Trolling Batteries???

[Tom(fishfafun) Lutz]

Just wondering....



What type of trolling batteries do you use and why?



Having some problems (again) with mine and thinking of changing brands/type....



Thanks for the info



Tom

 

[Jack K]

Just bought a couple of Group 27 Die Hard
http://www.sears.com/sr/automotive/...eID=ccidadciimfmgghcehgcemgdffmdflg.0&vertica

 

[Larry Harp]

Everstart Marine Maxx



Why? Big & yellow--must be better. 65 bucks @ Wal-Mart.

Just bought it a couple of months ago, so far so good, haven't run it dead yet.



Harpo

 

[Michael Snow]

Tom, are the batteries the problem, or are YOU the problem? What brand are you using? Do you put the boat on the charger when you get back from fishing? Do you charge it all the way? Do you ever run the batteries down all the way?

 

[Scott Wildwood]

I just got this from my old man who's an electrical wiz. I'm now at 37 years old, at 21 I learned to listen to the old man.

With two batteries in parallel neither battery will be at full charge. The lower battery will always drawn from the higher and they will walk one another down to nothing at all. Two solutions to fix. Battery isolator or a disconnect between the two.



B/R

Wildwood

 

[Paul Mazza]

I've been using Duracels lately-- lots of em...

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Everstart Maxx. Can't beat them for the money and if you have any problems bring them to any local Wal-Mart. Great for traveling to distant tourneys.

 

[Texas Transplant]

I'm not sure of the brand in the Stratos that I bought. However, when they need replacing, I'm going to WalMart and getting the Everstart Maxx's.



Most of the better brands are very, very similar, if not close to identical. With Everstart, there is almost always a WalMart not too far away. No questions asked.



Tex

 

[Tom(fishfafun) Lutz]

Maybe Mike....but according to all my sources I'm doing everything correctly. Plug in after each use and again the night before next trip...still full of water. Hydometer tells me they still need charge after green lights are on Dual Pro. Commercial battery tester says "Replace".

First set lasted 1 year and 3-4 months, replaced on pro-rated warranty and now this set is bad after 11 months. I won't go into brands but these bad ones are very popular batteries for installation in a lot of new boats and also highly available. Cost is $80-$95 a battery.

I got a line on a set of Trojans with much more reserve capacity (225 min. as opposed to 160 min. I now run) for a little more money or I'm considering Optima's due to the longevity (350 deep cycles)but those things cost 2 times a much ($170 ea.)...may or may not be worth it?

The thing I've noticed most in this is everyone I've talked to on the phone says something different...All trying to get you to buy their battery brand and that is the solution, not the T motor or charger, just a better/bigger battery! Only thing they agree on is I'm taking care of the batteries I've got now properly...so?



So you want to own a boat!!!!!!!!!!

Ha......



Tom

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Tom, Rich posted something about how Optima's aren't good for deep cycle (even though they bill them as "marine"). If I had to guess, I would say that your current batteries are Interstates........Something else to consider is that your on board charger might be going out (how often do you go through those?). Lot of chatter about on-board's not putting in a full charge. That would lead to premature failure. I have a Guest (so does Rob) and it fully charges BEFORE kicking into the maintenance or "trickle charge" mode. I would check the charger just to make sure.



TOXIC

 

[Tom(fishfafun) Lutz]

Actually Curtis, I do fish often but only about 75 days a year in my boat (I've been posting those reports since 2001)and at last count I think I'm up to 149-150 since then (yeah, I'm a lucky guy that has a good wife who puts up with my hobby).

You make a good point and that is the info I'm getting around here, just using them up! Just looking for something that'll last me longer....

Also, TOXIC, it is a newer Dual Pro, other was replaced on warranty and it showed some inconcistancies with the LEDs when I had the problem, so far LEDs seem normal (red on first plug in and green some hours later, both sides), but even that may be a problem that'll have to be checked out.

Thanks for the help so far.