Marine Battery Recommendations

Guys I’m close to pulling the trigger on a boat Saturday. Luckily I have relatively modest needs for power (55 to 80lb Minnkota and 25hp)

I’m curious about battery choices as I know Trojan has a great reputation, but I’m wondering if its a commodity market? Years ago this was dominated by Optima, but I’ve heard plenty of complaints. What would you recommend? I’m thinking with a 25hp motor putting out 12v 13Amps 55ah (2) is overkill?

Let me know what you think about brands and cost. I’ve heard Duracell are actually solid? But its about capacity and reliability and I’m an Interstate guy at heart.

Personally I use the AC delco voyager marine battery. I only run a 55lb trolling motor and it is more than enough. and I do believe it is the m27mf.

I’ve always run EverStart Maxx from Walmart. Buy the largest that’ll fit your battery compartment.

Nothing wrong with Interstate, but $300 can buy me 3 Everstarts or 2 Interstates.

I’ve researched this extensively… My next batteries will be Duracell Platinum AGM G31’s from Sams Club.

Francis K wrote:

I’ve always run EverStart Maxx from Walmart.

I’ve had good luck with these, too.

I will be needing a new starting battery this spring. have a 140 outboard and a 9.9 kicker attached as well as the hummingbird fish finder on it. what recommendations do you guys have for starter batteries? There are so many different options… The one I had from cabelas lasted only 1 season before taking a crap

looks like the price is right on those EverStart Maxx batteries. I don’t want to have to swap out batteries every other year but I agree with the logic – if you can get 2 decent batteries for the price of 1 excellent battery go for it. thanks ill give those a try.

crappie55369 wrote:

I will be needing a new starting battery this spring. have a 140 outboard and a 9.9 kicker attached as well as the hummingbird fish finder on it. what recommendations do you guys have for starter batteries? There are so many different options… The one I had from cabelas lasted only 1 season before taking a crap

Do you have an on-board charger for your starting battery?

I really like the Fleet Farm branded batteries myself.

Francis K wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>crappie55369 wrote:</div>
I will be needing a new starting battery this spring. have a 140 outboard and a 9.9 kicker attached as well as the hummingbird fish finder on it. what recommendations do you guys have for starter batteries? There are so many different options… The one I had from cabelas lasted only 1 season before taking a crap

Do you have an on-board charger for your starting battery?

I have an onboard charging system for my trolling motor batteries but my starter battery is not hooked up to that.

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Francis K wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>crappie55369 wrote:</div>
I will be needing a new starting battery this spring. have a 140 outboard and a 9.9 kicker attached as well as the hummingbird fish finder on it. what recommendations do you guys have for starter batteries? There are so many different options… The one I had from cabelas lasted only 1 season before taking a crap

Do you have an on-board charger for your starting battery?

I have an onboard charging system for my trolling motor batteries but my starter battery is not hooked up to that.

You may want to consider adding another charger or upgrading to additional bank to charge the starting battery.

Just a thought to get more life out of your battery.

Francis K wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>crappie55369 wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Francis K wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>crappie55369 wrote:</div>
I will be needing a new starting battery this spring. have a 140 outboard and a 9.9 kicker attached as well as the hummingbird fish finder on it. what recommendations do you guys have for starter batteries? There are so many different options… The one I had from cabelas lasted only 1 season before taking a crap

Do you have an on-board charger for your starting battery?

I have an onboard charging system for my trolling motor batteries but my starter battery is not hooked up to that.

You may want to consider adding another charger or upgrading to additional bank to charge the starting battery.

Just a thought to get more life out of your battery.

Thanks Francis K ill give that some thought.

Anyone ever use the Cabelas agm batteries? Any issues?

I’m considering a size 30 for my starting/accessory/downriggers battery.

If I get one I’d have a 2yo Interstate group 27 cranking battery for sale. $50 maybe.

Matt,

I am on on my 3rd season with my Cabelas AGM group 27 and so far it has been great for starting and house power. I am thinking about buying a new one and using my 3 year old one on my 16′ boat for the 12 volt trolling motor as I see that they are on sale now.

Odyssey builds one of the best batteries out there. They use virgin lead rather than recycled. My interstates are holding their own, but when they are done the odyssey will live in my bilge

ClownColor wrote:

I get 10 years on my cabelas AGM batteries. I’m not as hard core as many but when I do fish, my batteries take a beating as I troll and lindy non stop…also running si/di on my HDS.

A good on board charger is a must especially if u go AGM as they are tanks.

I noticed that the Cabelas AGM batteries are on sale and I have $100 in gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. you guys suggested I should get an onboard charger to prolong the life of my batteries since my original Cabelas battery fried after only 1 year. my question is how does an onboard charger prolong the life of the batteries? I read this on a different forum and im wondering if this has something to do with it.

“the other thing about most onboard chargers is that they are computer controlled and the charge rate adjusts as the battery gets charged. it then goes into floating maintenance mode that wont boil your batteries.”

Alternator won’t necessarily have a full charge on the starting battery at the end of the day, full batteries are happy batteries and a trickle/maintenance charge won’t hurt anything. A good starting battery, if taken care of, should last 8-10 years.

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bob clowncolor wrote:</div>
I get 10 years on my cabelas AGM batteries. I’m not as hard core as many but when I do fish, my batteries take a beating as I troll and lindy non stop…also running si/di on my HDS.

A good on board charger is a must especially if u go AGM as they are tanks.

I noticed that the Cabelas AGM batteries are on sale and I have $100 in gift cards burning a hole in my pocket. you guys suggested I should get an onboard charger to prolong the life of my batteries since my original Cabelas battery fried after only 1 year. my question is how does an onboard charger prolong the life of the batteries? I read this on a different forum and im wondering if this has something to do with it.

“the other thing about most onboard chargers is that they are computer controlled and the charge rate adjusts as the battery gets charged. it then goes into floating maintenance mode that wont boil your batteries.”

I had $200 in gift cards burning a hole in my pocket so I went and bought one. So far so good. Of course it is still siting in my truck.

For a starting battery I have an EverStart Maxx. For the trolling motor I now have a Cabelas AGM 30. I miss the old gel cell battery I used to have on the trolling motor. I could go for 3 days straight and still have power left. The Cabelas AGM 30 I get a day and will have to recharge it. I also lost 0.5 mph off my trolling motor when I switched. I don’t know who made that old gel cell because there was no writing on it and it came out of a building’s back up power supply system. It was heavy but rocked.

Going on the 5th year on my interstates. 36v system and starting. No issues so far. Just remove in the winter, check the water. Slap the charger on them for 20 mins per battery when I’m out putz’ing in the garage.

ive been looking at the everstart marine batteries on walmarts website and they are always listed as out of stock/not available in stores. Does walmarts site just suck and you have to go to the store to see if they have it or whats the deal?

I like Interstate. They seem to hold up better than Walmart/Sams and they have great service at their main stores. I use the one near 494 and Portland Ave So. They also have factory Blems at a good price. This year I accidentally left a switch on and ran my out of warranty starting battery down to Two Volts. They were able to bring it back (free of charge). Now to see how long it lasts.

In my working career I installed and sold many Interstate batteries. The warranty return rate was almost zero. I will always stick with them. By the way I bought a Interstate group 29 from SBC today at a great price.

I just put three SRM-29 interstates in my boat. I looked at going to AGM batteries, but when you look at the cost difference, the AGM batteries would need to last 9 years before they are a better deal than updating my wet cell batteries every 3 years. I’ll stick to the SRM-29s.

Ok Joel ready to drop some good money on a Duracell-hopeI can get it at Batteries Plus-so why are these better than similiar(AGMs) batteries?