Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

[keninaz]

I was looking at Sam's today and see they have group 29 batteries rated at 210 AH.
They say they are made by Interstate according to the label that is on them. They are certainly priced right at $76,
Anyone have any experience with them at all?

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

I have 5 of them right now and they are running fine. I've had them in the past also and they worked fine. These were not the "Interstate's" you said they are carrying now, seems Sam's switch brands every couple of years. The last ones I bought, about 1 year ago, were "Energizer's" and I'm sure the Energizer bunny wasn't popping these out, probably built by another MFG. Even when they switched MFG's, I haven't had a problem getting one of their marine batteries warrantied for the new brand.

Check to make sure Sam's still offers marine battery warranties. WalMart stopped giving marine battery warranties last year, but when I got my batts at Sam's, they still had a warranty. Chances are, you won't use it since the warranty is only 18 months or something, but you never know when you'll get a dud.

Before buying a battery, hunt around and see if you can scrounge a dead battery,,, or they will hit you with a environmental fee ($9 ?). I found one sitting in the desert while I was out 4 wheelin'. It was shot up and the case was all cracked, but it saved me $9.

 

[Go Aweigh2452]

Re: Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

They are fine and you will notice the date of manufacture is normally the same month as you look at them. Ask them how many are returned... You'll end up buying... Costco is the same too... in case you wanted to know...

 

[keninaz]

Re: Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

OK, thanks for the replies.
They do have an 18 month full and then 30 or 36 month prorated warranty there. They were $12 cheaper than the group 29 at Walmart and had more AH by far. But the one at WM was a different manufacturer too.
It appears that the battery at Sam's is what I will get.

 

[mookieo2]

Re: Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

I have used the Costco ones for years. I have seen people at the beginning of the season bring them back and say they don't work good and get new batteries every year. ( I did this once too but usually forget to before the warranty is up) the batteries work real well. I occasionally keep them on a charger over the winter and they get abused all season.

 

[JB]

Re: Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

The Everstart Marine Maxx batteries are (at least they were) made by Interstate and priced at $76. They were superb batteries and are probably the same as the ones carried by Sam's.

I read that the warranty has been discontinued, so maybe they switched suppliers, but that really seems unlikely to me.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

Just like many engines, they don't just die -- their owners kill them through misuse or neglect.

 

[keninaz]

Re: Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

Many I suspect don't know how to manage deep cell batteries.

 

[bassman284]

Re: Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

The Everstart Marine Maxx batteries are (at least they were) made by Interstate and priced at $76. They were superb batteries and are probably the same as the ones carried by Sam's.

I read that the warranty has been discontinued, so maybe they switched suppliers, but that really seems unlikely to me.

Maybe because of peope abusing the warranty?

 

[JB]

Re: Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

I wasn't clear. I believe that the warranty was dropped and agree with bassman about the likely reason. What seems unlikely is a change in suppliers.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Sam's Club Marine Batteries~any good?

I have seen people at the beginning of the season bring them back and say they don't work good and get new batteries every year.

I'm with bassman and JB, I think that's why places are being strict with lead acid battery warrantys now, even, not giving a warranty as in WalMart's case for marine batteries.

In the past I've warrantied batteries and all you had to do was plop it on the return counter and they would exchange it, easy peasy, no problem'o. The last 2 I had warrantied were worse than a trip to the dentist, friggin nightmare ordeal. Testing, testing and re-testing to make sure the battery was really bad.

With the way people abuse marine/deep cycle batteries, I guess I can see it. Buy a couple new batteries, use them 1-2 times, leave them sitting for 6-9 months with no maintenance and expect them to work next summer??? I've talked to a couple people who did this exact thing.