pwrfshn
01-13-2003, 09:51 AM
After my first weekend with the Optima batteries I hope there is something wrong with my AP.
First day, they seemd to run like a champ. Fished from 10-6 with almost a constant on at about 3-4 on a 65AP. The AP battery meter read low at the end of the day, not re-charge. I have run it many times for a few hours on re-charge.
Plugged the charger in at 7 that night and unpluuged it at about 7:30 the next morning. The Guest 2635 charger showed all four batteries having a full charge. Went out and didn't start using it until 9;30. Fished until 6 again using it on 3-4 all day. My AP head kept doing the turn to one side or the other (Steve Fellegy I would like your buddies info at Minn Kota) and the motor still showed low on the charge and not re-charge. I don't think my AP problem is a battery problem, but unfortunately another MK nightmare. For what that motor does, I couldn't fish without it. Living in the middle of New Mexico has its drawbacks, no MK service centers.
BTW anyone that has the Lund battery meters in the front, they are worthless. Don't know why Lund puts them in, they just add a bunch of wires where you don't need any extra. If I am wrong, someone please tell me how they are supposed to work or what I am doing wrong. Had to vent on that again.
Optima Batteries :
Do they last longer? They don't seem to.
Are they lighter? Yes, I actually picked up about 1.5 MPH on the GPS top end with the Optimas.
Do they look more stable? Yes
Will my clothes and carpet be ruined from them leaking? NO
This is my first impression and if I had to do it again tomorrow I am not sure I would drop the very healthy amount of money. Other batteries have served me well and cost about a 1/3.
Lastly, the 3rd DM battery was not in until late Friday so I put the Exide cranker back in for that and ran the Blue Top as my accessories battery in the back. This did not impress me at all. The Optima Cranking Blue Top must not be designed to have any kind of reserve capacity. With a full charge both days, I started out with good volts and by the end of the days I was seeing 10.4-10.3 on the output. Danger zone for some electronics. I ran a livewell (very little to keep the suckers alive), Garmin 162 GPS, Genetron GT 9, Zercom 160, and 12v Outlet for phone charger. This is hopefully only because the Blue Top Optima M is a cranking and not a DM deep cycle. For those of you considering one battery for your cranker, don't get the Blue M series, make sure you get the Blue DM so your accessories will have some depth. You may not have anough cranking power if you have a big motor though, not sure on this one.
I will update next weekend after a reconfiguration of the cranking/deep cycle and let everyone know how they worked.
All of this is my first impression and in no way a definitive conclusion on the Optimas. I may have some other electrical stuff going on and will need to do some more work.
Regards,
First day, they seemd to run like a champ. Fished from 10-6 with almost a constant on at about 3-4 on a 65AP. The AP battery meter read low at the end of the day, not re-charge. I have run it many times for a few hours on re-charge.
Plugged the charger in at 7 that night and unpluuged it at about 7:30 the next morning. The Guest 2635 charger showed all four batteries having a full charge. Went out and didn't start using it until 9;30. Fished until 6 again using it on 3-4 all day. My AP head kept doing the turn to one side or the other (Steve Fellegy I would like your buddies info at Minn Kota) and the motor still showed low on the charge and not re-charge. I don't think my AP problem is a battery problem, but unfortunately another MK nightmare. For what that motor does, I couldn't fish without it. Living in the middle of New Mexico has its drawbacks, no MK service centers.
BTW anyone that has the Lund battery meters in the front, they are worthless. Don't know why Lund puts them in, they just add a bunch of wires where you don't need any extra. If I am wrong, someone please tell me how they are supposed to work or what I am doing wrong. Had to vent on that again.
Optima Batteries :
Do they last longer? They don't seem to.
Are they lighter? Yes, I actually picked up about 1.5 MPH on the GPS top end with the Optimas.
Do they look more stable? Yes
Will my clothes and carpet be ruined from them leaking? NO
This is my first impression and if I had to do it again tomorrow I am not sure I would drop the very healthy amount of money. Other batteries have served me well and cost about a 1/3.
Lastly, the 3rd DM battery was not in until late Friday so I put the Exide cranker back in for that and ran the Blue Top as my accessories battery in the back. This did not impress me at all. The Optima Cranking Blue Top must not be designed to have any kind of reserve capacity. With a full charge both days, I started out with good volts and by the end of the days I was seeing 10.4-10.3 on the output. Danger zone for some electronics. I ran a livewell (very little to keep the suckers alive), Garmin 162 GPS, Genetron GT 9, Zercom 160, and 12v Outlet for phone charger. This is hopefully only because the Blue Top Optima M is a cranking and not a DM deep cycle. For those of you considering one battery for your cranker, don't get the Blue M series, make sure you get the Blue DM so your accessories will have some depth. You may not have anough cranking power if you have a big motor though, not sure on this one.
I will update next weekend after a reconfiguration of the cranking/deep cycle and let everyone know how they worked.
All of this is my first impression and in no way a definitive conclusion on the Optimas. I may have some other electrical stuff going on and will need to do some more work.
Regards,