Any deals on Marine/Deep cycle batteries? Should I go Gel?

[Hack_Fisherman]

I'm looking for pair of type 27 Marine/Deep cycle batteries for my troller. 

I heard once Walmart had good but cheap batteries but thier site says price unavilable. I'm wondering if its because they are phasing out thier automotive service.

Carquest has Type 24's on sale for ~$98ish but I wanted the extra reserve of the Type 27.

I'm also wondering if I should invest in Gel Batteries. I havent installed an onboard charger yet which I was planning on doing next, so might be the right time?

 

[porkpie]

I have AGM’s.  They work good but they came with my boat.  I wouldn’t pay the price for them new.  My starting battery is beginning to give me problems.  I’ll be replacing it with a standard lead acid.  Wally World batteries have been good to me in the past.  I think they are available in store!

Edited June 10, 2020 by porkpie

[Garnet]

Wal Mart are Everstart

Costco are Kickland blue labels and they have them seasonally.

I've had both work fine.

[AKRISONER]

my time spent reading and researching is your gain.

the last posts explain my conclusion and reasoning. Specifically that canadian tire is now selling the best quality battery on the market while offering the lowest possible price for batteries with the same specifications. They also offer the best warranty in the entire market.

 

their batteries regularly go on sale further reducing the cost of their batteries.

[Hack_Fisherman]

4 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

my time spent reading and researching is your gain.

the last posts explain my conclusion and reasoning. Specifically that canadian tire is now selling the best quality battery on the market while offering the lowest possible price for batteries with the same specifications. They also offer the best warranty in the entire market.

 

their batteries regularly go on sale further reducing the cost of their batteries.

thanks - I should have done a search 1st. 

[Hack_Fisherman]

Thanks guys. It sounds like I'm not getting the same life out of my battereies as others get. I'm wondering if my charger isnt very good or I'm draining them down too far. 

I used one of my deep cycle batteries in the winter to boost my tuck a few times. Surely thats not detrimental? 

I charged it right away. I use the nautilus battery charger. 

Maybe I'll get a battery tester and check the cells. The battery is only ~3 years old and was depleted only 2 hours of my 55lb troller running  up to 60% peak. mostly 30-40%

 

 

[porkpie]

Many guys that say they get 7 plus years on their batteries probably only fish 6-10 times per season.  My boat goes in the water in March and comes out in December.  My average run time on the trolling motor is 8 hours straight while trolling.  I crush batteries in 2-3 years no matter how much I pay.  It all depends on the level of use.

[canoecarrier]

I have had pretty bad luck with crappy tire batteries. I bought one of the deep cycles a few years ago and it didnt last very long. Canadian tire is great for somethings but I won't buy a battery there again. 

[AKRISONER]

11 minutes ago, canoecarrier said:

I have had pretty bad luck with crappy tire batteries. I bought one of the deep cycles a few years ago and it didnt last very long. Canadian tire is great for somethings but I won't buy a battery there again. 

Canadian tire specifically changed their nautilus line of AGM battery supplier last year to address this issue. The price of their batteries increased in accordance with this change. Prior to last year Exide was their supplier and was known to make poor batteries. I am not certain who makes their flooded lead acid batteries anymore as exide appears to have gone under.

FYI Costco is now also now selling an "energizer" branded AGM made my Johnson controls thats really really cheap. Warranty is not as good though.

Also, If you have having issues with that new of batteries its very very likely that you may have issues with your battery charger. My last set of batteries lasted 11 years 3 of them at the end of their life had me fishing them over 300+ hours a year. The key is to always charge the boat immediately when you get back and if they are flooded batteries, watch your water levels and ensure you maintain them by charging them every month or so through the winter while they are in storage. 

FYI AGM's are more conducive to deep discharges. So if you spend long days on the water an AGM is the way to go vs flooded.

[Hack_Fisherman]

WI don’t charge my batteries through the winter (charged up last use in October and stored until spring) so perhaps that didn’t help. 

I do like the idea of AGM’s and Costco’s price seems pretty good. Before I buy, I’ll need to read up on on-board chargers to be sure I know the full conversion costs

 

[AKRISONER]

as a rule of thumb I wouldnt stray from Minkotta, Marinco, Pro Mariner or Noco if you are looking for a new charger.

Noco's are readily available on Amazon at competitive pricing. I love mine, its very low profile and fully sealed/waterproof. They also have the function to recondition batteries. They also specifically are designed to charge both flooded and gel and AGM batteries if you have them. Apparently each battery type has a "most effecient" way of charge cycle and the genius knows how to do it.

Edited June 11, 2020 by AKRISONER

[BassMan11]

Best bang your buck would be the Costco blue brand with a noco charger. AGM being better than the lead acid if you can afford it. As Akri said its very important to charge them asap when you get home from fishing. Just to make them last longer.

 

In the winter top them up once a month. I tried to leave a noco genius charger hooked up all winter and unfortunately it boiled my batteries dry! Luckily they were only everstarts! So I don't recommend leaving them on all the time. 

 

Good luck.

[BillM]

I leave my TM batteries charging all winter without issue.   Need to make sure you've got a charger that can switch into maintenance mode however.   

[Hack_Fisherman]

2 hours ago, BillM said:

I leave my TM batteries charging all winter without issue.   Need to make sure you've got a charger that can switch into maintenance mode however.   

I'd be pulling bateries out of the boat for the winter. Perhaps a multi bank tender chager would be best for winter maintenance charging?

22 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

as a rule of thumb I wouldnt stray from Minkotta, Marinco, Pro Mariner or Noco if you are looking for a new charger.

Noco's are readily available on Amazon at competitive pricing. I love mine, its very low profile and fully sealed/waterproof. They also have the function to recondition batteries. They also specifically are designed to charge both flooded and gel and AGM batteries if you have them. Apparently each battery type has a "most effecient" way of charge cycle and the genius knows how to do it.

Very cool. Do you know if the genius can diferentiate between battery types and charge accordingly? For example, if I had a pair of AGMs for the TM and a flooded for starting on the same charger, would each bank be treated as needed?

19 hours ago, BassMan11 said:

Best bang your buck would be the Costco blue brand with a noco charger. AGM being better than the lead acid if you can afford it. As Akri said its very important to charge them asap when you get home from fishing. Just to make them last longer.

 

In the winter top them up once a month. I tried to leave a noco genius charger hooked up all winter and unfortunately it boiled my batteries dry! Luckily they were only everstarts! So I don't recommend leaving them on all the time. 

 

Good luck.

I always charge immediately but there will be times where they may stay depleted for a day or two if we're away camping. Good to know about the Noco and long term charging!

Thanks again guys

[AKRISONER]

54 minutes ago, Hack_Fisherman said:

 

Very cool. Do you know if the genius can diferentiate between battery types and charge accordingly? For example, if I had a pair of AGMs for the TM and a flooded for starting on the same charger, would each bank be treated as needed?

 

as mentioned above, my old man leaves his batteries on the noco genius all winter in the garage as well. No issues to report.

Directly from their website: 

Maintenance Plus.

A powerful battery maintenance charge that actively monitors and manages charge cycles, but also provides a finishing charge every 24-hours, keeping batteries fully charged with zero overcharge.

 

My understanding is that yes it does:

Interactive.

Dynamically alters the charging process based on organic battery feedback allowing for precision battery charging.

You will note that when you run the charger, typically your starting battery will finish charging first, especially if you only head out for an hour or so. It treats each battery as its own bank entirely and charges it accordingly. 

Most impressively my Starting battery last year was getting tired and after coming out of winter storage I was experiencing a voltage drop when cranking the engine that was causing my electronics to shut off. I figured my battery was toast but I was down in south carolina camping and fishing so I figured I could live with the electronics blipping for the time being and get a  battery when i got home...well a few cycles on the noco and the problem entirely went away. The reconditioning and desulfating process that they claim about actually works...pretty crazy. The batteries lasted me the entirety of last year and that included fishing tournaments running livewells and graphs all day and the voltage drop problem was gone!

Edited June 12, 2020 by AKRISONER

[OhioFisherman]

What is the difference between AGM and Gel batteries?

I used interstate or  nautilus on mine, a 12 volt trolling motor, no issues with either brand, but I replaced them every 4 years or so.

[Hack_Fisherman]

Bump....
 

I never ended up buying last year, so  looking for deals if anyone has seen any. 
 

NOT going AGM. I need at least one deep group 27 or 31 and a starting (or maybe multi purpose) so can’t afford AGM this round. Too many things on the list still

[Dara]

My batteries go in my lathe cabinet for the winter to add weight for calming off balanced bowl blanks

[BillM]

Lead acids are just fine, go as big as you physically can.  

[Fang]

On board Minn Kota charging system for 24 volt.

Religiously drain and recharge as best I can but have to admit don’t  get out as much as I used to.

pull batteries and keep indoors all winter off concrete. My dad told me this and will forever keep the faith. Two Canadian tire 27 705 cranking amps. These are now 4 years old and hooked up to winter battery tenders noco genius 2 battery chargers/desulfator.

fingers crossed for season 5 and more

[Gravyboat]

Not sure where you live, but Great Northern Battery (Hamilton and Toronto) is worth a look. I picked up two type 27 US Battery brand (they sell all kinds of brands) from them. Lots of power for the size. 105 amp/hour and 205 reserve capacity for $184 ea (no core charge, must have been in the price). They'll have a good cranking battery too I'm sure. https://www.gnbsystems.com/

[Hack_Fisherman]

9 hours ago, Fang said:

On board Minn Kota charging system for 24 volt.

Religiously drain and recharge as best I can but have to admit don’t  get out as much as I used to.

pull batteries and keep indoors all winter off concrete. My dad told me this and will forever keep the faith. Two Canadian tire 27 705 cranking amps. These are now 4 years old and hooked up to winter battery tenders noco genius 2 battery chargers/desulfator.

fingers crossed for season 5 and more

Thanks, I do just that every winter. I bought the noco multi bank onboard charger. Hope that works as well. I use group 27 also, prob same ct batt. It’s 3 or 4 years old and not as good as it used to be. Might go group 31’s if I can fit them where I want them. 

[Rizzo]

10 hours ago, Fang said:

keep indoors all winter off concrete. 

Although I do keep my batteries indoors, I thought the "keep off the concrete" rule was no longer necessary. My understanding is years ago this was important, but the way they make batteries now it is no longer relevant.

[smitty55]

7 hours ago, Rizzo said:

Although I do keep my batteries indoors, I thought the "keep off the concrete" rule was no longer necessary. My understanding is years ago this was important, but the way they make batteries now it is no longer relevant.

I agree, that was a long time back and not an issue anymore.

[Garnet]

I went the other way and leave battery's in the boat. It's all setup to plug in easily. And I don't do that roughen  job take battery's out and putting them back in.