Looking For Advice On Marine Batteries

nootron69 · April 15, 2010

Well, the weather has turned favorable for boating and fishing here in Pennsylvania. Started prepping the boat for the season, and realized my battery (for my 54 lb thrust trolling motor) is shot. I have a 17 foot Jon boat, and in the past I used it on lakes that only allow trolling motors. I am thinking about buying a 20 hp Yamaha 4 stroke, so with a new battery purchase I want the best of both worlds, with cranking amps and trolling capability. I have heard the gel batts are great, albeit expensive, but that is not an issue. I appreciate any input!

98silvz71 · April 15, 2010

Well, the weather has turned favorable for boating and fishing here in Pennsylvania. Started prepping the boat for the season, and realized my battery (for my 54 lb thrust trolling motor) is shot. I have a 17 foot Jon boat, and in the past I used it on lakes that only allow trolling motors. I am thinking about buying a 20 hp Yamaha 4 stroke, so with a new battery purchase I want the best of both worlds, with cranking amps and trolling capability. I have heard the gel batts are great, albeit expensive, but that is not an issue. I appreciate any input!

Don't have a boat but we put those AGM batteries in our four wheelers since they sit for longer periods at a time and they fire right up now without any trickle charging. I suppose you would still have to trickle charge it since you are using it for trolling.

nootron69 · April 15, 2010

Well, the weather has turned favorable for boating and fishing here in Pennsylvania. Started prepping the boat for the season, and realized my battery (for my 54 lb thrust trolling motor) is shot. I have a 17 foot Jon boat, and in the past I used it on lakes that only allow trolling motors. I am thinking about buying a 20 hp Yamaha 4 stroke, so with a new battery purchase I want the best of both worlds, with cranking amps and trolling capability. I have heard the gel batts are great, albeit expensive, but that is not an issue. I appreciate any input!

Don't have a boat but we put those AGM batteries in our four wheelers since they sit for longer periods at a time and they fire right up now without any trickle charging. I suppose you would still have to trickle charge it since you are using it for trolling.

I am kind of leaning that way, have heard a lot of great things about them. What is the longest you have let your 4 wheelers sit and then fired them right up?

nootron69 · April 15, 2010

Well, the weather has turned favorable for boating and fishing here in Pennsylvania. Started prepping the boat for the season, and realized my battery (for my 54 lb thrust trolling motor) is shot. I have a 17 foot Jon boat, and in the past I used it on lakes that only allow trolling motors. I am thinking about buying a 20 hp Yamaha 4 stroke, so with a new battery purchase I want the best of both worlds, with cranking amps and trolling capability. I have heard the gel batts are great, albeit expensive, but that is not an issue. I appreciate any input!

Bump...help guys, gotta buy today!

tflessner · April 15, 2010

A buddy of mine has the Optima Blue Top, dual purpose starting/deep cycle battery and loves it. He keeps telling me I should get one, but they're over my budget right now! He paid a little over $200, but says they are worth it.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/optima_prod...uetop/index.php

nootron69 · April 15, 2010

A buddy of mine has the Optima Blue Top, dual purpose starting/deep cycle battery and loves it. He keeps telling me I should get one, but they're over my budget right now! He paid a little over $200, but says they are worth it.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/optima_prod...uetop/index.php

Damn, that is super salty, but I definitely need something super strong like that. Guess I have to say goodbye to the last of my Iraq savings! Thanks a bunch, man!

stormrider · April 15, 2010

I have two deep cycle marine batteries. One is for cranking the motor and the other is for the trolling motor.

having two always gives you a backup if the trolling motor gets weak and you are against a current

nootron69 · April 15, 2010

I have two deep cycle marine batteries. One is for cranking the motor and the other is for the trolling motor.
having two always gives you a backup if the trolling motor gets weak and you are against a current

my old batt is not totally shot, but def not the best...thinking about buying an optima blue top and keeping my old one as a backup for nav and interior lights, as well as the home made livewell I constructed from an oversized cooler and bilge pump! If anyone wants the plans for my nav lights or bilge pump livewell pm me. Both are cheaper than you can buy. I think I will post pics in another post!

fishinf1 · May 26, 2010

I run 2 Optima gel cell in my boat they are both about 5 years old and no problems. I run these for the abuse Jet boats on the river put on them. Lots of shock resistance.

In the winter charge them enough to keep the acid from freezing and becoming a dead zone of water. just my 2 cents.

pokemont17 · September 14, 2010

Well, the weather has turned favorable for boating and fishing here in Pennsylvania. Started prepping the boat for the season, and realized my battery (for my 54 lb thrust trolling motor) is shot. I have a 17 foot Jon boat, and in the past I used it on lakes that only allow trolling motors. I am thinking about buying a 20 hp Yamaha 4 stroke, so with a new battery purchase I want the best of both worlds, with cranking amps and trolling capability. I have heard the gel batts are great, albeit expensive, but that is not an issue. I appreciate any input!

I also think so.

__________________

Watch Alpha And Omega Online Free

uh6tdrvr · February 20, 2011

We have some Interstate deep cycle batteries in my dads boat that are 6 years old and with a over night charge we can fish all day and thats with a Min kota 101lb thrust pulling 36 volts on the river in a 4,000lb boat. Nothing BUT interstate IMO and its not the fist set we have had for over 6+ years either.

Diesail · February 20, 2011

Lot of misconceptions about batteries. One that comes up a lot is gel batteries and AGM. There are basically three types of batteries.

1) Old fashion flooded batteries

2) AGM – Absorbent Glass Mat. These are basically a flooded battery that has the acid contained in a glass mat. While they are spill proof and sealed the chemistry is the same as a flooded battery and does not REQUIRE any special charging. Common brands that fall into this category are Optima, Odyssey and Sears Platinum.

3) Gel Cells – These are a whole different beast and should not be confused with AGM. They are a whole different chemistry and have slightly different voltages and very different charging characteristics. If connected to a traditional battery charger they will never fully charge. In a nutshell you don’t want these.

As to what is the best, IMO good old fashion batteries off the best bang for the buck when maintained correctly. A battery is good for so many charge / discharge cycles, period! The number of cycles is exponential related to the depth of discharge. For a flooded battery as a rule you try never to go below 50% discharge as this gives you the best life for the dollar. A good AGM such as an Odyssey will go much deeper at 80% for its best return on the cost / discharge / charge cycle.

What most people do not realize is when a battery is sitting unused it is being discharged. So when you put your boat away for the winter the battery has sat that going dead. A single 100% of a battery can be enough to destroy it. Just a couple of winters of near 100% while the boat is in storage and the battery is toast. Proper storage is the key. Anytime a battery is not in used it should be kept fully on a small maintenance or float charger. I maintain a large bank of batteries on a sailboat and the last set lasted 10 years and where just showing signs of failing. A flooded cell can discharge as much as 20% a month just sitting not even connected to anything. An AGM has a much smaller self-discharge rate of about 3-5%.

So best bang for the buck. Any name brand dual purpose marine battery and a $40 float charger that is plugged in any time the battery is not in use. If that is not an option then AGM, it will get you through several months of sitting without a charge.

As to which AGM battery, IMO the Sears Diehard Platinum is the best value going right now. These are made by Odyssey and pricing is pretty close to a Optima.