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Is that about the best you can get for a trolling deep cycle. I need to buy 2 before spring and was just curious about what you guys thought. I believe they have a 2 yr warranty. Or is there something just as good for less money. these are like 200 each
I don't think much of them at all. They are fairly small capacity for the price. Most any Group 27 TM battery will give you a longer day on the water, although the AGM has a longer life. Cabelas has their Group 31 AGMs on sale right now for $179, and they are 205 minute RC compared to the biggest Optima at 155 minutes.
I tried the AGM and after the 5 set told them they needed to give me my money back,
I then went to Sears and bought two of the 31class die hards, 3mo. ago? and 19 hr. on one charge aint bad.
tracker 17ft.5in boat type, terrova trolling motor 70lb thrust.
Persoally, save your money. The lead acid batteries give you more run time/$. The savings will put tackle in the box and gas in the tank. A buddy of ours always had to quit early because his Optima's ran out of juice.
Personally, I've never run AGMS or The Optimas for some of the reasons mentioned....too much $ per RC. Heck, for the same money as a pair of Optimas, you could get 4 wal-mart specials and still be running on the first set of Wal-Marts when the Optimas run out of juice. Sure, the Optimas will still be in service long after the Wal-Marts will have to be replaced, but how many trips are you going to have to cut short for no juice in the mean time.
If you want to spend the $ for a quality lead acid battery, look at Trojan. SC225. They are made as well as lead acid can be.
Then again, they charge accordingly for them as well. I believe about $150 for them...compare the RC at 225 to the Cabelas AGM at 205 for $179. Still more run time in the lead acid, but additional weight and probably won't give you quite the same number of years of service....although, I'll bet it would be close.
Wannabe...
Got a couple of NAPA grp 31's, and they work good.
Wannabe nailed that one! If I didn't get those Exide/WalMart/? batt. cheap, I'd be on them Trojans. They're dependable and last 2x longer when taken care of properly. My buddy has over 800 cycles/charges on grp 27's, not counting conditioning. I've been getting about 300 out of them Everlast/Exide 27's. The Optimas haven't lasted longer, but they charge faster and your supposed to charge them pretty hot. Truth is, buy as big of battery as possible and take care of them. The maintenance thing is different with all of us, just keep em charged and you should do alright.
Picked up a blemished Interstate back in the fall and quit running my batts in parallel sine one is a grp 29 WM battery and this one is a grp 27 batt. I have trolled as much as 6 hrs on that one battery (longlining) with enough juice left to have finished out a full day. Havent used the WM battery since I got the Interstate. For a $30 blem I couldnt be more happy.:)
I have a tracker pt 175 with a 36lb tm, a wally w orld/everstart battery lasts all day for me, or a couple trips. I dont fish all day but use my tm more than the big one at the back of the boat for sure.
I have the optima's in my boat and love em! I bought the boat with them in it. I fish all day and never run out of juice. I have had them for 4 or 5 years and dont know how long they were in there before me! Just my 2 cents!
Save your money.I've had two set fail in 4 years
I've had a set of Durlast's from Autozone wired to my TM for 3 years now without a hiccup. Can fish a full weekend without a noticable drop in power. I've had a Durlast cranking battery for the 6 years I've owned the boat and it's still running strong. I just can't justify spending close to $200 on a single battery with the good luck I've had.
YEAH i just checked AUTO ZONE today 80.00 and 3 year warranty. I think thats what im gonna buy. Probably wait till March.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dutch552
I have run optima's for about 7 years now. Third boat and third set of optimas. Others were glad that the optimas were in the boats Ive sold. I watch ebay for specials. Paid around 150 for every one. I can fish evergreen all day with the optimas. We also sat on a brush pile at a tournament in 20mph winds with the ft. on the trolling motor for hours. I am impressed with them.
Interstate SRM 29's are my choice. Several years ago, Bass and Walleye Boats magazine published an article in one of their monthly editions on most all the TM batteries. Was 12 pages, if I remember correctly. The SRM 29's had "better numbers" than any other ones, for alot less money. Curently, you can buy them between $95.00 and $105.00 each.
Agree with you Sparky. In a boat like yours Optima is the only way to go. Thats why they put them in at the Factory. Same as my Ranger,3 times as heavy as these little aluminum boats. I've got the small optimas and after 8 hrs. that 101# Minkota will still move the boat 5 mph. Those Wally World and Duralasts would never make it.
totally agree my optimas are 8 years old and going strong.
i do not like being stranded nor do i like to remove batteries for warranty every spring.
before the optimas i have tried every brand mentioned in this thread and none last as long as
the pro rated warranty. optima numbers may not look as impressive as some but they preform
on the water like no others.
I talked to a man that all he deals in are batteries. Towmotor batteries, all kinds and he will not sell the optima. He use to but he had more come back than didn't so he got away from them. I myself can't afford two of those optima batteries.
I know what you mean. I can buy 2 DURALAST cheaper than 1 optimaQuote:
Originally Posted by wishIcould
I am currently running the BPS 185 Series. My first trip out was at Talquin and the battery lasted eight hours of nothing but trolling with plenty of juice left. My boat is a Ranger Angler 1760 with a twelve volt 55 pound thrust Minn Kota Power Drive V2. It is fairly heavy boat.
What brand is the BPS 185 ?Quote:
Originally Posted by EARL KITCHENS
I am not sure but I believe they are made by Interstate. If you want a maintenance free battery it is very hard to beat the DELCO VOYAGER 31 SERIES BATTERIES. They cost around $125.00 each. One year free replacement.
Interstate doesn't make batteries. They are strictly a reseller.Quote:
Originally Posted by EARL KITCHENS