# Are the Wal-Mart batteries decent?



## bleumunkie (Feb 26, 2013)

I'm looking at picking up two batteries for trolling on long days on the lake, some electric only lakes. 

The Wal-mart batteries are cheap enough - but how is the quality? Anyone here have them? How are they working for you?

They will be running a cheap minn-kota C2 30# thrust trolling motor.


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## JMichael (Feb 26, 2013)

I've got several friends that have them and they haven't complained about any problems with them. I just bought my first one about a week ago but haven't had the boat out yet to test it. I decided to pay a little extra and get a 29 series Maxx because the Maxx batteries come with a 24 month free replacement vs a 12 month replacement for the standard marine batteries. And according to the guy at the desk they don't make a 27 series in the Maxx so you only have a choice of 24 or 29.


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## Focobassslayer (Feb 26, 2013)

I have the same minkota and when I was doing my battery home work I was told by a guy at interstate that there are only two battery manufactures in the us and the difference between most is just the sticker. My Walmart battery has done fine for me.


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## Jonboat Jerry (Feb 26, 2013)

I've got two up front for the TM and two in the console for house & start.
Three are Deep Cycle, Start is not. So far everything is working great.
Jerry


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## tnriverluver (Feb 26, 2013)

The Walmart group 29 batteries are good to go. I have four currently in my boats and camping trailer. I can run my boat's trolling motor (MK 40 lb) and electronics all day on my oldest which is now 4 y/o and it is still very strong at the end of the day. Hard to beat them for the price and they have a good replacement policy also.


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## Gotem (Feb 26, 2013)

In my larger boat I have Optima batteries. In my smaller boat, I have a Walmart Maxx 29. The Walmart battery has done a nice job powering a 30 lb trolling motor over the last year and preformed better than I expected.

Comparing the two are comparing apples and oranges because I would be comparing two different boats, but I have no complaints with the Walmart battery and would buy it again.

Its also fun saying "don't worry, I've got the largest battery that Walmart sells"


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## PATRIOT (Feb 26, 2013)

When buying batteries, the free replacement period and length of pro-rated warranty are all that matters IMHO.


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## JMichael (Feb 26, 2013)

PATRIOT said:


> When buying batteries, the free replacement period and length of pro-rated warranty are all that matters IMHO.


AMEN to that! If I've got a 2 year free replacement and my battery dies every 18-20 months and they honor the replacement policy hassle free I'm tickled to death. That leaves me with a brand new battery and a new warranty as long as they stay in business. :mrgreen:


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## krawler (Feb 27, 2013)

I have a 4 year old group 29 Maxx that's holding just fine. More important is the battery charger. Don't use a trickle charger buy a good smart charger and your batteries will last much longer. I've seen a few post/reviews about people complaining about Walmart batteries, saying they only last a short time. I can almost guarantee you that they were using the wrong battery charger and blaming it on the battery.

Use the battery but don't run it below 50% and charge it as soon as you can plug it in. Don't get lazy and say " I'll do it later".

The two biggest killers of batteries;
1. Wrong charger (over or under charging)
2. Leaving it in a discharged state.

This is the charger I've been using the last 4 years.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-SpeedCharge-15-Amp-Marine-Battery-Charger/13005745


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## TNtroller (Feb 27, 2013)

Like what has already been said, there are just a few battery makers anymore, so there is not much difference between brands. I've got a WM cranking batt in my boat that was made 5/08, worked fine last year. Have not had the boat this year to say it works but will assume it will. have a WM deep cycle battery for the MK Terrova 55 and it does fine, can troll as long as I want on the one battery that is 2-3 yrs old. The prior TM battery was a WM and lasted 4 yrs before losing a cell.

The key is to do proper maint and charging on any brand battery you get, and they should last you several years. I buy a WM battery for $100, if it lasts 4 yrs, then that's only $25/yr for the battery, and you spend more than that on gas, etc. on just one single fishing trip, so it's all somewhat relative in my view.


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## cva34 (Feb 27, 2013)

JMichael said:


> PATRIOT said:
> 
> 
> > When buying batteries, the free replacement period and length of pro-rated warranty are all that matters IMHO.
> ...



Thats so true so x-3 cva34


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## hipster dufus (Feb 28, 2013)

have 2 i bought in feb 07. everstart maxx 31. still going strong. charhe right after use with a smart charger. check periodically and fill cells with distilled water. only have filled 2x in 5 yrs. worth every penny. also remember there are walmarts everywhere! u can be on a trip and not worry about where to get a replacement. all that being said i think in my case 5 yrs is really pushing it and will monitor a little more frequently this yr. i take my multimeter on trips this yr and check condition after a few hrs, so far i have maintained a 12.6 volt reading after about 2 hrs. i realize the meter does not really give a good indication of battery life. but i have found that iuf u get down to 12.3 or less quickly ur batt is about dead.


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## lovedr79 (Feb 28, 2013)

I am on my second tm battery from them. The first lasted 6 long years. I was very impressed. The first one finally stared to hiss and carry on while charging so I replaced it.


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## FishingBuds (Feb 28, 2013)

I have a maxx series Walmart battery since 2008, I make sure to keep it fully charged, it's been just fine!


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## bleumunkie (Mar 1, 2013)

thanks for all the input guys. 

I knew about there only being a few battery makers left, however I used to work in a few places that would make private label stuff. Sometimes it was identical, sometimes it was slightly lower quality ingredients or something like small cosmetic blemishes that where repairable but not up to the brand name standards etc. 

I didn't know if the wal-mart batteries where not plated as well internally or something that would make a difference but save on cost, or if it was more along the lines of brand name labeling etc.

again, thanks for all the input. Wal-mart batteries for me, with a good charger, charged and maintained properly per the collective advice!


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## chevyrulz (Mar 6, 2013)

best part about em is you only have to buy 1, forever

take it back @ 11 months, get new battery, no questions asked


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## hoosier78 (Mar 6, 2013)

chevyrulz said:


> best part about em is you only have to buy 1, forever
> 
> take it back @ 11 months, get new battery, no questions asked


I hope you are kidding............


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## bleumunkie (Mar 6, 2013)

chevyrulz said:


> best part about em is you only have to buy 1, forever
> 
> take it back @ 11 months, get new battery, no questions asked



Policies like that are great for when you have an issue, but abusing it just means policies like that won't be around.

We'll be sitting here in the future thinking "remember those days when retailers had good guarantees on their stuff?"

I'm not out to screw anyone, especially a decent quality cheap item that has an unusually good guarantee policy. That's just irresponsible.


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## chevyrulz (Mar 6, 2013)

it's not abusing the policy, it's using the policy

if they accept my return, then i'm not abusing anything nor am i being dishonest. i'd probably forget to bring it back before the 1yr mark anyway. i have found an old battery in my garage that was a wal-mart battery, it was dead, & rather than charging it, i swapped it for a new one. they didn't ask anything about the battery, they just told me to grab a new one


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## hoosier78 (Mar 6, 2013)

chevyrulz said:


> it's not abusing the policy, it's using the policy
> 
> if they accept my return, then i'm not abusing anything nor am i being dishonest. i'd probably forget to bring it back before the 1yr mark anyway. i have found an old battery in my garage that was a wal-mart battery, it was dead, & rather than charging it, i swapped it for a new one. they didn't ask anything about the battery, they just told me to grab a new one


Not trying to start an argument but please rethink your position. If everyone did what you suggested batteries either would have 0 warranty or be 5,000.00. A properly maintained battery will last you around 4 years or more. That amounts to roughly 2.00/month for a 100.00 battery.


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## JMichael (Mar 6, 2013)

chevyrulz said:


> it's not abusing the policy, it's using the policy
> 
> if they accept my return, then i'm not abusing anything nor am i being dishonest. i'd probably forget to bring it back before the 1yr mark anyway. i have found an old battery in my garage that was a wal-mart battery, it was dead, & rather than charging it, i swapped it for a new one. they didn't ask anything about the battery, they just told me to grab a new one


I disagree. The policy states that it's free replacement for defective batteries. If you knowingly take a good battery in to exchange it just to keep your warranty in effect you are abusing the policy and being dishonest when you tell them there is a problem with the battery. If they accept it without doing any test to verify whether it's defective, the employee allowed it to happen because of their lack of knowledge or just being lazy. But what ever failings the employee may or may not have, that doesn't mean you didn't abuse the policy.


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## bleumunkie (Mar 6, 2013)

chevyrulz said:


> it's not abusing the policy, it's using the policy
> 
> if they accept my return, then i'm not abusing anything nor am i being dishonest. i'd probably forget to bring it back before the 1yr mark anyway. i have found an old battery in my garage that was a wal-mart battery, it was dead, & rather than charging it, i swapped it for a new one. they didn't ask anything about the battery, they just told me to grab a new one



It is abuse if there is nothing wrong with the battery. Cut and dry. The policy is there for defects and items that are below standards. 

If it was a mom and pop store that activity would put them out of business. We all love to hate wal Mart, and complain how they killed mom and pop store, but the reality is if customers where responsible instead of abusing policies like this - mom and pop stores could actually offer the same


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## TheMaestro (Mar 6, 2013)

This argument made me think that a better policy would be one similar to the return policy of propane tanks that we have. I think it would be enivronmentally and cost conscious if, say at the end if a year, you could return batteries and pay maybe 1/3 the cost for a fresh one. The old batteries can and SHOULD be recycled, 100%, with nothing going to landfills. In this way, manufacturer, retailer and consumer all share and all benefit. It wouldnt be 'free', but once the initial cost is paid, the replacement cost would be much more bearable by the consumer. Just a thought, as it has worked wonders for propane tanks at least here where I live!


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## JMichael (Mar 6, 2013)

TheMaestro said:


> This argument made me think that a better policy would be one similar to the return policy of propane tanks that we have. I think it would be enivronmentally and cost conscious if, say at the end if a year, you could return batteries and pay maybe 1/3 the cost for a fresh one. The old batteries can and SHOULD be recycled, 100%, with nothing going to landfills. In this way, manufacturer, retailer and consumer all share and all benefit. It wouldnt be 'free', but once the initial cost is paid, the replacement cost would be much more bearable by the consumer. Just a thought, as it has worked wonders for propane tanks at least here where I live!


Around here they've turned the 20lb propane exchange program into one of the biggest consumer ripoffs of the century. They're charging around $23 in some places for exchanging a tank. The bulk propane sales facility stopped refilling tanks for individuals so we've resorted to paying for an adapter in order to fill our own 20lb tanks from our bulk tank. We figure the cost to fill them like this is somewhere around $7-$8 now.


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## chevyrulz (Mar 6, 2013)

JMichael said:


> being dishonest when you tell them there is a problem with the battery.


never told wal-mart there was a problem w/ the battery, nor did they ask. 



TheMaestro said:


> a better policy would be one similar to the return policy of propane tanks that we have.


i agree & the wal-mart policy to not test the battery like an autoparts store is not very smart. apparently, i'm dishonest for realizing this & using it to my advantage



bleumunkie said:


> It is abuse if there is nothing wrong with the battery. Cut and dry.


 i disagree & wal-mart must too or else they'd not make it policy to accept battery returns the way they do...

for the record, it's not my plan to keep returning my wal-mart battery every 11 months lol, just pointing out that it's possible

sry to derail the thread


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## krawler (Mar 6, 2013)

chevyrulz said:


> best part about em is you only have to buy 1, forever
> 
> take it back @ 11 months, get new battery, no questions asked



I guess if someone wanted to keep doing this it would be their prerogative, but posting about it here will just flame-on people to what your doing.


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## TheMaestro (Mar 6, 2013)

That is a ripoff re the propane tanks! We can still refill here at gas stations and costco, etc. What I meant was when the tank would get rusty/old you could exchange it for a new one (filled) fof about $20. But, in between, at least here you just refil as usual... As for the batteries, I really believe you should be able trade in your old one for a discount on the new one....but maybe thats a pipe dream..


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