My trolling motor is starting to be a little sluggish at the end of the day. The batteries are 4 years old. How many years do you guys get out of your batteries? What brand/type would you recommend?
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My trolling motor is starting to be a little sluggish at the end of the day. The batteries are 4 years old. How many years do you guys get out of your batteries? What brand/type would you recommend?
Open ended question on how long the batteries should last. Depends on many things as to how much are they used, are they maintained properly, charged properly....etc. I have always heard the rule of thumb was 2 years on boat deep cycle batteries. I am not a weekend warrior on the water but do/did get a chance to fish I guess average amount of time and I get 3 years to 4 years out of mine. I use Carquest Gold Deep Cycle Marine batteries and LOVE them. They never run out of charge and I don't lose any thrust even during some 16 hour days on the water and this is pulling my 17 foot Deep V aluminum boat, my big behind, a buddy and probably 100lbs of fishing tackle that I take with me plus all the other typical boat accessories. This topic has been discussed many times just as line type so you will probably get many different opinions on the topic. Some guys like using Walmart Batteries because of the easy replacement and access to Walmarts if they go bad. I am on my second set of the Carquest and the first set worked so well that I made sure I bought the same the second time. I am getting the same results and see no difference, so I would bet they are all good.
IMO walmart has good batteies they have last just as long as any other battery and if u got a problem with one doesnt matter were u r walmart stay open 24/7 and has the best warranty out there
Optima deep cycle....hands down the best....also the most expensive. Go to an Interstate Batteries retailer and ask for Blems, they are still better than most and are about half the price of new ones!
i have a set in mine that were put in march '04..i thought they finally took a dump a couple trips back at the regional on rough,it was dead by 10 am..brought it home popped the caps and the fluid was crystal clear,put them on charge and they were all bubbling..left them on charge,on board charger,over nite,went fishin last week with dad,same thing..was going to get some new ones,being cheap,and being the fluid looked so good i thought i'd check my charger,,walla..it is junk on one bank,was appearantly only charging one side,the other would feed off it and kill it quick.so i pull out my trusty old as the hills charger put them on charge for 12 hours..went to nolin saturday and ran the crap out of it all day with juice left.
these batteries came from ky battery outlet on bluelick road in louisville,69.00 each.price still on them.myself i can't see paying the BIG money for the pretty batts,they may be better for guys who run them weekly.but for my 2 times a month trip the cheaper ones do fine for me.this is only the 3rd set i have ever bought for mine since 96..but i also maintain them,and never let them set dead..
yea i run walmart batteries also only cause thats waht came with the used boat i baught havent had a prob at all but if i have to replace them and the bad economy hasnt broke me ill buy optimas.o yea i fish at least 4 days a week.
A C Delco .
While on the subject what is the best way to charge them. Low amps all the time. High amps for 80% then a trickle?
put them on charge the min. u get off the water
i dont know what the best way is. i just use a 6 amp charge till my charger shuts off and says there charged,
everything everybody else said, but I would check the trolling shaft and look for fishing line wrapped around it, would slow the motor down and could cause big trouble, if for no other reason too rule it out, I use wal-marts stowaway MAX just replaced them they were 04s, I use a 10 amp charger put it on as soon as i put it in the garage, and let it charge till it gets to zero JMO
Gary
Trojan, best I ever had.