Chuck7

I use batteries that you cant add water to,Joshua

Josh...what kind of Marine battery is that..
and who sells it?

AJ52

I use distilled water or bottled drinking water.I stay away from tap water.
I have well water with alot of calcium.

Rebel Hog

Chuck, (Sears)Die Hardand many othercompanies which make a Maintenance Free Battery!

ranger56528

Iam going on 6yrs with me DC Battery in my Ranger Bass Boat.Ive always charged with a auto charger.
My new charger has a DC setting.

Now on the other hand I only get 2 maybe 3 yrs out of my starting battery..
I also was the battery Tech for 11yrs at the company I worked for,handled all batteries and warranty's.At the time we had Exide only then added the Optima when they came out.

Thats all I will say.....I KNOW NOTHING...

AJ52

I would love to try the Optima - a bit pricey - but I will have one some day.

Sears batterys have always performed well auto or boat - 4yrs on deep cycle.Last couple Sears batterys I had were 900 amps as I recall.
On fishing trips/vacations with no 110 at boat I hated hauling those Brutes in and out of boat to charge.

Chuck7

I did some study tonight on the various batteries..the Optima diffinitely sounds like a winner .

Sears Die hard sounds good except for this quote . " The batteries are guaranteed for 30 months, including free replacement for up to 90 days after the purchase date. "The 90 day free replacement.???? huh.Walmart is 18 month free replacement. ..and no questions asked. I got mine replaced last year on month 16.

I do like the maintenance free gel cells though in Die hard and Optima. The Optimas were 157.00 though but with free shipping.

On the other hand...Walmart is only 10 minutes away and I can get their best for about 70.00. Also , they are very easy to deal with when taking them back.That is a bonus in itself..

I believe I will use strictly distilled water from here out and see if that helps. I read a lot of reviews and 2 years on Walmart's Everstart Maxx batteries are about normal.

Here are the warranty stats on the Optima Battery which can be bought at Sears for 169.00
Optima Battery Warranties

The Optima warranty is honored at Optima dealers nationwide.





[align=center]Model[/align]
[align=center]Optima Manufacturer's Warranty [/align]

[align=center]D31M[/align]
[align=center]18 months free replacement + 18 months pro-rated2,3,4[/align]

[align=center]D34M[/align]
[align=center]18 months free replacement + 18 months pro-rated2,3,4[/align]

[align=center]TF1800[/align]
[align=center]18 months free replacement + 18 months pro-rated2,3,4[/align]

[align=center]34M[/align]
[align=center]18 months free replacement + 18 months pro-rated2[/align]

[align=center]D31A[/align]
[align=center]24 months free replacement + 12 months pro-rated3,4[/align]

[align=center]D31T[/align]
[align=center]24 months free replacement + 12 months pro-rated3,4[/align]

[align=center]D34[/align]
[align=center]12 months free replacement + 12 months pro-rated2,3,4[/align]

[align=center]D34/78[/align]
[align=center]12 months free replacement + 12 months pro-rated2,3,4[/align]

[align=center]D35[/align]
[align=center]12 months free replacement + 12 months pro-rated2,3,4[/align]

[align=center]D75/25[/align]
[align=center]12 months free replacement + 12 months pro-rated2,3,4[/align]

[align=center]D51[/align]
[align=center]12 months free replacement + 12 months pro-rated2,3,4[/align]

[align=center]D51R[/align]
[align=center]12 months free replacement + 12 months pro-rated2,3,4[/align]

[align=center]6465[/align]
[align=center]36 months free replacement + 36 months pro-rated1,2,5[/align]

[align=center]34/78[/align]
[align=center]36 months free replacement + 36 months pro-rated1,2,5[/align]

[align=center]34R[/align]
[align=center]36 months free replacement + 36 months pro-rated1,2,5[/align]

[align=center]75/25[/align]
[align=center]36 months free replacement + 36 months pro-rated1,2,5[/align]

[align=center]8081[/align]
[align=center]36 months free replacement + 36 months pro-rated1,2,5[/align]

[align=center]84[/size][/color][/font]85[/align]
[align=center]36 months free replacement + 36 months pro-rated1,2,5[/align]

[align=center]6V[/align]
[align=center]24 months free replacement + 36 months pro-rated1,2,5[/align]

Same 18 month warranty as Walmart's 70.00 battery.[8D]

C7

Chuck7

The Optima marine batteries were either 12 or 18 month.warranty. The lower 24 and 36 month batteries were automotive batteries.
c7

Steve F.in MD

Chuck7,

Yes, use distilled water. It's cheap enough...just buy a gallon or two and store near you boat so it will be handy when you check your battery levels.

Chuck7

I'll do that partner. I'll get some next time I'm out. It was toooo windy to fish today so I spent the morning garage saling with my wife. She is not a hunter so I felt good when she wore my camoflauge jacket this mornign..It was nippy and I happened to have it in my truck. She said ,"Good grief I look like a redneck." I said..you look great.

ranger56528

FYI............Optima batteries are not a Gel CEll battery.........

Each cell is a very thin(toilet paper thin)fiber soaked in acid then layed out on lead and rolled up and put into the round cell.
That is why they are so indestructable.
We dropped one,drilled holes in it pounded nails into it and all this did not effect the battery,we also took the top off one and unrolled and rerol.led the fiber and lead back up put it back together and it worked just fine.

But what do I know...