What is a great small battery for console to power my electronics?

Most people with a boat large enough to have a console don't have a "great small battery" to power electronics. They power it from their main boat battery, which is sized for all the loads put on it along with cranking the outboard. Do you have some odd setup?

Some folks run a separate battery to power graphs, it’s not a bad idea, depending on how much power it takes to turn over your motor. Check out Dakota lithium, they make high quality deep cycles for this type of application.

I'm aware of Dakota, even own some of them. However, most people have no clue how to calculate what amp-hour battery they will need. With a dedicated battery not tied to an alternator for some recovery during the day, a user better calculate correctly, or that dedicated battery will fall on its face before you're ready to quit.

BTW, Dakota had moved to Seattle, so they're now in a hot zone for the virus, causing biz ops to be severely impacted.

As to the need for a separate electronics battery in general, unless a boater has already maxed out to a good group 31 battery for their main battery, that upgrade is by far the least expensive way to go. If even a Group 31 doesn't have enough capacity, then the extra battery is the only remaining option. He didn't say exactly how much electronics he's running.or how many hours he expects it to run. If he has a typical Group 24 starting battery now, then there's a lot of room for easy/inexpensive main battery upgrade before taking the plunge on an additional battery, especially a lithium.

Thanks, But my new allstate Battery is a Group 31 1160 MCA it surely is enough. I am just making sure I don't loose total power on the lake again. Loading a big boat on a trailer is tough with a trolling motor and no trim to lift the motor. I had jumper cables and it still did not work because the Yamaha 225 needs 800 MCA or more to operate, I have that now and more.

It all depends on your style of fishing as to what works best. I know I’ve had days where I’ve made a long run to the other end of a lake, and never had a reason to turn my big motor on throughout the day. If I’m not careful, even with a 31 group agm, some motors will struggle to turn on, especially if you leave all of your graphs on, couple that with being on your Trolling motor all day, and may not have enough power to jump of your trolling motor battery either. In this case, in my opinion, a small, dedicated deep cycle for graphs and pumps is key, if they drain down and die, you can always easily switch them to your starting battery. It might be redundant, but I would rather have that, than to rely solely on one starting battery for the graphs, pumps and big motor.

II Carry a NOCO Jump starter just in case, not just the Jumper Cables...

I have one of these jump boxes from Andy.
Works great and you dont have to mess with a jump box.
Will keep 70% in reserve
https://drewcraft.com/product/emergency-start/

David is absolutely correct on the advice to carry a lithium jump-starter. I now own two of them to be sure I have one in the vehicle I'm driving. I transfer the starter to the boat as part of my launch preparation. I always buy a model with more rated amps than I think I might need - the more amps the better. I have a model touting 1500A capability that has on numerous occasions started everything from a riding lawn mower to a 5.3L V8 with no issue. The V8 vehicles wouldn't even turn over - just click the starter solenoid, yet that jump-starter fired them right up. I have no doubt it will jump my 250hp outboard. Jumper cables are of limited value because the cranking amps of most deep cycle batteries is nominal, and also not very good for such a battery.

Thank you for the information, I am sure if someone see this and passes it along this will help people just like me Thanks again.

Jump starters are smart...

I run 2 Interstate 24’s wired in parallel. Plenty of cranking amps and plenty of reserve time to run all on my electronics and live wells all day. I have the room and really don’t mind the extra weight. And I keep a jump starter (just in case).