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Dan S · 05-12-2013, 04:31 PM

Im shopping for a new battery and there seems to be a debate on optima vs. Lifeline batteries.

I have enough room for a group 27 and still unsure of what I should go with.

I mainly boondock and on a couple occasions a year we camp where it gets down in the 30's and the furnace is on all night. However, the rest of the time it's just for 1 or 2 nights and we are using the lights, pumps sparingly.

The old grp 24 batteries I had in my old Minuet seemed to sputter out after just a day so I'm willing to now invest in a good one if I could keep it under $250. I have a an Intelipower 9200 if that is a determinant?

Any advice?

Thanks
Dan

**azflycaster** · 05-12-2013, 05:01 PM

I have a GRP 27 lifeline and a 9245 converter. They have worked great for the last 6 years.

Running the furnace will use a lot of power.

Olie · 05-12-2013, 05:57 PM

I have two 27's from Wal Mart. Going on 4 years old. I know they will last about 48 hr boon docking in 45 degree weather. Obviously a lot depends on how low you set the thermostat. We usually set ours at about 60 degrees. The old 24's we had were almost dead after 24 hr.

I was a little concerned about the quality of WM batteries when I bought these but have been very satisfied with them. You can buy about 4 of them for what an Optima costs.

macofpei · 05-12-2013, 06:26 PM

I bought two 27's from WM also. They were on sale for only $89.99 CDN each + a $5.00 environmental fee that we got back when I took in the old batteries. I don't boondock and my unit is plugged in pretty well all the time. I expect to get 5 years from these batteries. I have a solar panel that does not work and hasn't since we bought this unit three years ago. That's for another discussion. :-)

idroba · 05-12-2013, 07:32 PM

Wal Mart or Costco have fine semi deep cycle batteries. So does Sears. The Optima batteries are OK but much more expensive and don't last any longer, some say not as long.

I personally find that 2 golf cart batteries (Costco, about $90 each) in series is the best and most cost effective solution, assuming you have the extra height (about an inch) available in your battery box. Two will have about 20% more capacity than two group 27's in parallel, and will last longer. Your PD 9245 converter/charger will work well with them too.