Out at Fork yesterday --- had to quit at 3:00P because the TM batteries were used up! When they won't hold up to a full day's fishing, it is definitely time to replace!

This boat had 3 of the Dual Pro Lightning Series AGM batteries when I bought it. It is now 3 months short of 3 years old.

Before someone says "charging problem", in both cases, I had an on-board Dual Pro 3-bank charger; a "special edition", that is specifically set up for charging AGM batteries. Both times, examination of the charger showed that it was operating as intended.

This makes the second set of AGM batteries I've owned; the previous ones were Power Troll AGM's. Those didn't last but 2 years.

Not having to tend to the water levels is nice, but for the price of the AGM's, I don't see that that feature alone is worth the extra bucks, especially if they apparently don't deliver on the hype about longer life.

Some interesting info. concerning battery "Reserve Capacity" which is the best indicator of how well a battery will hold up to all day/several day's fishing:

Optima deep cycle -- 120 mins. (31 series)
Dual Pro Lightning LS2700 -- 175 mins.
Delco Voyager M27MF -- 160 mins.
Interstate SRM27B --- 180 mins.
Trojan SCS200 -- 200 mins.

I've seen lots of posts here and on other boards where folks have sung the praises of other brands, especially Interstate, Delco and Optima. Unless someone can convince me otherwise with information I've not considered and should, I'm going to go with the Trojan SCS200's. I'd go with The Trojan SCS225 (RC-225 mins.), but I can't think of a way to fit them into the limited space I have available.

Constructive inputs?

Also would be interested in inputs about Trojan prices. The local dealer wants $103 for the SCS200; $109 for the SCS225. Anyone know of a better deal?

C.

C..........guess I am just old fashion, but I use regular old Wal Mart deep cycle, and starting marine batteries; really low cost, and you can get them fixed on Sundays if you need to. The ones I have now are into their third year. Not bad for $49.00.

Glad the Wally World batteries work for you; however best I can find out, the best Reserve Capacity specs for the Everstart deep cycle battery is 160 minutes. Since reserve capacity is to me the most important factor in battery choice going with Trojan becomes a "no brainer".

That's the same reason for not using the Delco batteries; neither can compare to Trojan's RC specs.

I'll put up with having to check water levels and a higher price to get the best RC I can.

With respect to chargers, good quality ones such as the Dual Pro that I use WILL NOT boil away the water PROVIDED the battery is in good shape. As the battery ages a bit it takes more and more current/time to charge it up and under those conditions you WILL lose water. When my batteries start losing water and I verify that my charger is working correctly, then that is a signal to me that it is time to replace batteries.

I have used a timer with my charger in the past, but IMHO that method has one big disadvantage. That is that ALL batteries self-discharge while sitting idle. As batteries age this becomes more pronounced. If you put your charger on a timer, it will probably charge the batteries initially (if you have it timed correctly), but after the timer shuts off, the battery begins to self-discharge and you wind up going to the lake next time with less than a full charge on your batteries.

The Dual Pro charger shuts the charging current off COMPLETELY once charged; but continues to monitor the batteries and turns the charging current back on when self-discharge gets it to the point that more charging is needed.

Agree that having a charger plugged in 24-7 can cause a problem if the charger/batteries can not be checked periodically. I keep mine in the back yard and check up on it (and water levels) every couple of weeks.

C.

Whatever!
Had 3 Dual Pros that screwed up and boiled em. Had to replace batteries. dual Pro made good on the chargers. Wont have one now. Any device can screw up so your statement that your quality charger wont is a myth in your mind. If you don't want others experience, fine. Go with what shows on paper. Seems to be your bag. I have used all but the gel cells. Cannot justify their cost is why I do not have em. If I was a big tourney fisherman I probably would. Aint heard anything bad about em. 7+ years with Voyagers and they still last all day is all I need.

trojan scs 225 - you can't go wrong with these.

Every three years I buy a new set of wet cells. Never had a battery problem. I might get 4 years or maybe 6 but I budget for a three year swapout and move on...Batteries are brutalized in a boat no-matter what kind...They get Hot-Bounced-Drained and so on. AGMs will keep the plates from being damaged (for the most part) but in marine applications they are best for sea doos which roll over(no acid spills). Cost wise they just are not viable when compared to Wet Cells. BPS will have their 185's (group 31's) on sale at $69.88 ea. next week so check the stats out on those. Compare how long an AGM would have to last to be cost effective.

Erwin1958: Perhaps I should have qualified my statement about Dual Pro and other quality chargers to indicate "a properly working ----". A malfunctioning charger can surely cause a number of problems, including overcharging; although with the failures I've experienced, the symptom I've had is that there is no output on one or more banks rather than overcharging them.

For those who've gotten 3, 4, 5, even 7 years out of their set of batteries, I have to say I'm glad for you. I've run too many different brands of batteries over the years to list and the average life for me has been 2 to 2/1/2 years.

The explanation for the difference is probably in how they are used. For ALL BRANDS of deep cycle batteries, the life span is primarily related to the number of discharge/recharge cycles they experience, with deeper discharge/longer recharge cycles taking a heavier toll than shallower discharge/shorter recharge cycles. I suspect that those getting longer life out of a set don't fish as often as I and probably don't use their TM as extensively as I do.

KingBingo - Yep, as I indicated in the original post, I'd be getting the SCS225s IF I could reasonably fit them in! Can't!

Thanks all for the discussion - the SCS200s are on order!


C.

C.,
You have started to hit on the key as to the lifespan on a battery; discharge/charge cycles. ANY battery, no matter the brand, or the design, is only going to last for a certain number of cycles. Some more, some less, depending on the quality of the battery which = price. The difference being how that battery is treated during those cycles. Batteries are designed to be discharged to no more than 80% discharge (9.6 volts on a 12 volt battery) and then allowed to recharge completely to 100%. An equally important factor in each cycle of a battery is that it must also be allowed a cool down period of equal to or greater than the recharge time before being used again. All this, of course, being dependant on a properly sized and functioning charger and proper care for the specific type of battery. Just a little technical info that I hope can help someone save some money. Doesn't help me sell any batteries if y'all take care of yours properly though!