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Member
Posts: 74
Location: Spring Valley,Il. | I have bought alot of different brand batteries for the trolling motor and cant seem to get more than 2-3 years out of them.Anybody know of a good brand? |
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| Optima Batteries are tought to beat. They will definitely last longer than traditional lead acid. Long run times and quick recharges. |
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| I will second the blue top Optima's. Havent had a battery issue in three years.
Robert Blosser |
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Member
Posts: 74
Location: Spring Valley,Il. | What is the difference between the blue top and the yellow top?Both are deep cycle.Is one better than the other? |
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Member
Posts: 650
| I've been a big fan of delco batteries since I've been fishing. at this time they are easy to get, I go to a local car place and they are there in a few days. set of TM batteries are on there 2nd year and still strong, with bad TLC by me I may add...
I just replaced my main cranking battery with a Optima D31M. Fantastic so far. I'm running alot of electronics, livewells etc never lost any juice. even had a bad alternator and kept me going for a weekend! will, down the road, get 2 more for the TM.
Optima's are expensive. I got the best price at Auto Zone, battery was there in 2 days. I did notice that Cabelas had them on sale in a recent catalog. Shop around some... might save some $$$ |
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| The difference in the yellow and the blue top really is the application.
Basically, the Bluetop terminals are positioned for a Marine application and the Yellow top are more of a commercial or specialty application.
I run the 31 series Bluetops. By the way the 31's fit in a 27 series tray if you are currently running 27's. |
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Member
Posts: 2445
Location: Fremont, Wisconsin | Klino, what are you looking for in a new battery? Longevity on the water? longevity over years, or more power delivered quickly? That will assist in pointing you in the right direction. |
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Member
Posts: 43
| I will risk being the dissenting opinion here in regard to Optima batteries. I purchased two Optima 31's for my trolling motor back in 2004 and used them two years. On more than one occasion I ran out of power in an eight hour tournament fighting winds with heavy trolling motor usage. It stands to reason. The Optima 31's, both yellow and blue top, only have 175 minutes of reserve capacity. Going into 2006 I replaced these with two Trojan 31 series standard wet cell batteries which have a reserve capacity of 225 minutes. I never ran out of battery power that year or the following year. The Trojans did not last as long as I would have preferred but for the three years I used them I never ran out of power. When these came due for replacement, Trojans had gone up in price horrendously and I could not justify spending the extra money so I opted for Deka series 31 standard wet cell batteries. They went into the boat in September of 2008 and have been going strong since.
The two Optimas which came out of my boat in 2006 were passed along to my brother and he is only now getting ready to replace them. They do last. They are resistant to vibration. They do NOT leak. They just don't have the reserve capacity which I needed. The numbers for reserve capacity really do mean something. |
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| Agree with rod holder.
Ran optima's for a couple years thinking they were the best. My personal opinion now is that they are not worth the extra money. Running interstates now with no problems. Optima's work good but not worth the hefty price when others do an equal job. Like rod holder said pay attention to the numbers. |
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| I can buy 9 batteries for the price of three optima batteries. Do the math if I get three years out of the batteries switch them three times equals nine years. Optima maybe four years. Don't be fooled by sponsers on this one;) |
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Member
Posts: 1040
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I will third that of the Optima Bluetops! Got my first set last year and I will say, I've run multiple days without recharging before, simply the best batteries I've owned. |
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Member
Posts: 48
Location: Beloit | I too like the blue tops, My first set lasted just over 4 years of hard use guiding /fishing 150+ days a season. On a second set and have learned alot about AGM batts and charging. One of the most important parts of keeping anything battery working properly is the correct charger all are not the same and or charge the same. I am not sponsored by anyone just use what works the best for me. I'm really seeing a good improvment on reserve running time after the educational talk with rbb & Joe O.:) Thank you again Guys... Scott Hill
Edited by fishthrills 8/25/2010 9:37 AM
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Member
Posts: 794
Location: Elgin, Illinois | For what it is worth... I have been using these products for the last few years (4) and am very satisfied (convinced really) that they woprk as advertised...
I have a good three bank GUEST charger and I am pretty good about charging after I get home... One of my Everstarts is on its 5th year... I just replaced an older starting battery that was three years old when I first used the product... I replaced that battery this July (after it was dated 2002). It was weak but still working.
http://www.batteryde-mister.com/ |
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Member
Posts: 11
Location: Akron Ohio | This is interesting. http://www.sterling-power.com/support-faq-2.htm |
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Member
Posts: 344
Location: Manitowoc WI | Wal-mart everstart marine group 29's 59.99$ use as main trolling motor batteries. replace every 2 years weather they are bad or not. if they are good they go in the duck boat to power lights.
They have great run time. and u will have new ones every two years. OR buy 1 battery for 239$ and by year 3 or 4 get nervous. |
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Member
Posts: 650
| I'll throw this on here before I leave for a few days off. might get flamed but I won't be around to be burnt. If you are running down batteries in one day, you need to look at your charging, or upgrade to a 3 battery system.
I DO NOT TRUST AN ON BOARD CHARGER. period. just took mine out of the boat this year. I've had every brand out there. these sealed mystery boxes are a great sell. just plug and forget. when that green light comes on "charging complete" is it?? here is the test I ran...
Fished 3 days in may without charging the TM batteries. never ran down. (3rd year delco 27's) got home, hooked up minn kota on board charger, very new. went in side drank beer. 3 hours later, stumbled out, checked charger. "charging colmplete" Bull crappy... got another beer... unhooked charger put in garage. hooked up my little schumacher charger, ran for 12 hours before charging complete. switched batteries, same result. 2 weeks later fished 3 days with out charging no problem. july 4th, fished 3 hard days no charging no problem. charger ran for almost 18 hours on each battery.
Now this works for me. I've simplified the wiring in my boat. I have an easy to remove jumper wire on my boat. I take the 30 seconds to unhook it every time I charge. clip on charger drink beer. next day repeat process with other battery. may skip the beer. this is working for me. i'm not a hardcore tourney guy anymore, nor a guide. fact is 3 times this year, I went away for 3 days and never worried about my batteries. FYI I'm on my tm hard all day.
I watch tourneys on the net and some big name guys on the elite trail came to the weigh in, griping about battery issues. couldn't help but wonder, maybe the onboard charger plugged into a hotel with a 7000 ft lead cord was the problem. or the fact that the charger hits every bump the boat does, gets insanely hot in the boat, and lets not forget towing down these bad roads. every bump. not me. oh yeah, stays in the boat in winter.
so I can only suggest taking a look at your whole electrical system. I sat down, with a 12 pack of landsharks, pad, got the system I wanted. bought supplies. replaced all my plugs with min kota plugs. ended up taking about 25 feet of wire outa the loop. Simple simple simple. I get done fishing, I unhook jumper, clip on my little schumacher charger, repeat next day with other battery. I will buy another charger soon to double up. Meter on charger tells me alot.
So I've spoken. I'm gonna guess guys fish more than me. If you do, do you wanna trust a little green light??
I just blew the whole morning now. gonna shave for my trip!! see you guys!!
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Posts: 2445
Location: Fremont, Wisconsin | quote from the iceman35
went in side drank beer. 3 hours later, stumbled out,
hahahahahah some day I gotta meet this guy, this phrase is in every post he makes. |
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| diehard platinum. Gel battery made by odyssey - none better in my opinion. Dumped my optima's - these are way better, IMO. Research odyssey batteries and see why. |
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| With out a doubt ODYSSEY(Trolling Thunder)battery hands down the best . www.odysseybattery.com check out the warranty |
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Member
Posts: 650
| well, stack, you hook up one of those 1890's or X 190s, drag it to ny for a test drive and I'll buy the beer and beef. will get some chicken for komo too.
FYI--- just got back this weekend. 4 days of hard fishing. I alternated nights which battery to charge. no problem. In the battery compartment, for the long trip, with no onboard in there, threw an extra battery in there for fun. just in case... |
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Which Trolling Motor Batteries?