How long do your batteries last?

[Elkins45]

How many years do you get out of your starting battery? How about your trolling motor batteries? My starting battery was bought in January 2019 and it's taking longer to charge than the trolling battery. Even though it only gets used to crank over the  motor a couple of times and run the sonar for a day of fishing it now takes like 36 hours for the onboard charger to give a green light for it. I put a load tester on it and it's still about 80% of the rated capacity but the longer charge time worries me for a multi-day trip. That doesn't seem like very good battery life to me, but I hate to spend $100 to replace a battery that still might have a decent bit of life left...but i would hate being stranded on the water more.

 

How often do you change your batteries?

[Jig-Man]

I usually get about 4 years out of a set of trolling motor batteries and the same with the cranker.  If it took more than a few hours to charge my cranking battery it would get replaced.

[PourMyOwn]

1 hour ago, Jig-Man said:

I usually get about 4 years out of a set of trolling motor batteries and the same with the cranker.

Pretty much this. If I get 6 years I consider it a major victory.

[Way2slow]

I never run a cranking battery more than four years and usually replace them at three.  They can cause too many problems when they get weak.  Burned out charging systems are a common problem with a weak battery. 

[A-Jay]

Same as above.

3-4 years on the the cranker and the TM batteries.

(same with boat trailer tires)

All 31M AGM's - pretty consistent with the charging but that's the life span on them for me.

Of course it depends on how many times I drain them super low.

My newer electronic draw more juice now, 

so that starter is getting pretty hammered most every trip.

A-Jay

 

[Catt]

How long do your batteries last?

 

Usually about 1:30 - 2:00 pm I'm outta juice 🤔

 

[Jig-Man]

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Same as above.

3-4 years on the the cranker and the TM batteries.

(same with boat trailer tires)

All 31M AGM's - pretty consistent with the charging but that's the life span on them for me.

Of course it depends on how many times I drain them super low.

My newer electronic draw more juice now, 

so that starter is getting pretty hammered most every trip.

A-Jay

 

My Lowrance units killed my cranker graveyard dead in a year.  When I changed to Humminbirds they did the same thing even with the X2 1150 cca agm so I installed a house battery (100 amp hr) lithium with a stand alone Minn Kota 10 mph charger.

[crypt]

change mine out every 4 years....all 3 of em....

[GreenPig]

  My Duracell Deep Cycle Group 31's are just shy of 7 years old and like A - Jay's are charged by a 3 bank Dual Pro. Two for trolling, one for electronics, and my starting is handled by my right arm. 

[A-Jay]

18 minutes ago, GreenPig said:

 my starting is handled by my right arm. 

Excellent ~

How often do you need to replace it ?

Asking for a friend.

🤓

A-Jay

 

[BigAngus752]

I just pulled them out for the winter.  My two group 27 TM batteries are Diehards from a local auto store and the manufacture dates are 4/21 and 5/21.  I absolutely abuse these.  I fish two electric-only lakes and I drain these to 20% or lower at least 4 times a month.  More when I can get out.  They replaced two Interstate batteries that lasted 14 months before they stopped taking a charge.  

 

My cranking battery is the original cranking battery.  It's an Interstate and my boat is a 2016 so it's a 15 or 16 manufacture date.  

 

I keep my batteries on the charger 24-7 when not fishing.  From March to Thanksgiving they are in the boat (stored indoors) and on a Dual Pro Professional.  From Thanksgiving to March they are in a heated garage and on individual Shumacher smart chargers (with maintenance mode).  I check water levels twice a year.  

[Junk Fisherman]

My last wet cell Duracell Batteries from Sam's Club lasted me 7 seasons.  I was so pleased with these results that I replaced them with the same batteries rather than going to AGMs or lithiums.  I think the key is maintaining the water levels and constantly leaving them fully charged.  I check mine every month or so and refill.  I have a buddy who never checks his water levels and replaces his every year.

 

I didn't get as long on my starting battery- maybe 4 years.  I did replace that with an AGM.  I've always heard that 3 years was the benchmark for wet cell batteries but I've always gotten more years than that.  

[gim]

There's a lot that goes into how long a battery should or shouldn't last.  And much of it depends on the user/maintainer.

 

Generally speaking, I got 3+ seasons out of my trolling motor batteries (24 volt, size 27) when I used lead acid versions.  I could tell when they were becoming weaker and wouldn't have as much kick on the bow mount.  They were interstate brands that costed me about 100 bucks each.

 

I replaced them November 2023 on Black Friday with Duracell Ultra AGMs.  I expect to get about twice as much life span out of these.

 

The first cranking battery that came with my boat (2015) lasted me nearly 6 full seasons.  I just replaced that last November 2023 as well.  I still use a lead acid version for that battery as I could not find a locally-sold AGM version of it anywhere.

 

Just remember that if you have more than 1 battery (like if you have a 24 or 36 volt system for your bow mount), change all of them at the same time.  That way they use power evenly over their lifespan. 

 

Also, a boost pack like a NOCO or similar is a good idea in case you have a dead battery.  Jumper cables would also work as another contingency.

 

Lithium batteries have their advantages, and one of those comes from the weight savings.  They are very popular in the kayak realm because of this reason.

[Tennessee Boy]

We really shouldn’t talk about battery life in terms of years.  It’s more about usage.   Getting married doubled the life of my batteries. 😁

[Way2slow]

If you really want to get into how long a battery last in term of years, there are way too many variables that determine that with any degree of accuracy.  

First off, battery life is not measured in time, it's measured in cycle counts, how many times it can be discharged and charged.  

A major factor in that is going to be how the battery is made and what alloys were used.  Cheap batteries have cheaply made plates, quality batteries have a much better and more alloy in them.

The next is going to be how the battery is used and maintained.  Cranking batteries are not designed to be discharged.  Their plates are designed to give a high surge of current over a short period.  Letting one discharge very much greatly reduces its cycle count.

How the battery is maintained has a huge effect on how long the battery lives.  A good maintainer is a must for batteries not regularly used, regular use is needed.  Letting one sit for long durations on a maintainer is not that good for the battery.  While it does need to be on a maintainer, they still need to be cycled regularly.  A top-of-the-line maintainer will actually cycle the battery periodically.

They say with age comes wisdom, well when it comes to batteries, I've learned they are too cheap for the grief and misery they can cause.  I buy the biggest, top of the line batteries that will fit where I need it to do, but I don't care who's brand I buy, three years, maybe four is it's still testing near100%, is all I will run a cranking battery.  They come out and go in the golf cart (it's a gas model) the welder or just a spare battery sitting around, but it' does not stay where I have to depend on it.

 

[MickD]

My starting and trolling motor batteries, 2 of the latter, were new in 2017 and I've seen no perceptible drop in performance. Starting battery is a gel.  80 HP Merc 4 stroke

[WRB]

80’s & 90’s I ran 2 Trojan SC225’s flooded cell with Flow-Rite watering system for the TM and a group 27 cranking battery. The TM batteries were hard to get to so that is why the watering system.

The Trojan batteries lasted about 8 years before trading them in for new. We can bass fish year around so the batteries never sit without being used.

I believe the watering system doubles flooded cell battery life. 

We moved in 2005 to a home with a  shorter depth garage and sold my 19’ boat and bought a 17’5” flooding trailer tongue that fit onto the new garage. This boat I put AGM’s in and the batteries were still good when I sold the in 2020. Amazing batteries with zero maintenance.

Tom

[Way2slow]

I will run TM batteries until their performance starts interfering with my fishing.  I also ran Trojan SC225's and it was very common get five years. 

We used to spend hours chasing schooling bass feeding on shad, spending a lot of time running the TM on high getting to where they would pop up again and it would be several years before I started noticing enough reduction in run time to replace them. 

However, TM batteries I don't have to be concerned out getting stranded or frying a charging system if they decide to go belly up, so I have no problems with getting my whole nickels worth out of those.  Plus, the last 225's I bought were a little over $200 each (haven't check on what they are now if they even still make them) and you are always supposed to replace the set at the same time when connected in series or parallel.  That gets out of the class of being cheap like a single cranking battery.

[WRB]

Trojan changed their focus to 6V golf cart battery systems.

The engineer that designed the SC225’s started his own company Wil Power for UPS commercial back up power. His AGM’s were in my boat for 15 years without any issues, amazing batteries.

UPS is a different market. The batteries have SST dual terminals perfect for marine use but not his market.

I believe it’s lithium today.

Tom

[Elkins45]

On 12/13/2024 at 8:06 PM, Way2slow said:

 However, TM batteries I don't have to be concerned out getting stranded or frying a charging system if they decide to go belly up, so I have no problems with getting my whole nickels worth out of those. 

I went ahead and sprung for a dual use size 27 to replace my size 24 starting battery because it was on sale for Black Friday, and if it ever stops raining I'll install a new battery tray and the new battery. I didn't like how it was behaving on the charger, although with my little 50hp two stroke I'm not terrified of a dead starting battery because I can either jump it from the TM battery or I can rope start it.

 

My first "real" outboard was an 85hp Johnson that had some sort of defect in the starting system that I could never track down even after paying a boat mechanic a good deal of $$. You got about 30 seconds of cranking max before the starter dragged to a crawl. I became a real champ at pull starting that thing; fortunately once if started for the day it didn't take much cranking to restart. Rope sorting my 50 is like starting a lawnmower in comparison.

[gulfcaptain]

My trolling motor batteries last 3-5yrs. Ran two 27 cranking batteries in series for a couple years,  but then went to 2 10" units, a 12", and one of the 9" plus a black box for my livescope......well had to trolling motor back to the ramp 2x. Now have a jump box, installed a 24series size 100ah lithium for my electronics only and  my cranking battery only runs pumps,  and accessories,  no electronics. No issues since with power loss or draw down. This next year putting a 36v 100ah battery in for trolling motor as 2 of the 3 batteries are due to be replaced and would rather just upgrade and be done with it for next 5yrs or so 

[Bankbeater]

My trolling motor batteries usually last around 4 years.  Last time I replaced it was in 2021.  I replaced the charger in 2018.

[Goldstar225]

I used my interstate batteries for 6 years (24 series crank, 2X 27 series trolling).  They were still serving fine and neer let me down but I replaced them as a precaution.  

[river-rat]

 

I change my starting and trolling motor batteries every 3 years without fail.