battery recommendation for new system

[EarmarkMarine]

We have never had anything but great performance from Optima batteries, whether yesterday or today. I have found that people who have had poor results generally do not understand batteries and charging systems or do not have the right habits relating to their batteries. Or, they are wrongly using a particular battery for a purpose that perhaps it is not best suited for.
But here is a main issue that people overlook. A group 34 battery is shorter and SMALLER than a group 24 with about 17% less amp/hour capacity.
I' m also a big advocate of AGMs. AGMs have numerous advantages over lead acid but amp/hours for the dollar is not one of them.
It's just important that you are fully made aware of what you're getting before you buy.

David

[perry386]

OK, went on the water yesterday with the new Optimas and couldn't be happier. They performed great, the stereo never sounded weird, there was no ambient noise coming through and at one point we sat still with the radio on for almost two hours and never lost any charge.

[MLA]

MLA-- what are the other price-minded competitors?

Shurekin, XS Power, Kinetic, Deka, Trojan, LifeLine all make an AGM with comparable Ah ratings or a battery with more Ah for similar cost. For a dedicated house battery, where amp hours is king, the Optima rarely come out on top. For those that do not need to turn a battery on its side, a traditional group-4 set cell can be had for half the cost of the 31M and has a smaller footprint and more Ah. For about the same footprint, a group-29 wet cell can have nearly double the Ah and still be less. The Optima is not a bad battery, its just not the best when comparing Ah to $$$.

[nyryan2001]

Yep I'm still stuck on SRM29s.