New Battery Recommendations

spraygun · Apr 21, 2015

Bill19233 said:
I think my house bank has finally died. I can't complain, the three group 31 West Marine AGM's have the hole punched in 2004 on the label. With the fridge and electronics running, they wouldn't start the engine after a four hour sail last Sunday, had to switch to the backup. I always check the monitor before we leave the dock, and it read 13.6 V.
The boat is on shorepower at a marina, so the charger keeps them full. I've read most of Mainesail's battery posts, so I'm thinking about buying three of the $90 Walmart deep cycle group 29's, instead of new West Marine AGM's for $300 each. The local Sam's Clubs have some kind of commercial group 31 AGM for $200 each without threaded posts. The battery compartment is set for three group 31's and I don't want to do any modifications to it.
I'm in the Houston area, only daysail and overnight. Anyone have a good battery purchase suggestion for a Hunter 340?

I Bought the Optima blue tops from
Sam's here in Houston. They were about $200 each.I have 2 for house and 1 for start.I have been done with acid batteries for years . Especially when you only need a few.Plus they also have both options for cable attachments on top.

Maine Sail · Apr 21, 2015

Bill19233 said:
I think my house bank has finally died. I can't complain, the three group 31 West Marine AGM's have the hole punched in 2004 on the label. With the fridge and electronics running, they wouldn't start the engine after a four hour sail last Sunday, had to switch to the backup. I always check the monitor before we leave the dock, and it read 13.6 V.
The boat is on shorepower at a marina, so the charger keeps them full. I've read most of Mainesail's battery posts, so I'm thinking about buying three of the $90 Walmart deep cycle group 29's, instead of new West Marine AGM's for $300 each. The local Sam's Clubs have some kind of commercial group 31 AGM for $200 each without threaded posts. The battery compartment is set for three group 31's and I don't want to do any modifications to it.
I'm in the Houston area, only daysail and overnight. Anyone have a good battery purchase suggestion for a Hunter 340?

The Wal*Mart Marine Maxx batteries are sadly not what they used to be. The ones I had were made by US Battery and were the DCXC product, a quite decent 12V G-31 battery. They are now budget level JCI (Johnson Controls) batteries made in Mexico and grossly mislabeled.

Sam's Club, in nearly half their stores, has the Deka/East Penn battery which is arguably better quality. The Duracell group 31 deep cycle is 105Ah. The Deka/East Penn product from Sam's, sold as a Duracell, is a good value.

The other two G-31 flooded batteries I like are the Trojan SCS-225 (130Ah) or the US Battery DCXC 31 (130Ah).

As for AGM you may want to read the current, May 2015, issue of practical sailor. For your use, mostly tied to a dock, an AGM and the additional expense, is probably overkill.

Stu Jackson · Apr 21, 2015

WADR, geez.

If you did read Maine Sail's battery information, it should be clear to you that THE VERY LAST PLACE ANYONE SHOULD BUY BATTERIES is West Marine.

Benny17441 · Apr 21, 2015

As the projected life of batteries can be rather uncertain do not forget to also consider and compare the warranties.

Stu Jackson · Apr 21, 2015

Bill19233 said:
I guess I should have stated it different than "instead of West Marine" to make it clearer that I didn't want to go to West Marine, sorry to confuse you. WADR.

Much clearer, thanks and good for you!

Good luck finding what you need.

Maine Sail · Apr 21, 2015

Bill19233 said:
Thanks for the advice everyone.

Okay, Walmart and West Marine are not great choices. Sam's shows out of stock on the Duracells in every store around Houston. I was just in autozone and saw their Duralast brand, in deep cycle and AGM's. Reasonablle pricing. Anyone know anything about Duralast batteries?

The Duralast Platium AGM is a re-stickered East Penn / Deka Group 31 AGM.

Before you buy this battery please read the May 2015 issue of Practical Sailor..

Maine Sail · Apr 21, 2015

Continental Battery in Houston is a Trojan dealer.

Stu Jackson · Apr 21, 2015

I've found going to a battery distribution center works great compared to retail outlets. Good luck.

Stu Jackson · Apr 21, 2015

You don't need to take a whole day off. You don't have to do it all in one day. Get the batteries off your boat and into your car. Go do the battery-buy and leave the new ones in your car until you can find an evening or weekend to put 'em in the boat. We have to explain this one to ya???:cussing::dance::naughty:

:cry:

Benny17441 · Apr 21, 2015

Batteries are fickle, some last a long time and inexplicably others die an early death. That is the reason why manufacturers have come up with warranty programs. With private label arrangements we find the same batteries being sold under various names, different warranties and varied prices. That is why I do not bother with a lot of research. Do make sure to check the manufacturing date and try to get some that are not older than the previous month. Batteries that have been sitting too long on the shelf start to get sulfated and loose capacity. Last, sometimes the choice boils down to the best retailer; the one who provides a fair price and good service.

H33CRich · Apr 22, 2015

I have 4-6 volt Penn Deka (Duracell branded) golf cart batteries in my house bank. 3 years and still going strong. I have a 280 watt solar system with blue sky charge controller. I also installed on day one a hydration system to keep the electrolyte level topped off. The batteries were purchased from SAMs club for about $75 each. Now the fridge stays on all the time. Cold refreshments always ready to enjoy. Microwaving with 600 watt unit for 10 minutes drops SOC to 97%. Since installing the system, I have not hooked up shore power.