Batteries

[AaronS]

Well I'll go against the grain. I needed 2 new trolling batteries and 1 new cranking battery for our boat this past spring. I searched for reviews and Deka consistently got high reviews. Much higher than Interstate. I talked to my local Napa guy and found that their batteries were made by Deka, so Napa are now in the boat. I only have 1 season on them so I can't tell you yet how they'll do long term.

[mhall]

Well I'll go against the grain. I needed 2 new trolling batteries and 1 new cranking battery for our boat this past spring. I searched for reviews and Deka consistently got high reviews. Much higher than Interstate. I talked to my local Napa guy and found that their batteries were made by Deka, so Napa are now in the boat. I only have 1 season on them so I can't tell you yet how they'll do long term.

Aaron I really wasn't busting on Deka just to clarify I had a Deka cranking battery on the big motor that lasted over 11 years.....seriously over 11 years. I have tried their high end deep cycle several times now and about 3 or 4 years on the trolling motor is all I get before they lose all pizazz.

Thanks for the heads up on NAPA I may try them. My wife and her family own and run a Body Shop and they sell Interstate. I can get them wholesale I may go back and try them again.

[softballer]

i get mine at World Wide Batteries in Louisville. They last 3 years and are very affordable.

[fishindude]

I have used Interstate, Deka, Wally World and Energizer from Sam's just to name a few. The Energizers have lasted me five years so far. I changed my charging schedule with those. I don't think it is coincidence that I charge them every 30 days during hunting season and immediately after returning home from a trip. I believe it is more important to charge them quickly after use and no longer than every 30 days when not in use. I don't feel I need to buy the more expensive brands anymore. P.S. I do not have a full time trickle charger.

[AaronS]

Aaron I really wasn't busting on Deka just to clarify I had a Deka cranking battery on the big motor that lasted over 11 years.....seriously over 11 years. I have tried their high end deep cycle several times now and about 3 or 4 years on the trolling motor is all I get before they lose all pizazz.

Thanks for the heads up on NAPA I may try them. My wife and her family own and run a Body Shop and they sell Interstate. I can get them wholesale I may go back and try them again.

I didn't take it that way at all. I was just sharing the reviews I'd read. Do you keep your batteries at full charge? I'd think that would help extend their life. Then again, I don't get to fish nearly as much as I'd like, so that will help extend their life too. My boat has an on-board charger and it stays plugged in any time I'm not fishing. Since I've winterized the boat, I have the batteries in the basement and plug them into a Battery Tender Jr. once a month to keep them at full charge.

[mhall]

I didn't take it that way at all. I was just sharing the reviews I'd read. Do you keep your batteries at full charge? I'd think that would help extend their life. Then again, I don't get to fish nearly as much as I'd like, so that will help extend their life too. My boat has an on-board charger and it stays plugged in any time I'm not fishing. Since I've winterized the boat, I have the batteries in the basement and plug them into a Battery Tender Jr. once a month to keep them at full charge.

I knew you you didn't I just wanted to clarify about the Deka's I guess. You know I do real decent at keeping them charged with the on board charger but I don not keep them plugged in all the time I don't trust that for some reason. I cooked a set with an on board a long time ago and haven't trusted one since. I keep the boat in a unheated garage that never gets super cold but I have probably neglected them a time or two.

I do try and charge them immediately when I get home from fishing though. Man I hear ya on not getting to fish as much I have fished less this year than any year in the last ten..............Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[AaronS]

Well, my wife and I made it out on the boat about 5 times, and fished from the bank 5 or 10 more this year. That's more fishing that I'd done the last 20 years combined.

BUT, if I could I'd be on the water every weekend.

[R19]

I have found that the key to longevity with any deep cycle battery is having a good maintenance routine and also having a good charger. I regularly check the water to make sure the plates are covered. I only fill them with distilled water. Tap water or anything enhanced with minerals will form deposits/calcium buildup on the plates so I only use distilled water to fill a battery. I charge as soon as I get home. I Never let them sit not fully charged. HEAT is the BIGGEST enemy a battery has. In the heat of summer if your batteries are sitting because you are not using them they will naturally discharge faster than if it was cold outside. In the heat of summer I top mine off if they have set for 10 days/2 weeks. If its been cool/cold outside I will go 3 weeks before I top them off if they have been sitting. A good quality charger that has a minimum of 10 amps per bank is what I like. I also want a charger that charges in stages. A lot of chargers have a float mode where you can leave the charger plugged in 24/7 but I am not a fan of that system so I always unplug as soon as they are charged full. My battery charger is mounted in a well ventilated area in the bilge. I also run a box fan pointed at my bilge area to help cool the charger plus it also dissipates fumes from the charging process. Heat is hard on the charger as well as the batteries so I keep them both well ventilated.

I have good luck out of Superlex batteries. They are made in Russell Springs KY. by a company named Superior Battery. I get mine in Somerset KY at a battery wholesale store. For a cranking battery I use a Superlex 31D29. It is a group 31 cranking battery with 1060 MCA and 850 CCA with 215 minutes of reserve for $150. The battery I just described is a BEAST. It has a lot of cranking amps and more reserve run time than most other cranking batteries. I use the Superlex 27D27 which is group 27 trolling motor battery that has 185 minutes of reserve. It cost a few more dollars than the other two group 27 trolling motor batteries that they make but I buy the one with the most reserve run time.

I have seen high dollar good quality batteries go bad after one season of use because of poor maintenance. I have also seen el-cheapo batteries last 5 years or more because of good maintenance. I am not convinced that high dollars batteries are that much better than lower dollar batteries.

[Bent Loomis]

Has anybody tried the optimas ? Just curious if anybody has tried them and if they believe they are worth the extra dollars.

[Shellkat]

I totally agree on takeing care of batteries. I charge mine with on board charger as soon as i come home. I do not leave it plugged in,in a day or so after charging i will unplug unit. Now if i dont use them i will plug them up for a few minutes every month just till light goes off. I plug up the night before i go fishing. My wallys are 5 years old.

[Skeeterbob]

Thanks for all the information. I have used auto zone and optima batteries and had good luck with both. The auto zone batteries lasted 5 to 6 years. The optima i liked because they are jell and there is no water to be added. I only used them for 2 years because i sold my boat. They seem to charge a lot faster but the cost is the down fall. Was Mart batteries have got excellent reviews so i bought 4 of them yesterday. They were 99.00 each for that price and they last 3 years they will be well worth it. I agree i think the life of a battery is how well it is taking care of. Don't know if this is right but this is what i do. I charge them up as soon as i get home from the lake with my on board charger. Once that is done i plug my charger into a 5.00 timer and they charge 2 hours in the morning and 2 hrs in the evening. Another thing i believe you can do if your boat sits along time is put the batteries on a 2amp trickle charger. All this seems to work for me. WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK?

I also have a small boat with has 2 batteries that sit all year without charging them. I use the boat only in the winter and that is the only time they get charged. So what i'm saying is that the batteries si for 10 months without a charge and they last for several years. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

[Moveon]

I got tired of poor batteries dying on me when I needed them the most. So I went and replaced all two of my boat's batteries with the Blue Top Optima's. One was a starting/deep cycle combo and the other was just for deep cycle and I put that one on my 12V trolling motor 50lb thrust. My little Fishermarine Aluminum 16 ft boat would go all day long on a full charge of the deep cycle trolling battery. And I could recharge is within 4 hours usually.

I went with the optima as their shelf life is better and they are much more resistant to vibrations that regular batteries due to the way they are made. They also don't require any water and are maintenance free for the most part.

They have lead that's purer and this gives it less resistance to charging so they charge up faster and the design prevents them from fast discharging when sitting around on the shelf. They can hold a charge for a years according to the marketing guys.

I got 7 years out of the first set and then I got two new batteries. The old set is have inside my house and used them for emergency power. Both of them still accept a charge nicely.

The two newest ones are in the boat and they worked well the first few years and are still in my baot. But I've not used the boat much in the last two years. I just got tired of fishing from my boat and have it stored inside the garage. So I just charge the batteries up once ever few months. More like topping them off for a few minutes as they don't loose too much charge just sitting in the boat in the garage.