Trolling Thunder dry cell battery life?

[fuzzy]

Three years ago I purchased and installed 2 12V Trolling Thunder dry cell batteries for my 24v system. This weekend after they wouldn't take a charge after the winter, I discovered that they had expanded and somewhat "melted down". A couple of phone calls to suppliers resulted in comments back that a 3 year life is pretty good for these batteries. Well, I bought 2 more to give them one more try, but I was sure expecting better life than I got based on the cost. I would appreciate any advice or comments about these batteries and or their advantages/disadvantages over regular deep cells. Obviously their compact size and weight are one big plus. Thanks.

[Gilligan]

I considered the Trolling Thunders until I discovered that the Walmart specials @$60 were 1/3 the price and their batterys carried a larger reserve than the TT batteries. I get 4 year average on my batteries when I'm nice to them.(properly charged and fluid levels kept up)

[John N]

Fuzzy, your post caught my attention. I have a couple trolling thunders for my MK 824, just entering the third season. Love them so far, only question I've had is how many years they'll go. Certainly compact, charge up real fast, and seem to perform as well as when new. But they are pricey...Good luck on the water. John.

[N.D.]

Ditto on Wallmart special.They are bulkier, but runinng third year and still going strong!
Best,Andy

[John in MN]

Can you describe the type of fishing you do? Have you ever run the Trolling Thunders down after a long, hard day of use. I have an 824 and am considering the Tolling Thunder to save some weight.