Walmart marine batteries

[nitro9299]

i have been useing walmart marine batteries for a few years cost was good and if there was a problem they just gave you a new one, well i needed a new one yesterday as it would not hold a charge walmart has a new policy no warrnty on boat battieries so beware if your going to return them it just started this month

[biteme]

Well that changes my plans. Costco here I come.

[619]

You get what you pay for!!!! They are cheaper for a reason.

[bryanmc]

So... Are you saying that they are not going to honor the warranties on the batteries I bought 3 months ago? That sounds like it might be a legal issue.

[Bill K]

Remember, batteries are made by about only three companys and they put who ever's name on them that they are selling them to.
Walmart, has them at less cost, than others, as they buy them by the boxcar load.
Costco, along the same lines, but slightly higher.
If you can go with the Costco top line i.e. optimax line with Kirkland brand on them. Bill K

[robertthornton]

I would try a different wall mart. They are not all the same. And talk to the manager and tell them when you bought the battery that the reason you purchased it there was because of there lenient return policy, and if you were to of known of there being no returns that you would have purchased a quality battery from a different retailer.

[CBoat]

Costco has the best policy. No questions asked and full refund even if it is one month until the xpiration. Plus, they have the exact date of pruchase on the computer so if you do not have a receipt, they have it on record.

You don't need to pay $200.00 for one battery. I have had very few problems with Costco batteries.

[rico]

So... Are you saying that they are not going to honor the warranties on the batteries I bought 3 months ago? That sounds like it might be a legal issue.

If they have started this policy, I'm sure it has a starting date. Having a receipt will work in your favor.

[Leon Pugh]

Actually there are only two battery manufactures at present, but the batteries are very different. Every client they have picks or provides the design specs for their own brand. If you pay less, you will get less and that is a fact. If you are tournement fishing get the battery that is correct for the job with maximum reserve capacity and maximum physical size that will fit. I use two group 29 deep cycles, and 1 group 31 deep cycle napa marine batteries. They also have optimas however I am not yet totaly convinced that they are worth the additional cost. Plan on replacement every two years, longer for optimas. If you keep them filled and get them on the charger as soon as possible after use. You will not get a marine battery that is worth a dam for under $150.00

Leon Pugh

[biteme]

Actually there are only two battery manufactures at present, but the batteries are very different. Every client they have picks or provides the design specs for their own brand. If you pay less, you will get less and that is a fact. If you are tournement fishing get the battery that is correct for the job with maximum reserve capacity and maximum physical size that will fit. I use two group 29 deep cycles, and 1 group 31 deep cycle napa marine batteries. They also have optimas however I am not yet totaly convinced that they are worth the additional cost. Plan on replacement every two years, longer for optimas. If you keep them filled and get them on the charger as soon as possible after use. You will not get a marine battery that is worth a dam for under $150.00

Leon Pugh

Ive had more problems with optimas then I can count. So I would say you dont get what you pay for. For me its simple, Costco has a GREAT return policy and thats tough to beat! But hey its your money!

[nitro9299]

i had the battery and the recept they tell you to save for the warrenty, they said as of this month they will no longer honer marine batteries and gave me no recept for a warrenty with the new battery i have 4 group 29s

[Greg_Cornish]

I don't blame Walmart a bit. I've heard so many guys on the forums brag about taking Walmart batteries back every 6 months to a year if they work or not. Its stealing, plain and simple if you knowingly violate the agreement because you know some dumb employee doesn't know the difference.

If you fudge the rules, you are a thief.

Some have been tournament fisherman to. Cheat on Walmart, I wouldn't trust them in a tournament.

[biteme]

I don't blame Walmart a bit. I've heard so many guys on the forums brag about taking Walmart batteries back every 6 months to a year if they work or not. Its stealing, plain and simple if you knowingly violate the agreement because you know some dumb employee doesn't know the difference.

If you fudge the rules, you are a thief.

Some have been tournament fisherman to. Cheat on Walmart, I wouldn't trust them in a tournament.

Greg these batteries are failing right? The way I understand it they are no longer holding a charge. The way the warranty is written it did cover a bad battery.

[mm]

Greg is right on the money, I mean really guys, think about it.
Someone takes a perfectly good battery back after 6months or whatever, thats crappy and these guys are responsible for Wal Mart`s change of policy......plain and simple.

[DeltaDan]

I don't blame Walmart a bit. I've heard so many guys on the forums brag about taking Walmart batteries back every 6 months to a year if they work or not. Its stealing, plain and simple if you knowingly violate the agreement because you know some dumb employee doesn't know the difference.

If you fudge the rules, you are a thief.

Some have been tournament fisherman to. Cheat on Walmart, I wouldn't trust them in a tournament.

That is Very "Republican" of you ~~ on your personal outlook Greg !!

Cheers BrothA !!



And you are seriously "Personaly" worried about Walmarts ROI ? ...You have stock invested in them rather than Apple ?? -- When Walmart will no longer Honor Their Very Own Warrenty ?



..... Where is the ACLU in this matter ? !!

[Greg_Cornish]

I don't blame Walmart a bit. I've heard so many guys on the forums brag about taking Walmart batteries back every 6 months to a year if they work or not. Its stealing, plain and simple if you knowingly violate the agreement because you know some dumb employee doesn't know the difference.

If you fudge the rules, you are a thief.

Some have been tournament fisherman to. Cheat on Walmart, I wouldn't trust them in a tournament.

Greg these batteries are failing right? The way I understand it they are no longer holding a charge. The way the warranty is written it did cover a bad battery.

I've had Walmart batteries fail, but I've had them tested by my mechanic before I took them them back and I've gotten them replaced. I talking about people who admit to emptying them of fluid, shorting them, then filling them back up and taking them in. I'm talking about guys who actually take them back every six months whether they're bad or not. I'm talking about a tournament fisherman and business owner who said, "Well what the ****, it's Walmart, right?" I was astounded

And yes, everyone knows the Republicans have a corner on the truth and honesty market. Being a Democrat I wouldn't know anything about truth and honesty, would I?

[Glenn]

I don't blame Walmart a bit. I've heard so many guys on the forums brag about taking Walmart batteries back every 6 months to a year if they work or not. Its stealing, plain and simple if you knowingly violate the agreement because you know some dumb employee doesn't know the difference.

If you fudge the rules, you are a thief.

Some have been tournament fisherman to. Cheat on Walmart, I wouldn't trust them in a tournament.

+1

[biteme]

I don't blame Walmart a bit. I've heard so many guys on the forums brag about taking Walmart batteries back every 6 months to a year if they work or not. Its stealing, plain and simple if you knowingly violate the agreement because you know some dumb employee doesn't know the difference.

If you fudge the rules, you are a thief.

Some have been tournament fisherman to. Cheat on Walmart, I wouldn't trust them in a tournament.

Greg these batteries are failing right? The way I understand it they are no longer holding a charge. The way the warranty is written it did cover a bad battery.

I've had Walmart batteries fail, but I've had them tested by my mechanic before I took them them back and I've gotten them replaced. I talking about people who admit to emptying them of fluid, shorting them, then filling them back up and taking them in. I'm talking about guys who actually take them back every six months whether they're bad or not. I'm talking about a tournament fisherman and business owner who said, "Well what the ****, it's Walmart, right?" I was astounded

And yes, everyone knows the Republicans have a corner on the truth and honesty market. Being a Democrat I wouldn't know anything about truth and honesty, would I?

Why would anyone do this? If the batteries work why ruin them?

[Wild Bill]

I have to agree 100% with Greg on this.

I personally know guys who have taken perfectly fine Walmart marine batteries under warranty back after a year just to get 'fresh' newer ones, knowing most batteries have a limited time they are good for, so they stick it to Walmrt just to have fresh new batteries.

I agree, it's stealling, and now they have screwed the warranties up for any that legitimately need to use it.

People can be real dirtbags just to save themselves some money.

[fish_food]

Why would anyone do this? If the batteries work why ruin them?

They exchange them to have a "fresh" set of batteries every season without having to shell out the bucks. Haven't heard of people shorting them out on purpose but have been reading that bit of "advice" on taking advantage of Wally's no-questions-asked exchange policy for ages.

[biteme]

Why would anyone do this? If the batteries work why ruin them?

They exchange them to have a "fresh" set of batteries every season without having to shell out the bucks. Haven't heard of people shorting them out on purpose but have been reading that bit of "advice" on taking advantage of Wally's no-questions-asked exchange policy for ages.

That sux! Maybe there needs to be a how to for boiling your batteries somewhere on the site. That way people know you can make them fresh again. I did this last year and it worked GREAT!

[Wild Bill]

Please explain this 'boiling the batteries" that you mentioned.

[biteme]

I also added the Battery Equalizer
http://westernbass.com/forum/viewtopic. ... =batteries

[Greg_Cornish]

Why would anyone do this? If the batteries work why ruin them?[/quote]Because they are dishonest and thieves and want to insure their batteries last forever without paying for it.

[Leon Pugh]

Industry wide 90% of the returned batteries are still good. Most of the warranty issues are caused by neglect or improper charging. As far as failures with optimas in almost all cases it is the owner not knowing how to recharge them when they get below 11.0 volts and not having the proper charger. Check optimas web site on how to do it right. Personally it has been years since I have actually had a battery fail that was not my own fault.

Leon Pugh

[Greg_Cornish]

That sux! Maybe there needs to be a how to for boiling your batteries somewhere on the site. That way people know you can make them fresh again. I did this last year and it worked GREAT!

It just worked for me and I save 2 Walmart batteries. I cranked them at max charge even though they were stuck at 11volts, for 15-20 minutes. After that they charged to 12.6 to 13 volts. One I couldn't save so I use it to run an electric winch system I built to get me into the hot tub in the hot tub room and have a one bank charger permanently charging it. It does the job and should last for years.

The hot charge refreshed the plates but sometimes it can cause a flake to flake off big enough to short the plates out. Then it's time to take it back if you couldn't save it.

[201Pro]

Actually there are only two battery manufactures at present, but the batteries are very different. Every client they have picks or provides the design specs for their own brand. If you pay less, you will get less and that is a fact. If you are tournement fishing get the battery that is correct for the job with maximum reserve capacity and maximum physical size that will fit. I use two group 29 deep cycles, and 1 group 31 deep cycle napa marine batteries. They also have optimas however I am not yet totaly convinced that they are worth the additional cost. Plan on replacement every two years, longer for optimas. If you keep them filled and get them on the charger as soon as possible after use. You will not get a marine battery that is worth a dam for under $150.00

Leon Pugh

Whoa ... them are pretty strong words. I hate to do this, but I'll have to disagree with you.

I am on my 4th or 5th set of Walmart batteries. My experience is that if you keep the water level up and keep them charged, they will usually last 3-4 years of hard use. I fish mainly the delta and I fish just about every weekend 1-2 days. So I think I'm pretty hard on my batteries. Right now, I have 4 of them in my boat. I use the biggest ones that they sell, I think they're series 29 batteries and they do weigh 40-50#s. So they're no weakling ... Furthermore, they are made by Johnson Battery group; which is one of the major battery makers. Others on the board can educate us on who Johnson make batteries for ... but I recall Inter-Stated is one and many others.

As a hypothetical comparison, let's say you go and spend the $150/battery. They better last you twice as long as these Wally World batteries ... meaning, they better last 5-6 years. Of maybe 60-70 days or more on the water per year. A buddy of mine said his Trojan's last 7-8 years. But he's on the water maybe a 1/3 of the time that I'm there.

Anyway, back to my original point. Walmart Marine Batteries are fine batteries. They may not be Trojans, but they don't cost twice as much either.

[Rbass519]

When I got my boat new it came with everstart batteries. Those lasted about one year then they went bad. Walmart took them back and gave me 50% off for two new ones. Those new batteries lasted about six months then a cell went bad in one of them. Walmart gave me a new battery for free. At that point the manager said "this is it man, we can't keep doing this." So, six months later I had some trouble with my batteries not holding a charge and bought Trojans. Almost two years later, no problems.
In my case, walmart was fair with me. I just need batteries I don't have to worry about every 6-12 months.

[bassbooger]

When I got my boat new it came with everstart batteries. Those lasted about one year then they went bad. Walmart took them back and gave me 50% off for two new ones. Those new batteries lasted about six months then a cell went bad in one of them. Walmart gave me a new battery for free. At that point the manager said "this is it man, we can't keep doing this." So, six months later I had some trouble with my batteries not holding a charge and bought Trojans. Almost two years later, no problems.
In my case, walmart was fair with me. I just need batteries I don't have to worry about every 6-12 months.

That manager can say anything he wants to, but if the batteries are within their warranty period, then the warranty must be honored.

It is Wal- Mart's responsibility to monitor quality control with products they sell.

If the Evertstart batteries sold through them continue to be defective, then the issue stands with the manufacturer, not the customer.

[bassbooger]

i have been useing walmart marine batteries for a few years cost was good and if there was a problem they just gave you a new one, well i needed a new one yesterday as it would not hold a charge walmart has a new policy no warrnty on boat battieries so beware if your going to return them it just started this month

If your battery was within the warranty period, then it should have been handled accordingly.

As for this new Wal-Mart policy with no warranty on marine batteries starting this month, and I'm assuming you're referring to batteries previously purchased at Wal-Mart still under warranty... who ever told you that information is as good as the paper it is written on.

Wal-Mart has not changed their warranty coverage for Everstart batteries sold through their stores. You can verify that by contacting the corporate headquarters via telephone, email, or website.

[hippie]

you northern people kill me so freakin cheap. go buy optimas and stop shopping at scabs r us wally world.

[Rbass519]

I thought you're on 'time out'