Which battery to purchase?

[wetfoot]

I purchased 2 Optima Blue Top Batteries about 4 years ago and they no longer hold a charge. I always keep them on a trickle charger and had hoped they would last longer.

Does anyone have a good tip for me as to what battery to try, or should I stay with a new set of Blue Tops?

[countiemountie]

Only 4 years???? I've had a Blue Top for 8 years pulling double duty using it to also raise the the boat lift. Some on this board have had good luck with Interstate.

[xrichard]

Interstate doesn't actually make batteries--they market and distribute from multiple vendors just like DieHard, etc. If you have room, for the stereo, I'd go with 6v golf cart batteries. For starting, I'd pick based on the best warranty v. price. I'm not an expert on batteries, but from what I've read, there's no meaningful advantage to AGM batteries unless you need to position one on its side.

[JoeA]

I get the impression we are going to see lots of opinions on this.

I'm thinking four years is great for a boat battery.

Wetfoot are you keeping battery on a trickle charger all 12 months of the year?

[MLA]

Is this with them still connected in the boat? Are they reaching a full static charge? How long are you monitoring the parasitic drain and to what voltage? Wondering if the charger is doing its job or is there a unwanted draw on the batteries.

How do you use the batteries? One a dedicated cranking and the other dedicated house or are they both used about the same?

[scottb7]

I guess my question is what do you mean by "they no longer hold a charge"? What is voltage if you charge them up and then check them 3 or 4 days later? Reason I ask is that I have a couple cheap batteries that after a few days are down to 12.3 or 12.4, no biggie. I will run them at least a couple more years. No big deal.

[core-rider]

I don't understand why so many think Optima is the way to go in a marine application. If you have a non-standard installation where a flooded battery won't work, then yes the Optima is probably the way to go. I can't honestly say I've seen a battery installed in a boat that wasn't right side up though. For the same money or less there are so many other better performing choices IMHO.

Not saying Interstate is the way you should go, but my 2003 SANTE came with them and my personal experience with them has been great! The 2 original Group 24 batteries my boat came with new lasted 7 years before one developed a dead cell. I replaced both at that time with exact replacements and they have been going strong for the last 4 years. I did add a third Group 27 with a stereo upgrade 3 years ago so the 2 Group 24s now handle the stereo bank duty while the Group 27 gets the starting jobs. I've run them HARD in those 3 years while using a good in-boat shore charger to keep all 3 conditioned and charged.

Unless you need an Optima because of mounting application I highly suggest at least looking at other battery options before making a purchase.

[wetfoot]

Other than the standard equipment I run Alpine MRV-F5454 4 channel amplifier for the cockpit speakers and sub + 2 Arc Audio 350 watt amps for my NVS Tyrants.
I run a battery isolator switch and use a Battery Tender Jr to keep them up to speed.
The Blue Tops are the Blue D34s and will charge up to 12.8 volts but quickly drain when running the stereo while rubbing on the boat with the charger. (w/o running the tower speakers)
I hope this helps my scenario.

Thanks for any input!

[MLA]

IIRC, 12.8 sounds like a little low for a fully charged (minus the surface charge) blue top. Your tender may not be enough to recharge a depleted battery after coming of the water. just an FYI, thats when you should recharge them, not right before the next trip. Not good to let a dead battery sit. Whats the amp output of the charger? have you tested its voltage output while charger? Use a diagnostic meter, not the boat's gauge. You are going to need about 13.5V in order to get that battery fully charged IMO.

The D34M only has about 55ah, which is less than most group-24 wet cell deep-cycles. So for an engine off house battery, a wet cell is a better value. If you have room, you could step up to a group-29/31. Still less money that the D34M, but almost 2X the Ah. For a starting battery, I would go with just a plain old marine cranking group-24. If you basically use the two bank the same and rotate back and forth or run the switch in the BOTH position all the time, then go with a pair group-27.

[Quinner]

Batteries sure have been hit or miss in my experience. Have a heavy stereo load (tyrants also) and run a single blue top, my past one lasted about 4 seasons, new one this year was junk after 1 season, had a pair of optimas in my truck that lasted 8 years. Die hard in my pickup refused to give up after 10+ years, sold truck but who knows, maybe still working. Interstate have been OK. Have always heard/read good things about everlast which are relatively inexpensive. When all I ran was standard batteries in my older CC's it seemed like 3yrs was a good run with most, and I always pull my battery(s) during the winter and charge periodically. You guy's getting 8 yrs with a boat battery is impressive, wish I was also.

[CradGen2]

I have (3) Shuriken that are 7 years and (1) Kentik that is 3 years old. I use (2) Cetek chargers all year on them. I think it is the charger.

[Tallredrider]

Other than the standard equipment I run Alpine MRV-F5454 4 channel amplifier for the cockpit speakers and sub + 2 Arc Audio 350 watt amps for my NVS Tyrants.
I run a battery isolator switch and use a Battery Tender Jr to keep them up to speed.
The Blue Tops are the Blue D34s and will charge up to 12.8 volts but quickly drain when running the stereo while rubbing on the boat with the charger. (w/o running the tower speakers)
I hope this helps my scenario.

Thanks for any input!

The battery tender Jr. is what killed your batteries. An Optima will like to maintain what they call a 'float charge' that is higher than a typical lead acid battery. So you 'maintained' them at a lower voltage than they like and that is probably why they died quicker than they should have. Most AGM batteries are this way. The Odyssey AGM batteries I have clearly state in the owner's manual to maintain them at well over 13 volts. My onboard charger has various settings for the maintenance voltage, so I was sure to set it correctly for the type of battery I am running.

Edit: I just looked it up, and Optima blue tops should have a float charge of 13.2 to 13.8 volts according to the owner's manual.

Not to mention, that if you kill a battery and then use the low amperage like the Battery Tender Jr. to bring it back up slowly, it just does not receive the charge as well as when you charge it in bulk initially, like a more powerful charger would do. (what MLA said).

[robertsmcfarland]

wow you guys must be hard on the stereo,or other draws,, have never replaced a battery.

[kopp210]

I never had great luck with optimas. They always seemed to just outlast the warranty by a couple months.

Right now have Dekas. Interested to see how they do. We have had great experiences with their fork truck and heavy equipment batteries at work.


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[ski4evr]

We use DC power plants at work. The life of any battery is to float at proper voltage and to not exceed the discharge capabilities of the battery-usually around 80 percent of nominal voltage. Definitely check the charging voltage on any charger used. It must match the batteries requirements. BTW we expect our batteries to exceed 20 years of service, so charging is accurate to 0.1 volts, and electrolyte levels always properly filled with distilled water. I am currently on fifth year with autozone gold tops in my boat. I have been using them in our vehicles with average of 8 year life so far.