I have a 22 year old Mercury 200 EFI and I just added two 12" Lowrance Carbons and I'm thinking about getting Active Target FFS. My cranking battery is a 4 year old Interstate AGM group 31, that I just have a feeling won't last to long, especially with those bigger graphs compared to my 7" and 9" are going to put more of a drain on my battery. I've read all the threads about the X2 Agm and the Ionic 125 cranking battery. I'd like to hear from guys that have older two strokes that don't have as powerful alternator's as the newer 4 strokes that have added bigger graphs and FFS on what they found they needed for a cranking battery. I'd hate to spend $600 to $1200 to find out that I would be better off having a dedicated battery for electronics and just a $300 AGM for my cranking battery. Any help and advice would be appreciated. I just want to make a good educated decision when it's time. Money is a concern.

The dedicated battery is the way to go.

I had the interstate 31agm and it never lasted. Went to the X2 AGM for my starting and 3 graphs and it does fine. All that said I’ll definitely go lithium with my trolling batteries need replacing.

What year is your motor and is it a 2 or 4 stroke?

2020 4 stroke 250 pro xs

X2 AGM... Dan

Odyssey PC2150 is a beast of a battery. That said, I run two Group 31 batteries. One is dedicated to the outboard, and the other to electronics.

I don't have room to run two cranking batteries because the oil tank for the two stroke takes up a lot of space. I'll look into the Odyssey. The X2 is a 75 lbs battery and I hate to add that kind of weight, and I'd like to go lithium but the $ is a big concern since I just got a Ghost TM and the two new graphs.

Do you have an older 2 stroke? What graphs are you running? Do you have FFS?

Dedicated starting battery for the engine, livewells, lights. Separate battery for electronics, and batteries for the trolling motor. Lithium batteries are getting much cheaper. I have three EG4 100ah batteries for the TM. And one for electronics. They are very responsible in price right now with a 5 year warranty. For 239 each, they are solid. Been running then for 2 years, 3 days a week fishing. Game changer going to lithium. But to answer your question, yes you should get the electronics off the starting battery. Look up the current draw on all your electronics, and do a current calculation to see how much they use over time.


EG4 lithium
https://signaturesolar.com/eg4-wp-lithium-battery-12v-100ah/

What battery are you using for the electronics? Is it a 12v or 16 volt lithium?

Amp outdoors has a chart you can look at the draw. Ffs is gonna be about 1.5 and the 12s probably 3 each.

100 percent for the cranker

Thanks, I'll check that out.

AGM Decka made by East Penn. Group 31 if you don't want to spend the $$$ for a Lithium.

Been there done that with the X2......worked great for a couple years and then completely died after warranty ran out of course....

Do yourself a favor and go Ionics 125 Lithium......just sayin

X2 AGM- won’t fool with it again

My X2 couldn't hang with my graph setup. Splurge the $200 more and get an Ionic 125a and not fool with it again for an even longer time.

2014 Pro XS 250 2 stroke, 2014 Ranger Z521c, Last year new HDS 12 carbon on console, new HDS 12 carbon on bow and active target, new Helix 12 on bow for 360. Replaced starter battery with biggest x2 agm. Weighs about 70 pounds. I think it is 125 ah plus. Couldn't last a day. Engine wouldnt start after about 5 hours. Added Dakota Lithium 60 ah as dedicated bow HDS and active target power. No more problems and active target is quite a bit clearer. Active target uses lots of power.

My 31 X2 can’t hang with running the scope all day so Lithium is in my near future.

This! I have an Iconic lithium for my electronics and an X2 AGM cranking. The Iconic is great, buy something other than an X2 though.

Thanks everyone. Thank you LFA17, because this helps a lot since you have a 2 stroke. I want to make sure I get it right the first time.