BigBendFishing.Net

The past few trips in my ride, I have had the trolling motor get real low powered early in the day. I put a volt meter on each battery (two jumped together to make 24 volts), sure enough one of them only has two volts in it. So my question is - do you guys replace them both at the same time or one at a time as they go bad?

I am not sure of the age of these two batteries. One came out of my old boat that I sold when I bought my SeaArk a couple years ago. The other one was in the SeaArk when I purchased it. It is a 2013 boat, so I imagine this is one of the original batteries.

I am partial to Interstate brand batteries, just based on my past experience of putting them through tough times. If any of you have had exceptional service out of a certain battery, let me know. (I am not looking to spend the money for two Optima Blue Tops).

Thanks - Steve Stinson

You could replace just one, but I'd replace both and use the good one as a spare around the house since the voltage/amperage in the new one can vary slightly from the old one and effect the battery. I replaced mine with maintenance free Duracell deep cycles a couple years ago so can't report on their longevity but so far, they're great.

I only replace them as they go bad and I find optima batteries highly overrated. I mostly use interstate as well since the local dealer sells interstate batteries cheaper than the part stores sell the basic level batteries. My second choice would be exide since MSI sells the deep cycle ones for $75.

I'm with Juan, I'd replace both and keep the other to use around the shop. That way you know what you've got for a baseline and will have dependable power.

I have an Odyssey for my trolling motor but they are pricey. Haven't seen the power level drop one bar though, even running for most of the day. Interstate are good. I won't buy another Optima. Didn't get a couple years out of the last set so not worth the money. I replaced them with Exide in the Bayshore and they worked out well.

I appreciate the input.

I went ahead and purchase two Interstate group 27 deep cycles from their battery store on W. Tennessee St. yesterday. Right now, I have an Optima Blue Top for my cranking battery that was put in by the previous owner. I noticed that the crank on the motor was a little slower since the weather has turned cold, and when I checked the Optima with my volt meter it registered 11.87 volts. I will replace it with the extra battery if it goes bad this Winter.

- Steve Stinson

Be careful trusting that battery reading 11.87.

I have a 2 battery cranking system for my Yamaha F150. Been having an issue with one battery not strong enough to turn over the motor, making me switch to battery #2. Just checked them with the volt meter. Battery #1 read 11.55 volts and would only turned the motor 1/2 turn.

BBB is correct. Anything under 12.0 volts on a resting battery is basically a dead battery.

In that case, it looks like I may need to go ahead and replace that Optima with the one good battery I took off of my trolling motor. This supports those of you who said Optima's are not worth the money. Dale at Big Bend Marine where I bought my boat told me that the first owner was an elderly gentleman who wanted the best battery he could get and paid extra to have that Optima installed when the boat was new. Being that I am the second owner the the boat is a 2013, the Optima only lasted about 3.5 yrs. which is the same as a normal battery.

I need to invest in a battery company before I go broke buying them. I had to put two big batteries in my 2014 Ram Diesel a week ago....

You could have bought one of those Lithium Pros 24V series battery for $2,499.

Replace both, Deka AGM have always served me well. They private label a bunch of batteries for different people, I think I pay about $150 a piece, mine are going on 5 years old, no issues. A good charger is also key to keeping batteries in good shape, the cheap ones are harder on batts than you think. DualPro has always done well for me, just purchased a new one, last one was 13 years old.

I ran an Optima in a truck for 7 years. But trolling is hard on batteries. I just use the Walmart ones and have good luck with them. Don't forget that you need to charge early and often. Don't troll multiple days without a recharge if you can avoid it. Don't draw them down so low that there's a noticeable difference in power. By the time you draw a battery to where it flat out doesn't power the motor anymore you've already done damage to the battery. The deeper you discharge a battery the more it damages it, so it's best to recharge frequently.

Or you could just paddle a kayak and not worry about losing power at trolling speed. That said...

I found that discharge barely dropped over an entire day of fishing up until my 55th birthday.

But lately, after about 3 hours, my battery is basically dead.