Best source for Group 31 Deep Cycles?

[oldmako69]

After wringing my brain and contorting my body I finally caved and schlepped my two batts for testing. I need a battery. OK, that's a lie. I need TWO.

So far the best 'deal' I have found is a Marine Deep-Cycle (710 CCA) for $120/ea from O'reilly.

Beyond that, the price jumps exponentially when you go to AGM etc. I don't feel the need to go nuts, as I typically can get 4-5 years out of a set. Once, nearly 7. But, I don't want to buy crap and have to do this again in 2 years.

100W, 7Amp Solar panel with smart box going in at the same time.

The ones coming out are 810CCA.

Opinions please.

[pstephens46]

Old school lead acid for me. Walmart too. Blasphemy!!!!

Plenty of things to throw money at on the boat. Fancy batteries? Nope

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I have a Dura-last marine battery from Auto Zone.

Been very, very happy with it's performance.

[boscoe99]

AC Delco Voyager were the best I ever had but they are hard to find now. Last one I got from Wally World. It has also been a good one.

[HandyJack]

One thing you can definitely trust walmart on is deep cycle batteries. They have negotiators that help bring the price down and it's the same manufacturer as the big guys, but dirt cheap. (AC Delco)

I picked up two huge EverStart Maxx Marine Battery Group Size 29 deep cyclers for $79 each on sale this past January. Don't even use 'em, just put 'em in the garage for when I need them. I top them off every month (or two weeks, depending on when i think about it) and saved a bundle. Group 29 gives you great bang-for-buck and they're about the same specs as a 31 from what I remember.

[oldmako69]

I ended up with two Group 31's from Batteries Plus.

105 Amp Hour.
60 pounds.
800 Cranking Amps at 32 F / 650 at 0 F
$110 each.

While I generally eschew Walmart, I did look online and their Group 31 batts were all considerably more expensive. Now, they may have been worth it, but I don't think that I put that much demand on my batteries to validate twice the price. I seldom anchor up and run lights, pumps, etc for more than a few hours. And given that these engines are so quiet at idle, I'd likely just leave one at idle and enjoy the charge.

[boscoe99]

The first time that one is 60 miles out and the motor(s) are off it gets very quiet. Spooky quiet.

Now an airplane motor when beyond gliding distance of land will always go into "auto ruff" mode. Strange sounds start appearing. Once back within gliding distance it smooths out and the funny noises go away.

[oldmako69]

I flew across Lake Superior once in a PA31 Cherokee Archer. I put about ten degrees in to the left as I neared Duluth. Even though I was about 9500', I was still munching on the seat cushion until I was close to the other side.

WRT these Batts, when I bought the boat last fall the owner assured me that they were "new". Of course, they could have been. They could also have been 2 years old and just looked new. All the stupid cranking and charging issues I've had are probably a result of them being on their way out, and how I mis-managed them. While I was getting decent V readings off of them during periods of constant use, they'd let me have it in the nuts if the boat sat for 2-3 weeks. I'd always get them started by combining them, but clearly I was only masking the problem. I had so much crap going on with just idling No 1, that I was a bit overloaded.

I'm going to wire both bilge pumps auto-switchs to one battery in an attempt to keep one fresh no matter what. I don't have shore power so an onboard charger is out of the question.

I'm installing a 100W solar panel and wiring it to one, but will bridge them together when the boat is not in use. Hopefully, this will keep them topped up and healthy.

I'm going to start using them as two paired sets and refrain from selecting BOTH unless absolutely necessary. ie Batt 1 to Eng 1 and Batt 2 to Eng 2. That way if one starts to crap out, it won't take the other one with it. I think this is what killed my second battery.

I get a voltage readout on my Garmin and Humminbird, as well as the stock Yam gages. I'd love to find a quality switchable VM for the helm so I could keep track of what's going on while underway, but that's pretty far down the list.