BATTERY ?

[CN]

Time for new trolling motor batteries what do you suggest. Tired of buying the cheap one's that dont last like Saturday's short trip.

[RipnRog]

Time for new trolling motor batteries what do you suggest. Tired of buying the cheap one's that dont last like Saturday's short trip.

Optimas

[mrbassin0614]

Costcos battey!!! Have ran them for almost a year and a half. I run a motor guide 24v and the batteries are still are like brand new. And im not a guy that uses his boat only once a year.

[brambo0311]

Costcos battey!!! Have ran them for almost a year and a half. I run a motor guide 24v and the batteries are still are like brand new. And im not a guy that uses his boat only once a year.

The Costco Kirkland is made by Johnson control. It's a interstate with a different sticker. Take them back before a year and get ones. No more battery issues ever.

[TCS]

odyssey

[Gene Buchholz]

I have been selling AC Delco's for 18 years they have an 18 month unconditional warranty, replaced it they are bad.
Why spend more for optima battiers when they don't last any longer then deep cycle?

[Jboutfishn]

Going on 3 years with Interstate deep cycle set up in series for 24 volts. I average 3+ days a week, still going strong. I believe the secret is to keep all batteries on float to reduce the number of charge/discharge cycles. A battery sitting will discharge 1% per day.

I purchased some inexpensive float chargers from Harbor Freight for $6.00 each for ATV, Generator, and Ski Boat. The bass boat is equipped with a Guest System. Keep everything plugged in, saves some $$ in the long run.

[brambo0311]

I have been selling AC Delco's for 18 years they have an 18 month unconditional warranty, replaced it they are bad.
Why spend more for optima battiers when they don't last any longer then deep cycle?

That being said the costco kirklands group 27 are 79 bucks.

[blkdog812]

a/c delco's , trojans, or optima's all good choices

[Garrettt]

2 years with my current optimas. Fishing every weekend. No problems.

[brambo0311]

I can't say it enough. Been through every battery. Costco kirklands are interstate batteries and will last you for a few years. But why wait, 100% replacement for 12 months. They don't test them, they just replace them. Been doing it for 6 years. Yeah I'm a a$$hole but I bought my batteries 6 years ago, and there always fresh. Go spend 200 plus each on something else and we can have a TM race with my 79 dollar batteries. Mine are always new, good luck.

[Kevin]

My Optima's lasted 6 years. Pretty tough to beat!

[jrbasspro]

CN
a couple quick questions
do you charge your batteries right after use ( some folks dont do that because they keep thier boat outside). always charge your battieres right after use. and keep them on the trickle charger at all times
no matter what batteries you get run them down every month or so; just burn the bank until they die. than charge them when you get home. this does two things one it lets you know your battires aer up to speed for when you need it and two it draws the amps way down, some battires have a memeory so if you use them the same way over and over thats the level they will perform at, supposadly the industry has fixed the battery memory problem but i still seem to run across that problem.
you might also want to check your trickle charger if its old say 8 to 10 years you might want to replace it electronics do ware out and they might not be charging very effectively.

as for battieries i love the optimas (but not the price) they charge super quick, but i found that i replace batteries just about every two years regardless of brand; but i fish every weekend and a few pro/ ams to boot

i have seen a houndred posts on battey problems but know one posts on proper battery care, i am hopeing someone with more knowledge will tag onto what i wrote and correect me, cause i dont know everything and i have been wrong before and will be again LOL

walt kondracki

[Old dog]

Two comments. 1st not a good idea to post on a public site that your a theif. That being said I buy my batteries from Norval Pimentel, there Dekas. He knows batteries and does restoration work as well. He really knows his stuff.

[brambo0311]

[brambo0311]

Two comments. 1st not a good idea to post on a public site that your a theif. That being said I buy my batteries from Norval Pimentel, there Dekas. He knows batteries and does restoration work as well. He really knows his stuff.

Two comments. 1st when the warranty says a year and there not performing well I have no problem exchanging them. That being said you might not want to be going around calling people thiefs.

[Oldschool]

Time for new trolling motor batteries what do you suggest. Tired of buying the cheap one's that dont last like Saturday's short trip.

Go with a good AGM like Odyssey, no more worries about wet cell issues and what type of charger voltage is onboard. Sears Platinum marine die hard AGM is another good choice.
The Optima blue top is popular in AGM's, made by Interstate.
I was a Trojan 225 or Delco 75 marine battery fan until I discovered AGM's and will never go back to wet cell deep cycle batteries again.
Tom

[W.C]

I've had many different types of batteries in my boats and had many problems , cells die out, acid spells inside compartment from cracks on batteries, always have to check the water levels , ect.ect.if you want to have to deal with that stuff than have at it. My Optima batteries have lasted me 8 an ahalf years with NO! problems at all. They r by far the best I have ever owned and well worth the money. You know its a hassle to R&R batteries in a boat so why do it? Go ahead and exchange your batteries every year if you like . Oh by the way Optimas arnt as heave as those other batteries are X 4 is a big differece . If you have used Optimas in your boat before than you know what I'm saying is TRUE! If not than don't compare anything to them because u don't know! I wish I was sponsored by them but I'm not Good luck with what ever u decide to do.

[CN]

Thanks', I have a 2000 519dvs and it still has the original 3 bank charger and trolling motor on it. 74lb Minkota that work's fine. Not knowing much it can't be the motor correct? I do put it on the charger as soon as we get home and they do charge up so I assumed the charger is working. Dont want to bad mouth the brand I have, Everstarts, are they not a good choice. If I fish plastic's and so on they last longer but Saturday was a crankbait bite and we ran them down to soon. PS San Antonio is on fire.

[jwelsh]

I was going to replace my batteries with Optima, I ordered them from the local auto store since they don't stock them and when I went to pick them up they talked me out of them. They stated that since the production was moved to Mexico which was approx 1 1/2 - 2 years ago they have had nothing but issues and numerous returns. Thought it odd that since they sold them that they would be so negative regarding this brand. Still looking.

[Oldschool]

It appears Everstart marine batteries are sealed wet cell type and not recommended for trolling motor use. You need to check the warranty of most marine deep cycle batteries to determine if it covers trolling motor use. For example Optima blue tops; (the last I checked) using them for trolling motors voided the warranty.
The other factor to consider is the battery charging system; gel type sealed deep cycle marine batteries should not be charged with a 15 amp charger, will damage them.
As far as weight is concerned; It's the lead content that creates the weight. A good qaulity group 31 deep cycle marine battery weighs about 72 lbs each.
I would think a 20' bass boat should be powered with at least a 24V / 80 lb thrust trolling motor when used on our windy western reservoirs.
Tom

[Old dog]

I want to personally apologize to bambo0311. You didn't say in your original post that the batteries weren't performing up to expectations, that's a big difference than just returning them every year because Costco doesn't check them. If there not performing well you have every right to return them, sorry again for the confusion.

[Randy Walker]

OPTIMA Blue tops... They cost more but have many advantages...as stated by others in the post..they last a long time (years), Charge really fast, maint free, more shock resistant and longer charge times.... One thing to keep in mind, its recommended to charge these with a 10 amp charger..a 15 amp charger can actually lessen the life of the battery, which I think has happened to some folks. I think you would be happy with the product if you can get past the price point. They do last longer then most other batteries that have been discussed here... Those that use them agree...And yes, there is always a chance of getting a "bad" unit.. Happens to the best of products...overall they are tough to beat...

Good luck on your decision...

Randy ~

[jrbasspro]

Thanks Randy

Now I know why mine optimas never lasted more than two years.

walt

[brambo0311]

My starting battery I have the optima 34M and it's doing okay after a year and a half. But I should have saved 150 bucks and just got another Kirkland group 27. Had to Mill out the corners a little on my group 27 battery tray and extend the bolts because its a taller battery.
The kirklands will outperform most batteries that are 3 times the price, but I have left the power on and totally killed the optima to the point it wouldn't light a LED a few times. It came all the way back up after a 4 day 2amp charge. The kirklands will load test not as good if you do that a few times. But Costco will return them.

I was just at Wally world and noticed that there never starts are now made by Johnson Controls to. But they don't look like the interstates and kirklands. Don't think they are the same. Plus Walmart sticks a load tester on your return batteries and I'm not sure at what point they say it's bad. I load tested my old never starts because they only lasted me about 2 hours. They were at like 60% and both would drop to 7 volts when on the trolling motor. Walmarts machine said they were fine.

[Bassin]

I have the marine Everstarts as my trolling batteries. They are not the sealed kind. They have lasted well after a few different trips and I was running them hard on windy days throwing reaction all day.
Gotta say, it's nice to see a good, informative thread for a change on this website.

[CN]

One last dumb question, if the boat has two 12v batteries wired in a series together it's still 12v.

[ash]

One last dumb question, if the boat has two 12v batteries wired in a series together it's still 12v.

Negative if it is a sieres circut and you have 2 12v batteries you have 24volts at the end of the circut.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/arti ... igurations