Thread: Batteries and Chargers - Extreme Capacity

If you have been serious about what batteries you use for your boat, there are a few top brands / models that come to mind, such as the Optima and the most popular and trusted battery of all the old Deltec Voyager M27. With the introduction of ‘the new kid on the block’ here in SA, the 31DCXC Extreme Capacity by U.S Batteries, I thought its time to do a little one-on-one test.

My biggest challenge was to find something that draws a very constant current, but not too high and not too low. I came up with a eurolux energy saver spot lamp powered by a 1000 watt power inverter. The constant current was between 1.5 and 1.6 Amps. This is roughly the same current you would draw on a slow steady pace fishing the shoreline on your trolling motor once the boat got a little momentum. Ideally I would have liked to pump the current up a bit every now and again to simulate varying speeds on the boat, but how do you replicate this 100% for each battery? So a constant 1.5Amps it is for now. The cut off voltage for the test was 11.4V.

Before each test, the batteries were given a full charge and reconditioning by my CTEK charger, except for the Energizer that was fully charged by the owner, Millpond - Thanks Brad.

For this review I would like to give these batteries a Rating based on the constant draw of 1.5 Amps over a period of time in hours, compared to the capacity (Ah) specified on the battery. From a totally non-scientific perspective I will be placing the actual performance figure (1.5 x time in hours) in a 'ratio' to the actual rating by the manufacturer / importer. For example, lets take the first battery - the voyager M27.

Rating: 1.5A x 15.3hrs = 22.95 Therefore 22.95 ÷ 105 (actual rating) = 21.85% of promised capacity. This means that if you were sold a 105Ah battery for R1500 and it performed at 21.85%, you should have only paid R327.75.


Voyager M27MF: (bought February 2009) 22.5kgs

It has a capacity rating of 105Ah and lasted a total of 15 hours and 20 minutes.

Rating: 22% = Poor



Yellow Top Optima Y75L: (bought in May 2007) 27kgs

It has a capacity rating of 75Ah and lasted a total of 40 hours and 55 minutes.

Rating: 82% = Excellent



U.S Batteries 31DCXC: (bought March 2010) 28kgs

It has a capacity rating of 130Ah and lasted a total of 63 hours and 23 minutes.

Rating: 70% = Good



Energizer M27MF (bought April 2010) 23kgs

It has a capacity rating of 105Ah and lasted a total of 43 hours and 8 minutes.

Rating: 61% = Reasonable



Conclusion:

I was nothing short of shocked when the M27 conked out at just over 15 hours. So I did the test again with the second one of the pair – very much the same result. The first six months of this battery’s life it was charged with an old standard type charger that back then was regarded as a high end charger. Did this possible damage the battery? The next question is, is the M27 the same battery it was some years ago?

The Optima is a fantastic battery and its reliability is nothing short of exemplary. Even after 2½ years of charging abuse on an ‘old school’ charger before I got the pulse charger, it still offers great storage capacity. The only down side is the retail price tag of R3600 excl. VAT

I expected the 31DCXC to do well, and that it did. I will do this test again every 6 months to see how it compares to this first test, after 5 months of use nearly every weekend, to see how it maintains its capacity. I was asked on the weekend of the Albert Falls Tournament "Why would anyone want such a high capacity battery as a bass angler?" There are a dozen really good reasons, all of which are very obvious, but for me it is the fact that I am not pushing my batteries every time I go out. Hopefully this will ensure a longer life span of the battery - and that's money in the bank! Not to mention that at R1999 it's a great buy.

The Energizer also did very well at just over 40hrs making it a reasonable M27 battery.

The Last Word:

The CTEK chargers are in a class of their own – it’s like sending your battery to a physiotherapist after every ‘workout’.

Hi John,


Great Report. I got a few questions and i hope you can help me.

I've had the batteries on my boat for around 6months now and i think they are on the "blink" hehe

Charger: Auto Logic (Purple one)
Model: ABC - 1210 MOD
Output: DC12V10A

Trolling: Deltec Voyage Deep Cycle 105Ah
Cranking: Motorcraft Class A 50Ah

My question is do i have the correct charger or batteries? How do i determine or know when a battery is kaput and needs replacement? Will the CTEK charger be better and able to revive my batteries and could you please send me some prices?

I've also noticed that i had to charge my cranking battery before outings lately only to last half a day, does this mean that the outboard is not charging the battery and how do i check it?

Apologies for the hassle John, but I would rather go to the best....hehe

Elo Elo John,
Shot for all the stuff for my 'space rocket' I bought Three US Batteries and The Optima Blue Top from you. Worth the bucks, Fished on my boat abit, still learning it's capabilities, Off the One USBattery I run All my pumps, All my Sonars, All My Gadgets and some other stuff too.. The thing is like the "Hulk" never say drain.. This while I was fiddling, filling livewell, emptying, Bilge Play, All Sonars On LSS on, and more , the whole day, come back Plug in Onboard MinnKota charger, And its done charging chop chop.

Thumbs Up for the US Batteries. I Like. The Optima is just to crank my engine, totally isolated, no other drain off it. THat one too, Played with Trim, on/off motor alot.. Nada! cranks easy peasy.. THumbs up again,

My Trolling 2x USBatteries, With Ipilot on and me using Rabbit speed to wizz across spots.. They barely broke a sweat!
Waiting for the MinnKota Talon to be released, going to ship one down to put on the boat.
All in all I'm happy with the Batteries, Very Important to have good chargers!!!

Quick Quiz John, Is it true that Deep Cycle batteries reach their 'True Capacity' after a few drain/charge cycles?
(Also, I know, I know.. apologies, will put up pics of the boat soon..)

Hi Louis,

"My question is do i have the correct charger or batteries? How do i determine or know when a battery is kaput and needs replacement? Will the CTEK charger be better and able to revive my batteries and could you please send me some prices?

I've also noticed that i had to charge my cranking battery before outings lately only to last half a day, does this mean that the outboard is not charging the battery and how do i check it?"

The only way to know for sure how well a battery is performing is to carry out a test like I did. As far as Deep Cycle batteries go that have been imported and sold as M27's recently, I would like to know who did the rating and how did they come to a rating of 105Ah.

The charger you are using is a great charger and should be working just fine. Keep in mind it is the MOD version and the charging voltage is considerably higher than the standard model. These chargers are designed for high capacity batteries, so I don't know now if this is possibly the problem with the later model 'M27's' that are maybe not nearly the capacity they are claiming and thus you end up over-charging them. To know for sure if you over charging a battery or not, monitor the batteries temperature, if it rises more than a few degrees above ambient (shaded area) you are over charging it.

As for your cranking battery I suggest you connect your fishfinder to this battery for supply, and put a voltage display on the screen of the fishfinder. After a couple of hours on the water when the voltage has dropped a bit you can check the voltage when the motor is off, and then check it again when the motor is running over 2000rpm. If the voltage does not increase substantially then you know that your motor is not charging.

The charger you have is great for High Capacity batteries >100Ah. For your cranking battery it will be too much. Do you still have your old charger?

If not, have a look at the CTEK MULTI XS 7000. The sells for R1999.


If you still not sure, come drop the batteries off at my place for a couple of days and I will put them on the test bench and give you a full report. I will charge them with the CTEK first and after the test. That might just get some vooma back into them.

Originally Posted by KVDJunior

Quick Quiz John, Is it true that Deep Cycle batteries reach their 'True Capacity' after a few drain/charge cycles?
(Also, I know, I know.. apologies, will put up pics of the boat soon..)

Hi Mike,

That Rogue of your really looks sweet man, beautiful colour scheme too. As for the electronics setup, it's in a class of its own.

To answer your question, - Yes, it does take quite a few outings to 'wake' the batteries up a bit after being in storage after manufacture.

Nice topic, us not-yet-bass-boat-owning jocks appreciate it. Although we have no advice to offer or questions to ask, we take note of threads like this for future bass boat buys.

For e.g., the tip on the voltage indicator on your finder to check if battery charges - who would have thouught of that?? (I didn't even know that feature was available on the finder hehehe).

Thanks John!

Thanks a million John. I do still have my old charger, but it has "dissapeared" in the garage somewhere. hehe Will look for it and let you know.

I had my boats electronics connected to the cranking battery, but took if off about 2 trips ago because i thought that that is the reason the battery is still going flat. Now with just using the battery for cranking, it still dies halfway through the day. Another stupid question, hehe, how do i know when the battery is kaput?

Thanks John

Usually when it does what yours is doing, then you know its buggered.

How old is the battery?

Both about 6 months old... I've found my old charger, is it better to use on cranking battery?