I ended up using the Optima Blue top Deep cycle batteries in my boat and I have the AutoZone Gold’s X 2 in my truck. The reason for my choices were simple, my plastic Gill battery hold-downs that the boat came with were JUNK. I had to change them and found the battery boxes made by Eddie Marine for the Optima’s. I could not believe how nice these boxes are they are perfect in every way including price (very reasonable for what they are). I see that they now have them for regular batteries.
My choice was strictly cosmetic and the fact there is zero maintenance till they die. I have run them 1 season and have seen no change over the regular batteries. The only logical difference I can think of is the regular battery will have some fluid (electrolyte) sloshing around and may (depending on plate support design) have some premature plate abuse. I would also add that some better marine batteries should have a deeper sediment chamber allowing for longer battery life.
With that said is it worth the extra money because you are going to have a battery last 1 or 2 years longer ?? I would have to say if you plan on saving money and want reliable power buy a load tester and as soon as you see them starting to get week replace them like mcollinstn told you. His thought on the gold top warranty is the best advise that I have read about battery questions. You can replace them every few years for very little money. And you now have a choice of cool battery boxes in both Optima style and regular group batteries.
I should never get in front of the keyboard while I'm doing my morning coffee :crazy:

Please excuse the wild splater paint it looks much better with motors installed:rolleyes:

mcollonstn - I just have a trickle charger and was thinking of moving into a 10 amp charger for the reason you just said. What is a good, economical brand to buy that does a good job without getting too pricey? I imagine battery chargers are like everything else, you get what you pay for. Thanks for your advice, you seem pretty knowledgable. Eric

mcollinstn - I looked at a charger after work at Sears, they have one that has a 5 amp setting to slow charge and a 15 amp setting to quick charge, there are also three settings for the type of battery you have, typical car battery - setting 1, deep cycle battery - setting 2 and deep cycle that has a green fish eye on top - setting 3. It also has a starting setting for starting a dead battery, its on sale for $75 bucks and it has an automatic shut off when the battery is fully charged, also a meter showing how much of the battery is charged. What do you think? I know you said 10 amp charger, will 15 amps be too much? I'm thinking about getting this one because you can use it on virtually any type of 12 volt battery, for my lawn equip, 4 wheeler, car and most important boat. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance for your help. Eric

bigE

That's a good one. Keep it well-ventilated while it's being used, and keep it from getting rained on and it will last a long time.

While were on this topic, I was definaltly considering to OPTIMA blue top - strickly as power for my stereo - my question is does it outlast conventional deep cycle?? - it I can get an extra hour w/music than it's worth it to me - do they fit in regular battery box?? & whats a good price for the blue top optima??

My freinds, switch to 6 volts golf cart batteries :

NOTHING beats those. 2 x 6 volts in serial, shure a lot of pounds but a lot of SOUND and for LONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG periods.

A friend runs 1 000 watts amp all day and starts is 454 like a peace of cake!

Ran-dom

Outlast?
What are you asking?
What are you comparing it against.

Can you run a 20 amp load longer on a blue-top Optima versus a std deep-cycle Group 24? They are close, but no, the std will run a little longer, and if you are comparing against a Group 27, the conventional will run longer still.

Can you charge/discharge/charge/discharge/charge/discharge a blue-top Optima more times than you can a conventional deep-cycle? Yes.

If you perform poor battery maintenance and let the battery sit in a discharged state often and do not keep it away from sub-freezing temeratures will take more months/years to go belly-up than a conventional deep-cycle? No. Poor maintenance can trash any battery prematurely, although the Optima will be more resistant to dry-plate accelerated sulfation.

JS232,

Power longevity is in direct relation to weight. Two 6v golf cart batteries at 66 pounds each result in 235 amp-hrs of battery power. One 8D 12v is 132 pounds and 224 amp-hrs.
Two Group 31 12v batteries yield 240 amp-hrs at 66 pounds each.

No magic here.

Now, in some areas, "remanufactured" golf cart batteries are very affordable. This could be a consideration.

Another point to remember is that properly-maintained batteries usually die "one cell at a time". A 12 v battery contains six 2 volt cells. One lame or shorted cell spells battery replacement. A 6 v battery contains three 2 volt cells. A lame cell means only replacing "half" of a 12 volt battery.

Regardless of one's theory on the issue, it is hard to compete money-for-money with a $65 AutoZone 3yr Free/84month prorated battery.

Unless you truly feel you need a high-tech sealed submersible mat-wrapped spaceship battery, your probably spending money simply for looks or prestige when going AGM/gel/Optima.

But, hey, there's nothing wrong with that either. Just make sure you know what any why you are choosing...

"Unless you truly feel you need a high-tech sealed submersible mat-wrapped spaceship battery, your probably spending money simply for looks or prestige when going AGM/gel/Optima."


Hey didn't I just say that :D :p


Good advise mcollinstn :)

I always run my switch in BOTH,, anyone see a problem with that?

I would run optima blue tops, watch ebae youll find them for 100-125 each