# Battery Problem, Exchange, Warranty - UPDATE



## FishingCop (Apr 20, 2010)

Well, I bought a marine battery at Wallmart this time last year. It won't hold a charge now. I happened to be at Wallmart today and they didn't know if marine batteries had a warranty??? They said to look on the battery. I will do that, but not until next week when I again am out where the boat is stored. 

Question: If the marine batteries do not have a warranty, can I use a regular car battery which has a 1 or 2 year warranty? I had to buy the battery last year for the same reason - the old Wallmart marine battery wouldn't hold a charge. I don't want to keep buying new batteries every year, especially if they don't have a warranty??? I have two on the boat, one new last year, the other a year older. Now, neither are holding a charge. I'm hoping I can get a free replacement for the one I bought last year and bite the bullet and buy another new one now. So.. If they don't replace the one I bought last year, will a regular car battery work? At least that has a warranty??????


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## redbug (Apr 20, 2010)

you are doing something wrong if your batteries are not lasting. 
All battery manufacturers have a replacement warranty most have a 1 year replacement then are rated after that. be sure to keep your receipt. Take your battery back to walmart they should replace it. 
The question is why aren't they lasting? Do you charge them before you store them?
that will kill a battery, seeing how you store your boat away from home you may want to pull the batteries and take them home to charge between uses.


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## FishingCop (Apr 20, 2010)

redbug said:


> you are doing something wrong if your batteries are not lasting.
> All battery manufacturers have a replacement warranty most have a 1 year replacement then are rated after that. be sure to keep your receipt. Take your battery back to walmart they should replace it.
> The question is why aren't they lasting? Do you charge them before you store them?
> that will kill a battery, seeing how you store your boat away from home you may want to pull the batteries and take them home to charge between uses.



Yeah, probably my fault for not pulling them in the winter. They are a pain cause the wires barely reach the terminals and taking them out is difficult cause they are both tucked under a ledge, hard to reach. I guess not too difficult to take out if I have to buy new ones #-o 

But, What's the difference in keeping them in the boat or taking them out and leaving them in the garage? Will the cold weather damage them?


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## Specknreds (Apr 20, 2010)

I found this out the hard way too. Our Walmarts battery supplier will no longer warranty their marine batteries. They will cover SOME existing batteries that were sold with warranty, but none of their new marine batteries being sold will have it. I hope other battery suppliers do not follow suit.


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## Specknreds (Apr 20, 2010)

I just found out a little more info. I made a few phone calls. I was told that people need to voice their displeasure with Johnson Control (supplier of Ever Start/Ever Max batteries). Call the 1-800 number on the battery. I was also told that all of Johnson Controls batteries that Walmart sells including car batteries have changed their warranties. Some car batteries are only warranted for 30 days while the more expensive ones go up to 2 years. Marine batteries warranty is up as soon as you connect them!! This went into effect in January.


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## FishingCop (Apr 20, 2010)

Specknreds said:


> I just found out a little more info. Marine batteries warranty is up as soon as you connect them!! This went into effect in January.



Thanks Specs, 

hummmm, I assume that batteries bought before January still have whatever warranty (if any) that was offered at the time of sale??

Again, as asked in the original post - will a regular car battery work - or is there something special about "marine" batteries??


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## bassboy1 (Apr 20, 2010)

Is this for your trolling motor, or your outboard cranking battery? If for your trolling motor, yes, there is big difference. Marine deep cycle batteries are designed to be pulled down slowly, and recharged, quite often, as one would with a trolling motor. Cranking batteries are designed to give lotsa juice at once, but don't like being drained and recharged quite a bit. It is quite alright to use a trolling battery for the outboard, so long as you don't have a real high displacement, high hp motor (starter pulls more amps than most deep cycles can give at once), but you shouldn't use a cranking battery for the trolling motor. Supposedly, marine cranking batteries are a little more durable when it comes to bouncing around, and just being abused, than standard car batteries. 

However, I got a year and a half out of a car battery, from a 4 cyl. Toyota, that I thought was on it's last leg, and I've never been the best with battery maintenance, I'll be honest. I figured I would go ahead and use the life up and see if it wouldn't hold up for a couple more weeks, then get a new battery. Well, a year and a half later (this battery had been in that car for years, then stored in the back of the shop for 6 months), I sold the boat just as the battery was tiring out. 

The whole value in wallyworld batteries used to be that they didn't last as long as the warranty did, so when they died in a year, they could be exchanged for a new one, under the 18 month warranty. I know one person who paid for only 1 set in 8 years, swapping them every 6 months (he is also on the water over 250 days/year, and truly did wear the battery out - didn't destroy it just to get the warranty).


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## wasilvers (Apr 20, 2010)

Car batteries are designed to crank out amps over short time frame. (ie 1000 cold cranking amp batteries deliver up to 1000 amps - in theory)

Marine batteries are desinged to provide continued use at low/moderate amperage (ie 180 amp hour batteries deilver a total of 180 amps over a period of time.)

If you are only using them for starting batteries, then an auto battery would work, if it is trolling, then I have been told it will ruin an auto battery.


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## Hanr3 (Apr 21, 2010)

You need to buy your batteries from someplace else. 

Farm & Fleet is where I get my batteries.
24 month warrenty, 1yr free replacement. 
$60.00
https://www.farmandfleet.com/products/423384-power_connection_marine_rv_battery.html?lref=%2fautomotive%2fbatteries%2fother%2fmarine%2f


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## ebcbob (Apr 21, 2010)

I do not know if this is your problem, but I have encountered it with others......they do NOT maintain the water level in the battery, the plates become exposed and it will ruin a battery and if the water level is low, it will NOT hold a charge.


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## FishingCop (Apr 21, 2010)

I didn't check the water - I merely jumped it so I could raise the motor to haul it out of storage and to my cousin's garage. We didn't have time that day to check into it at all. Hopefully, I'll get the batteries out, check them for water, etc., and get new ones if I need them. Farm and Fleet sounds like a better deal


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## Outdoorsman (Apr 21, 2010)

my other favorite website...https://lake-link.com

Just search "batteries"....


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## Quackrstackr (Apr 21, 2010)

Cold weather will not hurt a charged battery but it is rough on them in a low charge state.

Not keeping your deep cycle batteries charged is a death sentence on them. Also, let one completely discharge and you can throw it in the dumpster (so to speak) after that. It will never be right again. You could have something unknowingly drawing on your batteries, causing them to discharge.

If you have electricity available where you store your boat, I would suggest buying a good onboard charger and just leaving it plugged up. It will end your battery problems. Just make sure to check your water level before you store it for winter.


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## perchin (Apr 21, 2010)

Question.......... My neighboor tells me that if I remove my battery for winter don't leave it sitting on concrete but on wood. Is this accurate??? What would happen if it was left on the basement floor(concrete) rather than on a wood surface?


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## FishingCop (Apr 21, 2010)

perchin said:


> Question.......... My neighboor tells me that if I remove my battery for winter don't leave it sitting on concrete but on wood. Is this accurate??? What would happen if it was left on the basement floor(concrete) rather than on a wood surface?



Here ya go  

https://www.thebatteryterminal.com/TechTalk_Batteries_on_Concrete.htm


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## FishingCop (Apr 21, 2010)

Quackrstackr said:


> Cold weather will not hurt a charged battery but it is rough on them in a low charge state.
> 
> Not keeping your deep cycle batteries charged is a death sentence on them. Also, let one completely discharge and you can throw it in the dumpster (so to speak) after that. It will never be right again. You could have something unknowingly drawing on your batteries, causing them to discharge.
> 
> If you have electricity available where you store your boat, I would suggest buying a good onboard charger and just leaving it plugged up. It will end your battery problems. Just make sure to check your water level before you store it for winter.




I have an on-board charger but I don't know if it stays on trickle-charge or shuts off completely when the batteries are fully charged. I didn't want to keep it plugged in if it doesn't shut off. Also, the guy who owns the building where I store it might have a problem with it being plugged in to his electric for 6 months? But, I should check this all out so I don't have to buy batteries again next spring :roll:


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## perchin (Apr 21, 2010)

FishingCop said:


> perchin said:
> 
> 
> > Question.......... My neighboor tells me that if I remove my battery for winter don't leave it sitting on concrete but on wood. Is this accurate??? What would happen if it was left on the basement floor(concrete) rather than on a wood surface?
> ...



Thanks man.......excellent read, and a funny little ending note too.


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## Quackrstackr (Apr 21, 2010)

If it kicks in to float mode, it won't draw any more power than the led on the case and the little bit that the hardware for the monitoring takes. It will only hit it with a trickle if the level drops low enough that the batteries need to be topped off.


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## FishingCop (Apr 21, 2010)

Quackrstackr said:


> If it kicks in to float mode, it won't draw any more power than the led on the case and the little bit that the hardware for the monitoring takes. It will only hit it with a trickle if the level drops low enough that the batteries need to be topped off.




Thanks, sounds like the way I should go as long as the guy doesn't have a problem with me leaving it plugged in....


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## redbug (Apr 21, 2010)

even at a full power output the charger wont cost that much if ypou give the guy $20 for the power he will make out and you will save the cost of new batteries every year. I leave mine plugged in all year long


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## Outdoorsman (Apr 21, 2010)

Not mine but quoted from my other favorite website...

"I have been reading over alot of the recent posts in regards to "battery care". If this matters to anyone, I just so happen to be a battery sales representative for the leading replacement battery co. in North America. I will not discuss the brand in this posting, but will offer some friendly advice to help with some questions that I have read. As far as battery charging goes, over charging any battery will void most manufacturers warranties. Most "automatic" battery chargers on the market are not truly automatic. They tend to work against the internal resistance in the battery being charged. Therefore always are putting a small Ma rate to a (fully charged) battery, that isn't asking for it. This will in time, boil out the electrolyte and cause premature failure. I would suggest in purchasing a "smart charger" that actually shuts off when charged, then maintains as needed. CTEK makes a great unit that comes in several duties, depending on your needs. Keep in mind also, a fully charged battery stores at 12.66 volts as to 11.90 volts being 100% discharged. The difference being just a little over .7 volts from one extreme to the other. Most owners are not aware of this fact. Also a battery maintained at 12.66v will not freeze until -76 deg. F. A battery stored at 12.1 v could freeze at -10 deg. F. Bottom line on this subject : keep water levels up; invest in a descent charger; charge monthly during storage."


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## FishingCop (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks for all your replies and info. I'll be checking out the water levels in the batteries in the next few days. Then, hopefully a replacement for the one I bought last year and a new one at F&F. Next year, I'll keep the charger plugged in - as long as it has a shutoff and not a trickle charge. Hopefully, I'll a few years use out of the new ones and not be buying new every year??? Thanks again for your help...


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## wolfmjc (Apr 21, 2010)

got my batts from napa, if i have a problem they don't give me a problem. I also keep my batts on a commercial maintainer that uses pulse technology.....


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## lswoody (Apr 22, 2010)

I just bought a trolling battery from walmart a couple months ago and I'm pretty sure it said there was a one year warranty on it. I'll have to look at it later.


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## FishingCop (Apr 26, 2010)

Okay, got a free replacement at Wall Mart for the one I bought last April (1 yr, 12 days old) - Confirmed - no longer going to warranty marine batteries at Wall Mart  --- but I got a free replacement this time  ($65 regularly- $58 on sale)

So... I took the other older (2006 manufacture) Wally World battery to Farm & Fleet and bought a new battery there. They were on sale and I bought a little better one than the lowest of the line for $65, reg $75, plus a $7 rebate (Ha, plus 10% 0ff cause I opened a charge card at F&F) - 

Bigger batteries won't fit in my application - both are under a non-removable shelf and not enough space to slide in the larger (wider/taller) batteries, so, buying the more powerful ones isn't an option - thus, I buy the small, standard size #24 batteries. Although, I've run the trolling motor over 4-6 hours trolling, fighting wind, etc, and never run out of juice on the #24 batteries??  So, I'm comfortable with the #24 being enough power for my boat and application. 

After reading this post and some recent other battery posts, I've learned that maintenance, water level, charging, etc., are the keys to success with respect to longer battery life. Thanks for all the insight and help.

so... I now have two new batteries: 

One from Wally : 24DP-4 675/140 - Excide ----NO warranty 

One from F&F: 24MDC 550CCA 140RC, 95 AH - Johnson Controls - 1 year replacement, 2 year warranty

Obviously, the warranty is better at F&F - what about the batteries?? Can any of you battery Guru's comment on the difference between them??


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## jdrautoworks (Apr 26, 2010)

The one from F&F is coded 24MDC meaning group 24 (decent sized) Marine Deep Cycle.... So the one from F&F is going to be a deep cycle with a warranty vs. wallyworld at the group 24 dual post hence the DP.....


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## FishingCop (Apr 26, 2010)

jdrautoworks said:


> The one from F&F is coded 24MDC meaning group 24 (decent sized) Marine Deep Cycle.... So the one from F&F is going to be a deep cycle with a warranty vs. wallyworld at the group 24 dual post hence the DP.....



So, is DP (dual post) not a deep cycle battery?


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## bAcKpAiN (Apr 26, 2010)

I would ask for my money back instead of an unwarranted battery from walmart. The ones in my area leave batteries on the shelf for years with little to no apparent maintanance.


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## FishingCop (Apr 26, 2010)

bAcKpAiN said:


> I would ask for my money back instead of an unwarranted battery from walmart. The ones in my area leave batteries on the shelf for years with little to no apparent maintanance.



Wish I would have thought of that ( or someone would have suggested that) earlier. Wonder if I could do that now??


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## bAcKpAiN (Apr 26, 2010)

I wouldn't see why not. You would still have the reciept from the exchange telling how much you originally paid. Here at my local Walmart the CS reps would probably even give you back the core fee. I am honestly saddened that Walmart is going the way of not carrying a warranty on their deep cycle batteries. I was going to buy two maxx's today but noticed that the ones that were manufactured this year had NO warranty stickers. The ones from 08 and 09 (yes still on the shelf probably dead as a doornail) had the 18 month warranty sticker on them.

I am in the market for two deep cycle marine batteries myself. I just got a 24V trolling motor, but won't touch a Walmart battery with a ten foot pole if it isn't going to be covered under warranty. I am going to call Tractor Supply and see what their warranty is, they have the best deal I could find in my area. https://www.tractorsupply.com/vehicle-maintenance-accessories/vehicle-batteries/motorcycle-specialty-batteries/stowaway-deep-cycle-marine-rv-battery-4001105

BTW I believe the "DP" is a refererence to dual purpose. It should be able to be used as a trolling motor battery or a cranking battery.


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## Quackrstackr (Apr 27, 2010)

bAcKpAiN said:


> I am honestly saddened that Walmart is going the way of not carrying a warranty on their deep cycle batteries.



No offense to anyone in this thread, but situations such as this one are exactly why Wal Mart is no longer giving warranties on their DC batteries. They most likely have thousands of batteries (if not 10's of thousands) being returned for new ones every year that have gone bad because of negligence and neglect of the owner, not because they were bad batteries. DC marine batteries are different animals than a car battery. People think that just because they never have to think about their car battery that they never have to do anything to their boat battery either until they are ready to go fishing. It doesn't work that way. You don't have to worry about your car battery because it essentially sees daily maintenance. Every time that you crank it, your alternator charges it back up. You also never drain your car battery down unless you are having serious motor problems and just can't get it to crank. People drain their trolling motor battery and then just charge it back up whenever they get around to it. That should be as soon as you get home... not 2 weeks or 2 months afterwards when you get ready to go fishing again. They also need to be kept charged during storage with the proper fluid level. Sitting idle for months with repeated heat/cold cycles really works on a battery. Most people don't unhook their batteries so there could be a potential current drain that they don't even know about that is killing them during storage, also.

Once again, no offense to anyone in this thread as it is not directed at anyone here. It is simply meant to show why this has probably happened. I have to deal with warranty issues in my job and see how they impact our bottom line. I see warranty parts come back often that have obviously failed because of misuse or abuse. Ultimately, the expense for somebody else's neglect still comes out of our pocket and the blame is usually levelled at us for producing a "bad part", not the real culprit.


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## bAcKpAiN (Apr 27, 2010)

Quackrstackr said:


> bAcKpAiN said:
> 
> 
> > I am honestly saddened that Walmart is going the way of not carrying a warranty on their deep cycle batteries.
> ...



I agree with what you are saying... to a point. Walmart has also made their own bed to some degree and are making the consumer pay for it. I went to three different Walmart stores yesterday looking for 2 of the max series in size 27 or 29. In looking at no less than 30 batteries there was only ONE that was made in 2010. The rest dated all the way back to the mid 90's up to late 2008. It isn't just the consumer that neglects the batteries. It is the retailers themselves that often ruin the batteries with neglect long before a consumer even touches it. Thus why I will never buy a battery at Walmart again. I purchased my last pair of batteries at Walmart and ended up having to use the warranty on both of them within 6 months, and that is with using a Guest onboard charger plugged in 24/7 when I wasn't fishing.


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## Quackrstackr (Apr 27, 2010)

I'm sure some WM's may shoulder part of the blame.

Being this close to 2 major lakes, the local WM here can't keep dc batteries in stock so cycling their inventory has never been an issue.


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## FishingCop (Apr 27, 2010)

Check the two I bought yesterday - the Wall Mart one was made in Oct, 09 - not too bad I guess.

The F&F one was made April 2010 - brand spanking new


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## bAcKpAiN (Apr 27, 2010)

Inner city Philadelphia isn't the "normal" market as well I am sure. :lol:
But every battery on PepBoy's shelf was less than 2 months old.


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## longjohn119 (Apr 27, 2010)

Farm and Fleet has the lowest prices on Swivel-eze seat hardware I can find, nothing on the internet even touches their prices. Last I checked Farm and Fleet batteries are made by the same company as the Walmart batteries. The difference seems to be warranty and F&F probably does a better job of rotating stock so batteries are never more than a few months old. Walmart the kid stocking shelves fo Chump Change probably puts the new batteries in the front and that last battery is older than the warranty time and already self discharged. The manufacture date code is stamped on the plastic case and at Walmart I always check them them and grab the freshest available. You don't have that option at many places, you get what they give you.

I haven't had a battery in my trucks, cars or boats die while still under warranty for over 30 years, most go a couple of years past the pro-rated warranty. When I replaced the one in my '91 Explorer last winter (It came with the truck) I was surprised to learn it was a few months short of 10 years old (I used it for 3 without problems) so I replaced it with another F&F just like it. 

A problem not mentioned that kills a lot of these batteries or at least shortens their lifespan is the unregulated charge output that are on most smaller outboards. After checking and finding all the decent devices for charging two batteries were expensive, microprocessor controlled and way overkill for a 4 amp unregulated charge system (Do I really need a 100 amp rated circuit for 4 piddly amps?) and all the cheaper systems use simple voltage comparators which don't work very well and tend to cycle too much I made my own Smart Controller which is a DPDT switch, a 30 amp relay and I manually control it making me the 'Smart' part of the system. This way it doesn't automatically kick in and charge an already fully charged Deep Cycle battery like the cheap ones do, I won't have to constantly hear it clicking on and off because you really need microprocessor control to do it right and it's set up in such a way that it disconnects with the ignition off (isolated discharge) but locks out the starter circuit (Just like a neutral safety switch does) if I forget to turn it off before I start the motor which would cause it to use the Deep Cycle battery in parallel with the start battery. So the worst case scenario is I forget to turn it on to recharge the Deep Cycle battery which is what I would have anyway without it. BTW both battery's voltage are monitored with a digital voltmeter (Analog voltage gauges are worthless IMO) so I'll know their state of charge


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## redbug (Apr 27, 2010)

I have seen on almost every fishing board i check when it comes to batteries abut 80% of the people all say they go to walmart and get a new battery every year for free they never say anything about them being bad they just want a new one every year
that is stealing IMO but the no questions asked return policy is asking for it. but it is wrong and cost the people who try to do it right a place to buy a battery


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## FishingCop (Apr 27, 2010)

redbug said:


> I have seen on almost every fishing board i check when it comes to batteries abut 80% of the people all say they go to walmart and get a new battery every year for free they never say anything about them being bad they just want a new one every year
> that is stealing IMO but the no questions asked return policy is asking for it. but it is wrong and cost the people who try to do it right a place to buy a battery




I've seen these posts also - and, I agree that a regular replacement for no good reason is not proper. When I took mine back, they tested it and determined that it was bad before they would replace it. 

If you've followed this post, you sill see that I took responsibility for not maintaining/charging/checking the water, etc. as it should have been done. I believe that the batteries going bad were probably my fault and not a inferior product. I've learned a lot from the responses above and, hopefully, I will get several years use out of my two new batteries. So, in one sense, I probably abused the warranty cause I didn't maintain the battery properly and therefore, am part of the problem. But, on the other hand, I did not intentionally abuse the warranty nor not care for the battery because I could get a new one free - it was simply my inexperience and being a novice boat owner. I have learned from the experience and we will definitely maintain my batteries properly in the future.


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## longjohn119 (Apr 27, 2010)

redbug said:


> I have seen on almost every fishing board i check when it comes to batteries abut 80% of the people all say they go to walmart and get a new battery every year for free they never say anything about them being bad they just want a new one every year
> that is stealing IMO but the no questions asked return policy is asking for it. but it is wrong and cost the people who try to do it right a place to buy a battery



You hit the nail on the head, because of these people Walmart is dropping their warranty and us honest folk get screwed in the process


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## redbug (Apr 27, 2010)

Fish cop.. seeing how you store your boat away from home you MAY want to think about this:
I had the same problem and i picked up a Honda generator that would run my 3 bank charger for 6 hours on a .6 gallon tank 
I would drop my boat off hook up my charger chained to my trailer of course and away i went. the generator cost $497 and I use it for other stuff at work but it saved my batteries. over the winter I removed the batteries and stored them at home


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## rcgreat (Apr 28, 2010)

https://www.mkbattery.com/content_container.php?page=downloads-and-technical-reference
Here is the website of the SLA batteries that I currently use in my boat. If you look at the "battery care and maintenance guide" link they give some tips on storage and charging. I like using the Sealed Lead Acid batteries because you get the same performance as a lead acid deep cycle with no leaking or water checking. I work for a wheelchair vendor that as been using this manufacture of batteries for years with very little problems. 
Power wheelchairs could be comparable to a trolling motor in the manner of current draw even though a wheelchair can sometimes draw up 80 amps. Normal current draw is approximately 10 amps after start up. These batteries last sometimes longer than five years with being charged nightly or every other night. They biggest thing that kills a battery is lack of charging. lead acid batteries do NOT like sitting in a partial charge. It will shorten the life of the battery. 
I personally store my batteries out of my boat and I charge them almost immediately when I get back from fishing. I also charge them every week or so with a "float" stlye charger (1.5amps). Its alot of work but my batteries are over three years old and were pulled from a wheelchair because the client wanted new batteries. Sorry for being long winded and I hope this helps a little bit.


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