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  1. #1
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    Mixing Battery sizes?

    Probably a dumb question so bear with me, I'm no electrical guru by any stretch and I'm amazed how significant minor things can be sometimes. I put all new batteries (Wally World Everstarts) in my boat three years ago. Well my on board charger just started not bringing my two trolling motor batteries up to full charge. They are both 27DC Everstarts. I checked the voltage on both of them after I took them off charge and one checks almost 13 volts but the other checks 11.3 volts. I'm assuming that the 11.3 means the battery is toast, right. I wanted to make sure it wasn't my on board charger so I used a standalone charger and just charged the weak battery for 6 hours. When it was charging it reads 13+ volts but right after taking the charger off it is back to 11.3 or so. My question is, I have a size 29 deep cycle Interstate that holds a charge pretty good. I'm pretty sure it will fit into the size 27 battery tray. Will there be any issues with just swapping the size 27DC for the size 29? Will the batteries not being identical cause any issues for my onboard charger. I think it is a guess but I'm not sure. I do know that it doesn't have separate status lights for both charging circuits. It has a red light when fully charging and then it goes to red and green when the batteries are charged and then to just green when it is in trickle / maintenance mode. What made me even check was that usually after a day of fishing I could plug the charger in and within 4 hours or so the green light only would be on. Now it won't go to just the green light but both red and green. Thanks for any advice.

  2. Electrical/Wiring/Trolling Motors Moderator CatFan's Avatar
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    #2
    The charger won't care. Since they are both older batteries, I'd go for it. It wouldn't be ideal with a new battery as you'd probably tend to run the weaker battery down more than you should, but you might as well use what you have.
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  3. Member
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    #3
    Run what you have, it sounds like the Neverstart went to battery heaven. It's not ideal, but save up and get two new ones if it lets you down.

  4. Member
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    #4
    Thanks for the confirmation. I'll just put the size 29 in and see how long they last. I'll not go back to Everstart - had to smile about the Neverstart comment! I guess you get what you pay for. How do you feel about the Duracell size 27 dual purpose wet cell that Sam's Club has for around $80.00? I could also use an online coupon and get the Autozone size 27 wet cell deep cycle for about the same money. Which is better?

  5. Electrical/Wiring/Trolling Motors Moderator CatFan's Avatar
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    #5
    Quote Originally Posted by ChooChooSnakeMan View Post
    Thanks for the confirmation. I'll just put the size 29 in and see how long they last. I'll not go back to Everstart - had to smile about the Neverstart comment! I guess you get what you pay for. How do you feel about the Duracell size 27 dual purpose wet cell that Sam's Club has for around $80.00? I could also use an online coupon and get the Autozone size 27 wet cell deep cycle for about the same money. Which is better?
    Not much difference. The Autozone is the same as the Everstart. Everstart is the best choice because of price, performance and warranty.
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  6. Member
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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by CatFan View Post
    Not much difference. The Autozone is the same as the Everstart. Everstart is the best choice because of price, performance and warranty.
    I agree. Being a wet cell you have to look at the electrolyte level occasionally.

  7. Member
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    #7
    Quote Originally Posted by ChooChooSnakeMan View Post
    Thanks for the confirmation. I'll just put the size 29 in and see how long they last. I'll not go back to Everstart - had to smile about the Neverstart comment! I guess you get what you pay for. How do you feel about the Duracell size 27 dual purpose wet cell that Sam's Club has for around $80.00? I could also use an online coupon and get the Autozone size 27 wet cell deep cycle for about the same money. Which is better?
    This type of comment regarding the Everstart batteries is frequent here. The Everstart, Autozone, Interstate 27's (and others) are all the identical battery manufactured by JCI. IMO, the reason some have a shorter life cycle is because at places like Walmart, they tend to sit much longer on the shelf. If you know how to interpret the date stamp, and, take a voltmeter with you to take a reading before you buy, then you should be ok. Last year when I had to replace my two troller batteries, that is what I did. However, I did have to go to three stores, all close by though, to find a fresh set. BTW, here in Canada, East Penn/Deka is the supplier of the Walmart deep cycle batteries.
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  8. Member
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    #8
    A voltmeter to check new batteries in the store is going to tell you nothing about reliability. There is no guarantee that they were fully charged when they left the factory. The date code is a good idea however I suspect the battery turnover at Walmart is equal or higher than automotive suppliers.