Batteries (ugh...again)

[Zeeter]

Ok, so I have three bad batteries. Again. Got new batteries in 2017 but I think they were crap. 

 

Had them on the charger over most of the winter but they won't charge at all. The engine just clicks and doesn't try to turn over. The trolling motor doesn't do anything. The electronics work and they're powered from the starter. I put the starter on a trickle charger thinking the batteries may be too low for my onboard charger but that isn't helping.

 

I've been using dual purpose batteries all this time and I'm wondering if, since I need new ones anyway, I should get a starter and two deep cycles. Will I kill the starter if I use my fish finder and livewell all day?

[Zeeter]

I'm about to head out to the store for a battery so any help anyone could give me would be great.

[Dirtyeggroll]

What battery? Type?

[slonezp]

Is your charger any good. As far as trolling motor batteries, NAPA deep cycle made by Deka is my recommendation. 

[Tennessee Boy]

It seems odd that you’re cranking battery and trolling batteries have all died at the same time.  Has the boat been sitting for a long time?

[Zeeter]

With the luck I've had in the battery department I'm going on the cheap end of things. Probably Everstarts. I paid $250 a piece for the last set only for circumstances to kill them. I don't have $750 or even $600 to spend on three new ones that might last years, but I have a couple hundred that I can spend on three Everstarts that should last at least one year. 

 

What I'm wondering is if I should use the dual-purpose battery as my starter since I also run my electronics off of it or if I can use a dedicated starting battery. 

14 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

It seems odd that you’re cranking battery and trolling batteries have all died at the same time.  Has the boat been sitting for a long time?

The outlet that my battery maintainer was running off of stopped working sometime over the winter and unfortunately I was neglectful in monitoring the situation once I covered the boat. I said in the original post that they were crap and it was on the charger all winter. In reality I just didn't want to sound stupid and say I neglected my batteries.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Zeeter
grammar and clarification

[Dirtyeggroll]

2 minutes ago, Zeeter said:

I paid $250 a piece for the last set only for circumstances to kill them.

At $250 a piece how long were the warranty?

[Zeeter]

17 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Is your charger any good. As far as trolling motor batteries, NAPA deep cycle made by Deka is my recommendation. 

Charger is two years old. 30 amp Noku 3-bank. Not the best, but not the worst.

1 minute ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

At $250 a piece how long were the warranty?

I looked again and they were $199 each. Two year warranty which is expired.

[WRB]

Marine deep cycle batteries for both cranking and TM. Deep cycle means they have heavy plates designed to be discharged and recharged multiple time whereas general use batteries are not designed to be discharge, they must be kept charged.

You can try a hard charge for wet cell lead acid batteries, not AGM's that will cook them.

My guess is you left the batteries hooked up in the boat with everything connected. Always remove all the accessory connections when storing and maintenance charging over long time periods because any swith or open circuit that is on will completely drain the batteries in trickle charge mode.

If the batteries are Ever Start Walmart brand take them back for replacement, be polite they may not  look closely at returned batteries and simply replace them.

I also suggest a Harbor Freight Chicago battery load tester (about $30) to check your batteries every few months and for wet cells take the caps off when charging for better venting and visual inspection of fluids levels.

Tom

PS, Norco is a good onboard charger.

[Zeeter]

1 minute ago, WRB said:

Marine deep cycle batteries for both cranking and TM. Deep cycle means they have heavy plates designed to be discharged and recharged multiple time whereas general use batteries are not designed to be discharge, they must be kept charged.

You can try a hard charge for wet cell lead acid batteries, not AGM's that walls cook them.

My guess is you left the batteries hook up in the boat with everything connected. Always remove all the accessory connections when storing and maintenance charging over long time periods because any swith or open circuit that is on will completely drain the batteries in trickle charge mode.

If the batteries are Ever Start Walmart brand take them back for replacement, be polite they may not  look closely at returned batteries and simply replace them.

I also suggest a Harbor Freight Chicago battery load tester (about $30) to check your batteries every few months and for wet cells take the caps off when charging for better venting and visual inspection of fluids levels.

 Tom

Thanks for your input; these are not Everstarts, but those are what I am looking at for replacement. I used them on my last boat and they were great. Lasted two years and I got new ones. No trying to bleed every electron out of a $200 battery for four years. I got stuck on a lake one time doing that.

 

That said, I've read numerous places that a true deep cycle battery shouldn't be used for starting, though I know many people who use them with no problem.

[WRB]

They make marine deep cycle cranking batteries, usually group 24 or 27. If your Electrinics drain the cranking battery it's better to use gr 29. I have used marine deep cycle batteries for cranking for decades without any problems, was anal about maintenance until going to AGM's in 2005 and now very low maintenance only checking terminals for tightness and test when I think about it. I also recommend a battery switch to isolate the cranking battery when charging over night.

Good luck, 

Tom

[Johnbt]

I had 3 Group 29 Everstart Maxx batteries from Walmart - the $99 ones - and they lasted 4 years. Actually they were still doing pretty well and holding 90% of a charge when I got tired of them. I don't know if the current ones are as well made, but everyone I know used the older ones and liked them.

 

I kept two - one for the rear trolling motor(used for backing up to retrieve snagged lures) and accessories, and one for the heck of it. I traded an Everstart and an old car battery in for 2 Duracell Ultra Group 31 batteries at Batteries Plus. As best I can tell, they're made by Deka and I like them even better than the Everstarts when they were new. 

 

www.batteriesplus.com/battery/marine-and-boat/deep-cycle/bci-group-31m/sli31mdc

 

If you buy online and pick up at the store you save 10%. There's an additional $10 per battery rebate. That gets them down to about $100 each.

 

I was told months ago that Sam's Club carried Duracell deep cycles, too.

 

And fwiw, I have a Merc 9.9 for the reservoirs around here, but 95% of the time I'm all electric, so my batteries get a lot of exercise.

 

[GReb]

Pretty sure I saw where Bass Pro has their batteries on sale. I don’t know anything about them

[mrstangblb]

1 hour ago, Johnbt said:

I had 3 Group 29 Everstart Maxx batteries from Walmart - the $99 ones - and they lasted 4 years. Actually they were still doing pretty well and holding 90% of a charge when I got tired of them. I don't know if the current ones are as well made, but everyone I know used the older ones and liked them.

 

I kept two - one for the rear trolling motor(used for backing up to retrieve snagged lures) and accessories, and one for the heck of it. I traded an Everstart and an old car battery in for 2 Duracell Ultra Group 31 batteries at Batteries Plus. As best I can tell, they're made by Deka and I like them even better than the Everstarts when they were new. 

 

www.batteriesplus.com/battery/marine-and-boat/deep-cycle/bci-group-31m/sli31mdc

 

If you buy online and pick up at the store you save 10%. There's an additional $10 per battery rebate. That gets them down to about $100 each.

 

I was told months ago that Sam's Club carried Duracell deep cycles, too.

 

And fwiw, I have a Merc 9.9 for the reservoirs around here, but 95% of the time I'm all electric, so my batteries get a lot of exercise.

 

I just bought one of the Duracell batteries, too with rebate after reading great reviews and hope to get my little boat on the water this weekend. Probably will be late, though - supposed to be HOT here in SC!

[Zeeter]

I think the Everstarts get a bad rap because they're from Walmart. Outside of a few Walmart haters and maybe a couple of people who got one with a factory defect (as can happen with any battery), everyone I've talked with has said they get more for their buck with the Everstarts than anything other than the very high end, $600 ones.

[Zeeter]

Got my battery. A bit frustrated that online it said the battery was 845 MCA but in the store it was 800. It's still plenty of amps, but would be nice to have accurate information online.