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I went with the Sear's AGM group 31, they have a full replacement warranty and I'm pretty sure when thats up a prorated warranty kicks in.
The warranty just sealed the deal. It's big and heavy, the case thick and solid, just a nicely built battery. Battery hold downs can be a problem with the stepped top of the battery, 5 minutes of dremel work on the hold down top and it fit like a glove.
Sounds like with the warranty the AGM Sears battery is the way to go.
For starting applications, I stick to Optima Red top-- my last one gave me 11 years of great starting service.
As for house, or "deep cycle" applications, AGM's are good, but flooded (lead acid) batteries are much more economical. My personal favorite is Trojan T-105, 6volt battery. You would need two in series to produce 12v. These are "Golf Cart" batteries and are made to be discharged many times before going bad. They should last for years. Only drawback is you need the room for two of them to make 12v. If you have the room I highly recommend Trojan.
Its difficult o compare individual experiences. I have a 3 year old set of Nautilus group 24 starting battreies that just tested like new. I also keep the boat plugged into an onboard Guest smart charger when its not in use. If you guys want your batteries to last as long as the ones in your car/trucks, get yourself an onboard charger and let it monitoryour batteries when they are not in use. The expense will pay for itself and then some with the first set of batteries.
If you trailer and travel a lot, go with something readily available for warrnty replacment. I used to trailer all over the country and ran Walmart batteries for their good warranty and availability. They also held up as good as any battery but again, I always use a charger/monitor.
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For house batteries - deep cycle's, if price is not a concern, the absolute best are the Surrette 4000 series, which also come with a 7 year warranty. A group 27 is about $300, roughly 3x the price of s Sears, and an 8D is about $650, more than double the price of a Deka. Surrette makes lots of different commercial grade batteries.
If you trailer and travel a lot, go with something readily available for warrnty replacment. I used to trailer all over the country and ran Walmart batteries for their good warranty and availability. They also held up as good as any battery but again, I always use a charger/monitor.
I'd second this. I've tried many different brands over the years and, here in the desert southwest, it doesn't seem to make much difference - desert heat kills batteries in short order whether they're in a car or a boat. Three years seems to be about average no matter who makes it. I have four batteries on my boat - two start and two house - with a charging system. When any of the four start to get weak, I replace all four of them at the same time. So far, Walmart batteries have performed as well as Interstate, Costco, Sears, NAPA or anybody else I've used.
I have been tempted to try the Optima or other AGM marine batteries, but buying four of them at once is some serious ching.
I also carry an AGM jumpstarter battery pack on board. It's come in handy once or twice when I've done something stupid like leaving the fridge on and drained the batteries.
For starting applications, I stick to Optima Red top-- my last one gave me 11 years of great starting service.
As for house, or "deep cycle" applications, AGM's are good, but flooded (lead acid) batteries are much more economical. My personal favorite is Trojan T-105, 6volt battery. You would need two in series to produce 12v. These are "Golf Cart" batteries and are made to be discharged many times before going bad. They should last for years. Only drawback is you need the room for two of them to make 12v. If you have the room I highly recommend Trojan.
Gradyrod
Golf cart batteries are indeed very good for marine house batteries. In addition to being designed to be discharged many times, they are designed to hold up to vibration and abuse.
As far as battery warranties go, a long warranty is fine but that doesn't mean someone is going to come and get you when your battery fails and you are thirty miles from shore.
A good reliable battery with a short warranty is better than a not so good and reliable battery with a longer warranty. Some of the warranties are designed just to get you to come back for the same brand of battery because it's still under a pro-rated warranty.
I am currently running Optima Red Tops and have been very pleased with how well they hold their charge. They were given to me or I would have bought Delco's. I had a Delco Freedom Marine/RV battery in our 76 Chriscraft Lancer. We could not kill that battery. We used it for the seven seasons we ran that boat. I think we went two full seasons without a working alternator to boot. We just plugged in the charger when we returned to port.
I have never heard of such a long time for batts. I am so used to automatically looking to swap them out at 3 years old, still good or not.
May have to look into this, may be cheaper in the long run going with these batts.
Keep in mind you have to maintain them to get this life. They are on a on-board charger,topped with distilled water as needed and if the specific gravity drops I condition charge them.
My experience dictates that regardless of which GOOD battery you may use, the BEST battery is the one that you have maintained, charged and cared for as when the time comes and all you get is that R-R-R-R-R-R-R CLICK CLICK CLICK. I use quality gel batteries, nothing special and a programable inverter charger. ALL of which I knew nothing about a few years ago when we re-did the system.
Who knew about bulk charging, float charging, transfer charging. Apparantly, these are the things that help to provide longevity and by setting up the correct parameters in your charging application, you can acheive these long term usage rates.
Buying a big $$$ battery will not guarantee long life
Photo below was my choice, one engine battery, two trolling motor batteries (operating two trolling motors on my boat). Although expensive, best move I’ve ever made regarding batteries. I never run out of power.
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