# Marine Batteries?



## Flop (Mar 27, 2011)

Looking for info on what battery to buy. I will be using a pelican 10' bass raider with a minn kota 40# trolling motor. Figure it will work fine for some of the park ponds "Ft Yargo/Tribble Mill" near me since they are electric only. Any suggestions on what battery or batteries to take to stay out a few hours?


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## xs5875 (Mar 28, 2011)

Get you an evetstart deep cycle with 105 amp Hrs. Its like 65 bucks i put that in my 14 ft jon with a 50 lb bow mount and it does fine...


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## Lukikus2 (Mar 28, 2011)

Delco Voyager - will last all day and for at least five years.


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## wss277 (Mar 28, 2011)

Core price is $9-12.  Be sure to get a deep cycle battery, car batteries are designed to give quick bursts of high power and will not last as long running a trolling motor.


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## mgd7922 (Mar 28, 2011)

Fletch_W said:


> Last I checked at Walmart a couple weeks ago, the Everstarts were over $70, including "Core" meaning you have to bring them another battery for them to recycle to get that price. Buying one outright might be well over $100. Does anyone know where to get them cheaper?



I bought the everstart maxx at walmart a month ago for 89 dollars, they have an 18 month warranty.  The regular everstart had only a one year warranty and the maxx had better numbers.


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## pbmang (Mar 28, 2011)

If anyone needs a core and is in the Acworth area, I can hook you up.  I have a few dead batteries laying around.

The Everstarts at Wal-Mart are about the best bang for your buck IMO.  I've also had good luck with the AutoZone Duralast batteries, but they are a little more money.


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## Chief31794 (Mar 28, 2011)

Always had good service from Interstate batteries.  Just about any brand but as said before, make sure it is a deep cycle battery.

Ken


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## AU Bassman (Mar 28, 2011)

X2 on the Interstates. Put two in a fourteen ft. Alumacraft three years ago and they are still running strong, and I fish alot.

    Maintenance, charging, Keeping the cables clean,all add up to longer battery life. Always recharge immediately when you get home. They will last and last if you take care of them.


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## Gary Mercer (Mar 28, 2011)

I have been running the Everstarts from Wal Mart for about two years, and no problems.  Be sure to get the Maxx.


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## bayoubetty (Mar 28, 2011)

Gary Mercer said:


> I have been running the Everstarts from Wal Mart for about two years, and no problems.  Be sure to get the Maxx.


x2 but have had mine less than a year. Part # MAXX-29 When I bought it they said they would take ANY dead battery for core price.


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## Lawnmowerman (Mar 28, 2011)

Guess nobody's tried the Stowaway's @ Academy?
They've got good numbers too and don't take as much maintenance.
Unfortunatelly, I can prove this,,, I used to kill a battery in (2) years.
I've had one of their bigger batteries for several years now, and charge it when I get ready to go fishing.
The other batteries are great also, but you really gotta luv on em,,
"Stowaway"'s, imo are like a Timex,,


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## Lawnmowerman (Mar 28, 2011)

I paid for the higher end one, but it's sure been worth the "no trouble". 
Someone else will have to chime in on all the amps and stuff.
I just know I got a good ole big un, and she's been tough!
I wanna say I paid $79, but the one shown at that price aint the one I got.
Either way, they've held up great for me.


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## Fletch_W (Mar 28, 2011)

mgd7922 said:


> I bought the everstart maxx at walmart a month ago for 89 dollars, they have an 18 month warranty.  The regular everstart had only a one year warranty and the maxx had better numbers.



I also just read an article that said the Everstart Marine battery is a wet cell that will die quickly with a trolling motor, you have to get the Maxx version because it's a true deep cycle. The article says the way to tell is if it has vent caps, it's a wet cell battery and will crank engines just fine, but are worthless for running trolling motors.


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## Lawnmowerman (Mar 28, 2011)

My first post was gonna be:

Ask 10 people,,,,,, get 8 diff. answers,,,

You gotta find what's gonna fit you.


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## bayoubetty (Mar 28, 2011)

I just wanted to chime in once more..I remember when I bought my battery last Oct. I was told it only had a one year warranty when they use to have 18 months.  After the first of this year Wal-mart was doing away with the warranties completely on marine batteries.  If you do decide on the Everstart Marine Maxx, you may want to look into that if warranties are important to you.


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## wharfrat (Mar 28, 2011)

bayoubetty said:


> I just wanted to chime in once more..I remember when I bought my battery last Oct. I was told it only had a one year warranty when they use to have 18 months.  After the first of this year Wal-mart was doing away with the warranties completely on marine batteries.  If you do decide on the Everstart Marine Maxx, you may want to look into that if warranties are important to you.



Everstart 27's have 1 yr warrantee. Everstart Maxx are 29's and have 18 mnth warranty. I use the 27's and usually get 2-3 yrs. I use them a LOT. You gotta keep them topped off and filled with water. Invest in an onboard charger or trickle charger that you can hook up as soon as you get off the water.


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## bayoubetty (Mar 28, 2011)

wharfrat said:


> Everstart 27's have 1 yr warrantee. Everstart Maxx are 29's and have 18 mnth warranty. I use the 27's and usually get 2-3 yrs. I use them a LOT. You gotta keep them topped off and filled with water. Invest in an onboard charger or trickle charger that you can hook up as soon as you get off the water.


I have a 29 and a one year warranty.  Have you bought a new 27 since Jan and still were offered the warranty?


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## wharfrat (Mar 28, 2011)

bayoubetty said:


> I have a 29 and a one year warranty.  Have you bought a new 27 since Jan and still were offered the warranty?



yes. the 29 (MAXX) is 18mnths and the 27 1 yr. Wally did do away with the pro-rate though, which use to extend beyond the warranty. most decent 27's of any make will come with at least 1 yr warranty. I won't spend more than 70-90.00 on my trolling motor batteries, because I am pretty hard on them and never had anybody's stay 100% after 2-3 yrs...so i give wally the 70.00 for their 27's or get brand x from whoever for about 80.00  I run 2 24volt trolling motors on 2 different boats in salt and current. I found out the hard way that you should always disconnect your trolling motor while charging your batteries, if you don't, you will shorten the life of your trolling motor.


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## Flop (Mar 28, 2011)

Ty all for the info, got a good list to choose from . Going to hit some suppliers and check the prices, but thinking anything i buy i also should carry an onboard charger also "Ty for that info Wharfrat". Just trying to avoid breaking out the oh crap paddle, so might invest in 2 of whatever i get and use 1 for backup. Gonna be one loaded down little plastic boat lol.


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## bayoubetty (Mar 28, 2011)

Must be your locale..  things have changed at the Dekalb/Fulton Co area Wal-Marts
(side note, you ever come through Two Way FC? got a boat there.. no trolling motor on that one though  )


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## Lanier Jim (Mar 28, 2011)

Sounds like the battery is going to be your lifeline on the boat so why not (if possible) spend the money and get a great battery.  I've used Deka HD Marine DC Trolling Motor batteries for years.  A little more money but they sure are nice.  

The new boat had new Intersate batteries in it and they did fine Sunday.  Only time will tell but it's about an 85% chance that when the time comes, I will put Deka Batteries (even a dual purpose for cranking and electronics) back in the boat.   

One set up that I like but don't know enough about them yet is the Optima "Troll Fury" set up.   Dual 24 series Optima Blue Tops with a special battery tray holder.  The key is that they are lighter weight and 2 batteries will weigh in at about 87#s.

Just my 2 cents -

LJ


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## wharfrat (Mar 28, 2011)

Lanier Jim said:


> Sounds like the battery is going to be your lifeline on the boat so why not (if possible) spend the money and get a great battery.  I've used Deka HD Marine DC Trolling Motor batteries for years.  A little more money but they sure are nice.
> 
> The new boat had new Intersate batteries in it and they did fine Sunday.  Only time will tell but it's about an 85% chance that when the time comes, I will put Deka Batteries (even a dual purpose for cranking and electronics) back in the boat.
> 
> ...



how long do the Deka's last? (gotta bite the bullet on two more batteries this week)


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## Flop (Mar 28, 2011)

Yeah, the batteries will be my lifeline the ponds are electric only. Was talking to a friend that has the same little craft today and he also mentioned the optima blue tops, said he carries 2 with 2 full grown men on the craft and does fine with them but he mentioned that they were pricey.


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## Hut2 (Mar 28, 2011)

wharfrat said:


> yes. the 29 (MAXX) is 18mnths and the 27 1 yr. Wally did do away with the pro-rate though, which use to extend beyond the warranty. most decent 27's of any make will come with at least 1 yr warranty. I won't spend more than 70-90.00 on my trolling motor batteries, because I am pretty hard on them and never had anybody's stay 100% after 2-3 yrs...so i give wally the 70.00 for their 27's or get brand x from whoever for about 80.00  I run 2 24volt trolling motors on 2 different boats in salt and current. I found out the hard way that you should always disconnect your trolling motor while charging your batteries, if you don't, you will shorten the life of your trolling motor.



This is correct for my area also ,& I also agree on the 29 vs the 27!


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## OptimaJim (Mar 30, 2011)

Hello, I noticed your conversation regarding our batteries and wanted to offer some assistance.  It is actually nice to see so much good advice on a message board, as I usually spend most of my days correcting bad advice about how to select a battery and how to take care of it.  The key to long battery life, regardless of brand, is proper voltage maintenance.  When batteries are discharged below 12.4 volts and allowed to sit in that state, sulfation begins to diminish both performance and lifespan.  That makes a quality battery tender or maintainer an excellent investment for batteries that only see occasional use.  It is also a good idea to fully-recharge batteries as soon as you come off the water, versus waiting until the day before/day of your next fishing trip.  Again, this practice helps ward off sulfation.

Group 34M BlueTops have dark gray cases and are the marine equivalent of our Group 34 RedTop starting batteries.  These batteries will offer plenty of cranking amps for starting applications, but they are not designed or warrantied for deep-cycle applications, including trolling motors.  All BlueTops with light gray cases are designed and warrantied for both starting and deep-cycle applications.  You can view our BlueTop warranty information here. 

As wss277 mentioned, whether someone is considering our battery or another brand, if they are going to use it for trolling, they should definitely look for batteries designed for deep-cycle use.  That consideration, along with reserve capacity are far more important in trolling applications, than cranking amps or cold cranking amps.  We no longer produce the Troll Fury setup Lanier Jim described, although some of our retailer do still have that product in their inventory.  If anyone has any questions about our batteries, I'll do my best to answer them.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries


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## Fletch_W (Mar 30, 2011)

Coincidentally, I read this today from Optima website:

http://www.optimabatteries.com/product_support/resuscitating_agmbattery.php

Since you are here... answer me this please: I've got an AGM made by Power, it wasn't used over the winter and I just dragged it out from the shed (I know I know, bad practice) and it will charge up to 71% and then the Walmart Smart Charger says it's a bad battery, and won't charge. If I wait a few minutes, and hook it back up (10A/AGM setting) it will say it's back down to 10% charge and begin charging again for several more hours. 

Whenever it shuts off or clicks itself down to 2A trickle, my multimeter says it's ~9.5 V. 

Is this battery toast? I have read some things on the internet that say an AGM won't sulfate like other batteries.

I'm going to keep repeating this process until I get it up to 10.5, hopefully, and like the article linked above, will go ahead and charge on out. 

And yes, going forward, I'll be trickling this battery 24/7 in the house whether my wife likes it or not. If she wants to divorce me, you are getting subpoena'd, or at least you've got to give me an affidavit.


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## Lanier Jim (Mar 30, 2011)

Optima Jim - thanks for jumping in here.  It's great for the board when folks in the know get involved.   Now to the Blue Tops and deep cycle.   If I read right...blue top with gray body is good for trolling motors?   No more Troll Fury...dang, I thought that was a great set up...now if you only made it to use with the 27 series...that would have been awesome!   

Offer some more insight for us "ignant" guys...best Optima battery choice for Trolling Motors and best for cranking and powering electronics.   

Thanks again for the help -

LJ


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## Lawnmowerman (Mar 30, 2011)

Fletch, if you can't get it to charge up to a minimum of 12V, it's toast!
Plus, if you've charged it as much as you said, then it "died"on it's own, got a charge back up to 9.5,,,, if it wasn't illegal to dump em in the lake, I'd suggest using that one for an anchor.

Spend the extra $$, get you a good battery, take care of it, and you won't be needing that paddle. If not, I wouldn't leave home w/o it. (paddle)
Besides, peace of mind, to me, is a great investment.


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## Fletch_W (Mar 30, 2011)

Lawnmowerman said:


> Fletch, if you can't get it to charge up to a minimum of 12V, it's toast!
> Plus, if you've charged it as much as you said, then it "died"on it's own, got a charge back up to 9.5,,,, if it wasn't illegal to dump em in the lake, I'd suggest using that one for an anchor.
> 
> Spend the extra $$, get you a good battery, take care of it, and you won't be needing that paddle. If not, I wouldn't leave home w/o it. (paddle)
> Besides, peace of mind, to me, is a great investment.



This battery is $250 msrp. 

http://www.powerfactorinc.com/Batteries/prc-12120s.htm


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## Fletch_W (Mar 30, 2011)

I'm up to ten volts now, disconnecting the charger and applying the multimeter. 2A trickle... AGM setting for several hours.


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## Fishlipps Revisited (Mar 30, 2011)

i've been using these for at least 20 years now...

http://www.voltex.com/rvmarine.htm#deepcycle

replaced the ones in my bass boat the other day....the ones i replaced had been in it for almost 5 years.....and, i fish anywhere from 500-700 hours/year......most of it standing on my trolling motor....

i just bought 2 more last week for backups in the electric boat....about $185 for 2....

pretty danged good batteries.....


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## porkbelly (Mar 30, 2011)

Fishlipps Revisited said:


> i've been using these for at least 20 years now...
> 
> http://www.voltex.com/rvmarine.htm#deepcycle
> 
> ...



I couldn't find the battery you are talking about. Could you tell us which one?


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## Fishlipps Revisited (Mar 30, 2011)

porkbelly said:


> I couldn't find the battery you are talking about. Could you tell us which one?



on my invoice, it says...

DC27   12V  715CA  200 min RC

i get them @ Voltex in Cartersville..


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## Bugpac (Mar 30, 2011)

Dump them in the lake? Has anyone priced scrap battery's lately? It well worth the effort to haul it to a recyclers. Your far ahead of the game to buy a agm type battery vs a standard wet cell.


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## Flop (Mar 30, 2011)

TY all for the info! I have learned way more than what I was looking for but that is always a good thing! unfortunately price is an issue atm, I would love to go with the high-end batteries but for now i just have to get the best bang for my buck until this economy improves. Thinking about 1 or 2 of these

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/SSB0/27DCM.oap?keyword=marine&pt=N0056&ppt=C1980

Super Start - Marine Deep Cycle Battery
Part # 27DCM $82.99, have a friend giving me 2 cores.

  Anyone tried this battery yet? Couldn't find much info of anyone that has used it but the specs look good i think? OptimaJim mentioned "The key to long battery life, regardless of brand, is proper voltage maintenance". Any recommendations for a charger for this battery, home charger or onboard charger? Which would you use?


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## Fishlipps Revisited (Mar 30, 2011)

Flop said:


> TY all for the info! I have learned way more than what I was looking for but that is always a good thing! unfortunately price is an issue atm, I would love to go with the high-end batteries but for now i just have to get the best bang for my buck until this economy improves. Thinking about 1 or 2 of these
> 
> http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/SSB0/27DCM.oap?keyword=marine&pt=N0056&ppt=C1980
> 
> ...



i can tell you what I do.....and, i've read TONS of articles on battery care....and, i seem to get pretty good service out of mine....

1.  when you get home from fishing, check the cells (if they have them) for water level.....if any of them are low, top them off with DISTILLED water...

charging a battery with a portion of the plates exposed will result in the loss of that much capacity...permanently...

2.  charge them as soon as you get home.....

3.  i use a 2/10 amp charger with an automatic cutoff.....if i'm going fishing the next day, i use the 10 amp setting....if not, i use the 2 amp setting, and leave it on for a full day.....then, i flip it on 10 amp until the "fully charged" light comes on....which is usually within a couple of minutes.....


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## Flop (Mar 30, 2011)

Also wanted to say that i was wrong on my original info, Fort Yargo is not electric only. I was informed that you can use up to 10Hp on this lake but for me will be trolling only.


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## Bugpac (Mar 31, 2011)

Flop, Contact Gabigdon on this forum, ask him about batterys.


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## OptimaJim (Mar 31, 2011)

Hi Fletch_W, we created this YouTube video, which explains the second recovery option described in the link you posted.  I am not familiar with that particular charger, but sometimes wiring a second, fully-charged battery in parallel will “trick” a charger into sending a charge to the discharged battery that it might not otherwise be able to recognize, because of the low voltage present in that battery.  

Some chargers (and your's may be one of them) will not recognize or charge any battery that has been discharged below a certain voltage threshold, which is typically around 10.5 volts.  However, just because a battery has been deeply-discharged below that level doesn't necessarily mean it is bad.  My wife's truck runs on a YellowTop that was returned to us under warranty, discharged down to 7 volts.  Once we properly recharged it, it has worked fine ever since.  Once you fully-charge a battery, if it cannot maintain close to it's maximum voltage for 12-24 hours afterwards, without being attached to anything, it may need to be recycled.  

LJ, you are correct about BlueTops with the light gray cases being the correct battery for trolling applications.  Generally speaking, a physically larger battery will offer more cranking amps and more reserve capacity.  I don't know why the BCI (Battery Council International) uses the numerical system they do to describe battery sizes, but a Group 31 battery is bigger than a Group 27 battery, which is bigger than a Group 34 battery.  You can view all the specifications on our BlueTops here.  You may notice that the 34M BlueTop has the same rating for cranking amps as the D27M BlueTop.  However, as I mentioned previously, the 34M BlueTop (with the black case) is designed for starting and there is generally a trade-off between cranking amps and reserve capacity- more of one will equal less of the other in like-sized batteries and even some batteries that differ in size.

Flop, Optima does not officially endorse any specific brand of charger, however, they will let me provide general information about what to look for in quality units.  The best maintainers are microprocessor-controlled and there are two basic types of maintenance chargers. Fully-automatic, “multi-stage or multi-step” chargers will monitor the battery and charge it as necessary. Multi-stage maintainers will charge at varying voltages and varying amperage (rarely exceeding 2 amps). Some of these multi-step chargers are also capable of being regular battery chargers (7 amps or more). These types of chargers are preferred. 

Traditional “float” chargers provide constant voltage with tapering amperage to the battery, even when it is fully-charged. For float-charging, we recommend 1 amp max, 13.2-13.8 volts. These are OK too, but the multi-stage chargers are a better option.  If anyone has any other questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
http://www.optimabatteries.com/trueblue


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## Lanier Jim (Mar 31, 2011)

OptimaJim - great info...we need more folks in specific fields to jump in when they can offer "real" info.   I have a few questions for you...

1.  I'm going to use a 12V set up in parallel.  I had planned to use Dekas again (I've used them for years) but would like to try to D34M or D27M for my Minn Kota Edge 55# thrust.  I like the lighter weight of the Optimas.   So - with this trolling motor...and I don't use it a ton when fishing...just short movements to stay on deep structure...do you feel the D34M's would work fine or get the 27 series in the event the wind would ever blow on Lanier  

2.  Reccomend a charger for me.  I've been looking at the Minn Kota 2 Bank with 10amps per channel or the Recreation Series from Dual Pro with 6 amps per side.  Any thoughts? 

3.  Cranking battery that will also run all my electronics.  My engine is a 2 stroke Merc 150 XR2...27 series or the black cranking blue top 34M?  I leave my dash unit on but turn off the sonar when I go to the bow to fish...thus leaving the gps still operating at the dash...and vice versa when I'm moving to another spot.   I have killed my cranking battery before and was told that the gps will pull enough amps to being the cranking battery down.  Thus, I changed to a dual purpose.  Does this make sense to you?  

Thanks for the help -

LJ


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## billdurham (Mar 31, 2011)

Flop... whatever battery you buy.. from the information that everybody has posted.. the charging technique used is as important to the life of the battery as the brand and size.  I have Wal Mart batteries that are all over 2 years old and seem to be working just fine.  I have learned that by using a timer on my charger, only charging the batteries 12hr per day has greatly extended the life of my batteries.  Before, I had my Guest 10a charger (built in my boat) powered 24/7 and I went through a couple of sets of batteries in pretty short order.  It may be that this situation is exclusive to the Guest charger, but I doubt it.  Treat the batteries.. any battery right, and they will last IMO.  

BD


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## Fletch_W (Apr 1, 2011)

This looks like a good deal from Academy, one of the Stowaways mentioned earlier. Here's a link to the data sheet for Exide, the maker of Stowaway. 

http://netfev.org/rialta/vw/vw_images/engine_battery_001.pdf

This is $59.99.

http://www.academy.com/index.php?pa...batteries&start=8&selectedSKU=0105-00150-0326

Group 27, 95 Amp hours (some people online say it's 160 AH but I can't find anything more official to verify that, it's not on the tech sheet above)  If there's a 12 month or longer warranty, not stated, I think this is a great deal. Particularly for myself, using a 17 pound thrust at a 300 acre lake, only 100 acres of which I actually fish. 


The Everstart Maxx batteries at Walmart today were all $85 plus core ($9 without a recycle) and they were all over 2 months old on the shelf. And, it's not a 24 month warranty as advertised online, it's only 18 months, and the regular Everstart deep cycles (not the max) were $70+core and only have a 12 month warranty.


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## OptimaJim (Apr 1, 2011)

Lanier Jim, what size batteries are you using right now for your Minn Kota?  I wish I were more familiar with Lanier's wind conditions.  However, Minn Kota is owned by Johnson Outdoors, which is based in my hometown.  I called over there this morning and they said they don't recommend batteries smaller than Group 27s on that motor, although the woman I spoke to also thought a Group 34 was bigger than a Group 27.  I think if the size of battery you have used in the past has delivered enough power throughout the day, a comparble group size should as well.  If you started noticing a drop-off in power later in the day, you may want to move up to a larger battery.

I know you'd really like me to recommend a charger, but as I mentioned previously, Optima only allows me to provide general information about chargers.  Your best bet might be to contact the charger manufacturers and ask them about their products.  Microprocessor-controlled chargers are preferred, but if a manufacturer is not familiar with the differences between gel and AGM batteries or lumps them together, it might be best to look elsewhere.    

As for your cranking battery, I would again ask what size you are using now.  Given the size of your engine, I would not recommend a Group 34 battery, but if you have killed a Group 27 cranking battery with your GPS before, you may even want to consider a Group 31.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries


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## MD746 (Apr 4, 2011)

What about the group 31 farm and commercial battery from Carquest the ones for dump trucks compared to a group 27 deep cycle? I was told the 31 would last longer running trolling motors for an extended period.


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## OptimaJim (Apr 5, 2011)

MD746, I cannot comment on batteries from other companies, but generally speaking, Group 31 batteries are physically larger than Group 27 batteries and should be capable of delivering more energy (cranking power, reserve capacity, etc...), with all other factors being equal.  However, that becomes more of an apples and oranges comparison if you start comparing different battery types (starting vs. deep-cycle or flooded vs. dry) and brands.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.powerpacknation.com


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