Which Batteries Are Best

CATCHEMCARO · Post by **CATCHEMCARO** » Sun Aug 14, 2016 4:31 pm

Time for new batteries for my Mincota fortrex 80. I don't mind spending the money and I want batteries that will last the longest on a windy day while fishing the Delta. And while Im on the topic. Which cranking battery is the best?
Thanks
Rich

drew · Post by **drew** » Sun Aug 14, 2016 6:13 pm

There are 3-4 manufactures to choose from. The different names are just re-stickered.

The best for your application would be the Northstar manufactured group 24 (57lbs, 160min RC) or 27(68lbs, 195min RC).

Tackle Warehouse Drakon or Batteries plus X2.

Eastpenn Deka
Orielly's
Carquest (older) + many others

Johnson controls,
Walmart, Carquest, Interstate, Autozone & Optima + many others

Trojan, do not know if they are a manufacturer or re-label

Northstar
Odyssy, Sears Platinum, Drakon, X2 + many more with ribbed case.

CATCHEMCARO wrote:Time for new batteries for my Mincota fortrex 80. I don't mind spending the money and I want batteries that will last the longest on a windy day while fishing the Delta. And while Im on the topic. Which cranking battery is the best?
Thanks
Rich

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Sun Aug 14, 2016 7:23 pm

drew wrote:There are 3-4 manufactures to choose from. The different names are just re-stickered.

The best for your application would be the Northstar manufactured group 24 (57lbs, 160min RC) or 27(68lbs, 195min RC).

Tackle Warehouse Drakon or Batteries plus X2.

Eastpenn Deka
Orielly's
Carquest (older) + many others

Johnson controls,
Walmart, Carquest, Interstate, Autozone & Optima + many others

Trojan, do not know if they are a manufacturer or re-label

Northstar
Odyssy, Sears Platinum, Drakon, X2 + many more with ribbed case.

CATCHEMCARO wrote:Time for new batteries for my Mincota fortrex 80. I don't mind spending the money and I want batteries that will last the longest on a windy day while fishing the Delta. And while Im on the topic. Which cranking battery is the best?
Thanks
Rich

Drew,
Do you know who makes the Costco batteries?

drew · Post by **drew** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 7:43 am

I believe they are a Johnson Control product. All of the JC batteries are the same construct except the spiral cell Optima's.

mark poulson wrote:
Drew,
Do you know who makes the Costco batteries?

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 7:50 am

drew wrote:I believe they are a Johnson Control product. All of the JC batteries are the same construct except the spiral cell Optima's.

mark poulson wrote:
Drew,
Do you know who makes the Costco batteries?

Thanks.

Freefall · Post by **Freefall** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:37 am

My buddy put VMAX AGMs in his boat and swears by them.

WRB · Post by **WRB** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 12:17 pm

Group 24 would be ok for a cranking battery unless it's running state of the art sonar units.
Group 29 or 31 is a better choice for trolling motors. AGM's are a good choice, not a fan of Opima since Interstate/JC bought them.
Trojan is a manufacture of wet cell batteries, not sure about their AGM.
VMAX MR137-120 is a group 31 @ 68 lbs, about $250.
Tom

drew · Post by **drew** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 1:05 pm

Its not as easy to compare group size as it used to be since some of the high performance pure lead thin plate AGM batteries have better then average output and weight.

I personally would not run anything larger then a group 27 Northstar for TM's. Especially for an 80lb unit. You have to compare the CCA and/or the reserve capacity.

For an Optimax or any 225-250HP modern outboard cranking battery I would get the highest output battery possible. A group 31 Northstar is currently the only option. Now that does include its rebranded units, Odyssy, X2, Sears Platinum and Cabela's X9000 etc. It is the highest output available without going to a lithium.

WRB wrote:Group 24 would be ok for a cranking battery unless it's running state of the art sonar units.
Group 29 or 31 is a better choice for trolling motors. AGM's are a good choice, not a fan of Opima since Interstate/JC bought them.
Trojan is a manufacture of wet cell batteries, not sure about their AGM.
VMAX MR137-120 is a group 31 @ 68 lbs, about $250.
Tom

mark poulson · Post by **mark poulson** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 2:12 pm

I use a dual purpose deep cycle battery for my cranking battery, so I can run my livewell all day if needed, and not worry about cranking power late in the day.

Bassfishman · Post by **Bassfishman** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 2:31 pm

Costco batteries are manufactured by Interstate now. I just bought one of their marine/RV deep discharge batteries from Costco for my cranking battery. Only one year warranty though - I was kinda surprised about that.

DanIsaac · Post by **DanIsaac** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:40 pm

Odyssey group 31s ROCK! Absolutely amazing!

toddmc · Post by **toddmc** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 7:55 pm

I've had good luck with the Centenial maintenance free batteries. I run three 31 size for my 36v trolling motor and a 27 cranking size for my 200hp Optimax and Helix 10/360 Imaging electronics. Both sets that I have owned have been replaced after three years and about 150 cycles. I'm sure that I could get much longer out of them because they work great after three years. I don't know who makes them.
Both Angler's Marine and Last Chance Performance Marine recommend and sell them. My friend runs an 80 Fortrex with two 31 size Centenial batteries because I suggested them. He realy likes them also.

CATCHEMCARO · Post by **CATCHEMCARO** » Tue Aug 16, 2016 4:55 pm

Thanks everyone for all the good feed back. Now I need to decide and buy some fresh batteries so I can get out there and slay all day.
Rich

briansII · Post by **briansII** » Wed Aug 17, 2016 1:31 pm

If you are looking for something that will last the longest during your fishing day, you need to look at the battery specs. Mainly what you want to look at is the RC or Reserve Charge. The higher the RC number, the longer your batteries will run the trolling motor. Generally speaking, the higher RC rating, the higher the cost of the battery. Those batteries are usually high end AGMs, or the very expensive lithium batteries.

briansII