best batt

what is the best battery for the buck I have a small system 2000 watts total on my stereo no p.p. I have a starting batt and room for one more batt on my batt switch whats going to give me the best BANG FOR THE BUCK

I was just at the factory that makes batteries for west coast distribution. What I found out is that all batteries of a type and case size are the same. After some time of speaking to one of the engineers, he confirmed this. He also confirmed my suspicion that the Optima gel type batteries are about the best avaiable for marine use. Second best would be a trolling motor battery (deep cycle). Hope this helps.

golf cart batteries - trojan t-105. If you have the ability to mount them right side up. Best bang for the buck = most amp hours for the $$$.

(Message edited by acurtis_ttu on June 07, 2006)

Go to Wal-Mart and get one of their generic deep cycles. They have an excellent return policy and if you keep returning it before the year warranty runs out, you'll never have to buy another battery again. How's that for bang for the buck?

IMO the best, "Deep Cycle Sealed" battery for the buck is a Optima.

But the most Amp Hrs for the buck has to be Golf Cart's

Id agree with grant.
Optima, but they are a litte expensive. Yellow top is in my bagged 2003 sierra pushin alot of stuff. love it.

thanks for the heads up!!!
Jay

Optima's, once I understood them and saw how good they work they are in everything now as replacements are needed.

I run Trojan t-105's. My system only runs about 500 watts but can run all day at high volume. The trojans run about $80 each so it ends up being about $160. The key is to get the correct type of charger, which I don't have, because a regular charger can take up to 2 days to bring them back up to full charge

Best battery for the buck: well, if by best you mean the most amp-hours then you will never beat the golf cart battery. T-105 or 2200, same battery just different numbering scheme.

Trojan is certainly a big name in golf cart batteries but they are on the expensive side. I have had really good luck with American Battery 2200 golf cart battereis, and I can pick them up for ~$70.

A golf cart battery provides ~220 amp-hours at 6 volts. Put two in series and you will have a ~$140 battery system that provides 12 volts at 220 amp-hours, and it will be an honest 220 amp-hours. Consider that golf courses all over the country use these batteries and really use them hard.

The draw back of the golf cart battery is that you need to check and add distilled water fairly frequently. Therefore you don't want to install these batteries in hard to get to locations. They will also leak if they are turned over and will be ruined if the bilge water gets up above the tops of the battery. If any of this is an issue then a sealed battery, such as Optima, is your best bet. But you will need 3 Optima batteries to even come close to what two golf cart batteries will do, which will set you back over $300.

Rod, I've had my golf cart batteries for clsoe to a year now and I check them once a month, they've yet to need any water added. I only paid $68 and some chage /piece for my t-105's.

so... i have 2 of the 2200's.. what would be the "proper charger"?? also any tips on charging would help.. cool to see that you havent had to do much upkeep on them adam-

Richard, I've been using a 10 amp trickle charger, works identical to the battery tender brand(4 stage charging process) but made for higher amp hour batteries. I lost the link where I bought it from. but search around for golf cart charger, battery tender, ect. It's worked great for the last year, I keep a regualr 1.5 amp battery tender on my starting battery. I have mine hardwired in w/ the qucik disconect supplied and just plug in the extesion cord when not in use.

The 10 amp charger is a little slow if the batteries are totally depleted (50%) I have a bigger charger I'll hook up , but have to keep an eye on the batteries.