On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 06:51:46 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 06:11:48 GMT, "Paul Winchester"
wrote:

Anyone using Exide orbital batterries?

I have a pair I purchased and they are working great.

"RG" wrote in message news:FV7%b.1285$h23.1008@fed1read06...

"Butch" wrote in message
hlink.net...
Noticed recently that the Sears Automotive guys are retailing Optimas.
Prices appear much better than West Marine BOAT/US prices.

Assume these are the real McCoy.

Comments?


Optima Red-Tops are great starting batteries, but their Blue-Top deep
cycles
leave quite a bit to be desired. Only about 50 amp hours of capacity. I
use the Optima Red-Tops as starting batteries in my diesel pickup, but use
Lifeline deep cycle AGM's in my boat. The Lifeline group 27's have 100
amp
hours of capacity. AGM technology is the only way to go, in my opinion.

http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/marinebattery.asp

I went with the Optima deep cycle for my trolling motor on the Ranger
and they SUCKED. Horrible batteries. You could drain them in nothing
flat.

I went back to the Interstate Megatron SRM-4D series and havne't
looked back since.

Hmmm. Two interesting and different experiences from mine with Optimas,
though I think we're talking about different models. The Optimas I had
on my SeaPro were, if memory serves, 75 amp capacity batteries. In any
event, they certainly provided all the juice I needed for pulling that
skiff around on the creeks of the ICW and for Florida lake fishing. The
only thing I didn't like about them were their oddball shape and size,
compared to traditional "Group XX" batteries.

I'm not the only one to experience this - at least talking to my
friends and aquaintances about trolling batteries. So a lot of my
opinion is based on personal experience and the experiences of others.
To be fair, I've also talked to folks who like them. More of those
who not than those who do.

They have a lot of power initially, gotta give them that. Under
constant load, though, they are very quick to deplete their charge. I
put a meter on them (I have a 24 volt system on the Ranger) and
watched the discharge cycle using the trolling motor normally. The
output didn't vary much until about where you start to see a decrease
in available voltage, then they die like a kamakazi - flame right out.

The charge cycle seemed overly long compared to a normal plate
battery. This is actually a fact because I tracked it - the Optima
took more time to recharge at an exponential rate - each charge cycle
took longer and that rate increased rapidly. I wired up a charge
monitor and graphed the charge rates over time - at one point, it was
like somebody flipped a switch and the charge time went up rapidly.

The Megatrons work like you would expect - available power, they don't
die quick, you have time to work out that you are low on battery life,
etc. They charge quicker and with proper maintenance, they seem to
last a long time. The charge cycles don't increase exponentially and
while they are heavy and BIG, you get more bang for the buck.

I dont' think AGM is a great technology for high use batteries.

Now, having said that, I have a son who is into car audio and has high
power auto system for shows and such. In that application, they seem
to work great, but they are being recharged as they are being used.

So making a long story short, I'm sticking with my Megatrons.

God that was long winded - I'm getting a major jones to get out on my
boats. :)

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------

Basic Fishing Program:

10 - Fish
20 - Eat
30 - Sleep
40 - Goto 10