Kirkland Signature marine batteries, anyone?

gerryb

gerryb

Well-Known Member
TECHNICAL Contributor
Oct 12, 2006
1,974
Somers Point, NJ
Boat Info
"On Vacation"
2006 40 Sundancer
Raymarine E125 & HD Radar + Garmin 5208
Engines
QSB5.9 380 Cummins
Anyone using these? I'm looking to get 3 of them in a few months to replace the originals in our 2004 280. The price, specs and warranty seem good (as with almost everything from Costco/Kirkland Signature) but as I know there are other Costco fans on the site, thought I'd ask for some realworld feedback. They also sell the OPTIMA blue but they are more than 2x the price....so I'm leaning towards the $71 vs. $168 pricepoint.
 
You probably are opening up a can of worms on this topic :)

I buy four of those (Group 24) from Costco every two and half years. The work great and fail on schedule at 28-30 months. I am sure that there are better batteries out there that will go longer than that. I have friends with Optimas that swear by them. It is simply the difference of spending money.

$280 is a whole lot different than spending $700 on batteries. If they last more than 48 months, I could see that they might be worth it. Unfortunately, I have one of the older charging systems that would also have to be replaced so that it wouldn't burn them up.

-John
 
If you really want to buy the best batteries, forget the optima's. When they first came out they were great but have lost their following significantly. Last I talked with SVA Power Products, east penn (Deka) was as good as it gets for normal use. If you ever have time, give Raymond Knight a call at SVA so he can talk you death about batteries. He knows more than most anyone about this stuff. I beleive he is still the current world record holder for building the fastest electric powered vehicle. I know he was blowing optimas left and right and ditched them for the Deka's. SB
 
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I've been using AGM starting batteries....not marine and not group 31's...to start Caterpillar diesels for about 10 years. I got 52 months out of the first set and 49 out of the second.........you can do the math, but don't forget to factor in the fact that AGM's are truly maintenance free batteries. You will never have to look at them until they are ready for replacement. The other factor that was important to me is that your engine room will be free of corrosive and explosive gasses.
 
Agreed, but not when talking about Optimas. FWIW, I do have an optima thats going on 11 yrs old and still operates a warn 9k winch just fine, but I've also purchased and returned at least 4 more built after '03 within their first year of service. I gave up on them 2-3 years ago. At SVA's advice, I bought a Deka AGM for the 230 bowrider in '01, its still in it today!! The only bad part is that they are EXPENSIVE. SB
 
Basically, you have three types of lead acid batteries. You have wet cell, gel cells, and AGM. A wet cell battery is a wet cell battery. They're all so close that there's little benefit of spending more for one brand of flooded cell battery than another. If you're going to spend the bucks, get AGM (Optima brand) otherwise get a cheap set of flooded cell bats. Gel cells have no advantages on a boat.

Best regards,
Frank
 
Would you have to change the charger on a 2005 420DA if you went from a flooded type to an AGM battery?
 
fwebster said:
I've been using AGM starting batteries....not marine and not group 31's...to start Caterpillar diesels for about 10 years. I got 52 months out of the first set and 49 out of the second.........you can do the math, but don't forget to factor in the fact that AGM's are truly maintenance free batteries. You will never have to look at them until they are ready for replacement. The other factor that was important to me is that your engine room will be free of corrosive and explosive gasses.
Click to expand...

I resisted Frank's great advice on the Optimas for many years.... I gave in 6 months after buying my 280DA (new factory interstate batteries died in 6 months). With my 220 BR I would replace the wet cells every 18 -24 months. I ran Interstate SRM-28 as the primary starting and 2 golf cart 6v Interstate batteries for the house load in the BR. I must have bounced them to death as I would begin to see a significant drop in capacity in the 18-24 month range. Cranking was not as crisp and house batteries would die off much sooner. I don't care to gamble with weak batteries so I would replace them.

After the first set of batteries died mid-season on the brand new 280DA I let the dealer replace then under warranty... then promptly removed the wet cells, listened to Frank and bought 3 Optimas. I ended up going with the group 31 Marine series (D31M) as we do spend nearly every night on the boat on the hook. I do not care to turn the fridge off or down at night and I believe I should be able to use light as needed. I thought the extra capacity of the group 31 marine series would come in handy... I was correct.

Since moving to Optima's I have been the recipient of the following benefits.

1. On night 2 or 3 of being on the hook.... no engine and limited to no generator.... I am not awakened (usually around 3AM) by the CO alert yelling at me due to low battery.
2. Fridge is still dead cold on that same night 2 or 3 on the hook.
3. No trips into the engine room to check water since getting the Optimas (a previous weekly occurrance)... dry climate and always on the charger at home seems to burn off the water quickly in the wet cells.
4. No weird rotten egg type smell when your near the batteries in the engine room. Never did smell right or safe.
5. No corrosion or build up on the terminals whatsoever.... clean as the day I put them in.
6. They recharge quickly and show no lasting effects of my dumb moves.... I disconnect the shore power when washing the boat always. A few times I forgot to plug it back in ... a few days later I notice it is not plugged in... but still here the hum of the fridge. Charges back full quickly and capacity has not seemed to diminsh. I have done this 3 times to battery #2. Seems to last just as long as battery #1 which I have been nicer to.
7. Clean battery trays.... there is simply no unexplained stuff in the bottom of ther battery trays.

I have become a huge fan of the Optimas since owning them due the no mess, no maint nature of the battery. We have had them for 15 months in the boat.... so far perfect. I have little doubt that they will outlast my previous batteries by at least a factor of 2 based upon the tremendous success Frank has had with them. They are indeed more expensive.... but the additional cost is certainly re-coup'd in longevity and your time (no maint). Look around for sales or general 10-20% coupons at places like Sears who carries the Optima batteries. We worked a very nice deal with Sears on our Optimas. Our local Costco pricing on Optima's is not great... we beat it their price by a little more than 20% at Sears.

D31M - 1125 MCA 900 CCA 75AH
 
First Born said:
:huh: glad we got that cleared up Frank :smt043
Click to expand...

Gotta spell it out for some of you guys.:smt021 Then maybe you'll get it.
Best regards,
Frank
 
Steve36..........the short answer is no. The chargers/convertors in late model Sea Rays are smart chargers that will not over charge an AGM.

Jeremy.........it took a while, but I'm glad you decided to finally believe me!

Frank........ is new folks asking the old questions, or old folks who just don't listen?
 
Frank W

Can you clarify "late models". I have a new to me 2001 and looking at the previous owner's records, it seems to like to go through batteries. Is there some way to look at the charger and know if it would be OK with these AGM batt's?? Also, can you replace the old ones with AGM's one at a time as they die, or do you have to replace all at the same time (my boat has 7 on board)??
 
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If my notes serve me properly the Red top Optimas had a recommended alternator charging range of 13.3 - 15 volts. The Blue top Optimas recommended alternator charging range was 13.65 - 15 volts.

The battery charger recommendation was 13.8 - 15 volts for both types.
 
On the same theme (sort of) a local Optima dealer is having a sale of Blue Top Grp 31 batteries, new (and also slightly damaged ones with a limited factory warantee) so I am getting more interested. I anticipate needing 4 on port engine + 1 on stbd engine plus 1 for the genset = 6 batteries. My questions for the battery savants:

1. I called Optima and they "recommend" that the batteries not be FROZEN and be removed from the boat in winter - something I am not willing to do.. I have left lead acid batteries in my boats for 20 yrs with a fast charge once a month without issues. But I would love the AGM advantages mentioned above. Anyone leave AGM's on their boat in northern climes? Comments..

2. I have the original ProMariner 40 charger which works fine but I had expected to replace it with a inverter/charger (1kw;100amp charger). Optima says charge rate recommended is 10 amp/hr/battery. I find this slow - genset or engine recharge would be 6-10 hrs. However, if Optima's Cust Service is correct the inverter may be oversized for the bank. Should I just keep the charger and forget the inverter (as I don't NEED it)? Any thoughts on this..

3. Does anyone know if the ProMariner 40 can be adjusted for AGM's?

Thanks,
Warren
 
It sounds like you are going to spend a fortune on batteries over the lifetime of the boat if you are going through them no matter what you use! I used to do a lot of solar installations of security camera systems as I owned such a business (www.eagleeyecamera.com) and while I have wound down the company 90% I still keep current on various technologies. Believe it or not, I have actually found that for a solar application (heavy duty cycles like boating) the mid-price Wal-Mart "energizer" battery does as well as anything for the price.

One suggestion I would make to you is this: If you're not on the boat, don't leave your charger on. If you go away for the week, leave the charger off. You won't be using 12V loads while you're connected to shore power if you're not there. If you leave the charger going you are only sulfating your batteries and thereby wearing them down over time. They basically sit and "simmer" all summer. The warmer it is, the worse it is. If you're on the boat, turn the charger on during the day if you want, or for a few hours before you go out if that makes you feel better. With 7 batteries, as long as it gets a good charge overnight you'll be good to go for a very long time.

That's the best advice I can offer you! :)
 
I have 2 Kirkland deep cycle batteries. They are going into their third year. I leave them in year around and have had no problems.
 
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