’re just blowing your money.

Now if your thinking…why don’t I just use a deep cycle battery in my car?  Well as mentioned above.  A marine battery is made to be discharged and will not be able to provide the peak voltage that a typical car battery may be able too.  It may work a couple times, but just won’t be able to hit that peak to keep on starting your car.  That’s where a standard battery excels past a marine battery. On the flipside, if you put a standard car battery in your motor home, it will drain quicker as it’s not made to sustain a high voltage for a prolonged time. And a standard battery is not meant to be completely drained where a marine battery is.  Again different applications will require either battery.