Joel52
Well-Known Member
Here's a tip if you own or have ever owned one of these. A few years back - about 7 - I bought one of these and it performed well. Lasted a long time, but as with any rechargeable eventually died (5 years or so) I bought another one because I like the fact it's portable with a built in charger and the accessories have proved useful over time. The second one died in 2 years! (and I cared for it properly) So I bought another just before my last fishing trip, but before leaving I was talking to a sales guy from the Interstate Battery Store in Mississauga. He said instead of buying the whole unit we should just rebuild it. I went home, took it apart, and pulled the battery out to see if he had something similar. Sure enough he did, but when I sent him the picture and specs here's what he said:
"Thanks for the pictures and spec sheet, it was very helpful.
Our equivalent of that battery is the SLA1156. It is a a 12V 35Ah battery, which means it has a slightly higher capacity than your OEM one. HOWEVER...the one in the picture and the equivalent are NOT deep cycle batteries. They are rechargeable but are more for stand by use where they are used briefly on occasion. They are not designed to be deeply discharged day after day like a wheelchair or for the circumstances you described.
The deep cycle one is DCM0035. It is also a 12V 35Ah battery but it is a true deep cycle battery. This is far and away the best (better) option for you. If you continue to take care of it the way you did with your OEM battery I see no reason why you couldn't double the service life.
The SLA1156 and DCM0035 retail for $104.99 and $125.95 in our store."
I took some doing and a little persistance, but the rebuild is complete. Also, I believe it's actually a better battery than the original from 7 years ago. I took the new one I purchased back for a refund - saved a ton of cash! I ended up using the rebuilt one a lot, and barely made a dent in the available power according to the built in digital display - recharged no problem to full capacity overnight, ready to use the next day. I ran a Minnkota and Humminbird on it. Recently my car died and used it to boost, no issues.
So if you own one of these and it died, be sure to look at other opportunities before tossing it.
Attached is a picture of the cell we pulled out (not a deep cycle at all) I suspect it may have started in production properly, but somewhere along the way it may have changed to increase margin...
"Thanks for the pictures and spec sheet, it was very helpful.
Our equivalent of that battery is the SLA1156. It is a a 12V 35Ah battery, which means it has a slightly higher capacity than your OEM one. HOWEVER...the one in the picture and the equivalent are NOT deep cycle batteries. They are rechargeable but are more for stand by use where they are used briefly on occasion. They are not designed to be deeply discharged day after day like a wheelchair or for the circumstances you described.
The deep cycle one is DCM0035. It is also a 12V 35Ah battery but it is a true deep cycle battery. This is far and away the best (better) option for you. If you continue to take care of it the way you did with your OEM battery I see no reason why you couldn't double the service life.
The SLA1156 and DCM0035 retail for $104.99 and $125.95 in our store."
I took some doing and a little persistance, but the rebuild is complete. Also, I believe it's actually a better battery than the original from 7 years ago. I took the new one I purchased back for a refund - saved a ton of cash! I ended up using the rebuilt one a lot, and barely made a dent in the available power according to the built in digital display - recharged no problem to full capacity overnight, ready to use the next day. I ran a Minnkota and Humminbird on it. Recently my car died and used it to boost, no issues.
So if you own one of these and it died, be sure to look at other opportunities before tossing it.
Attached is a picture of the cell we pulled out (not a deep cycle at all) I suspect it may have started in production properly, but somewhere along the way it may have changed to increase margin...
