Another deep cycle battery question...>>>

Hi all...

I'm shopping around for the right deep cycle battery for my use.. I have a
12' jon boat with a 65lb electric motor for reservoir fishing here in the
Baltimore (Maryland) area. I'm looking at the tradeoff between weight of
the battteries and length of time on the water.

I was under the understanding that the difference between a Group 27 and
Group 24 battery is the number of plates and/or the size of the plates, and
that all things being equal, that the Group 27 battery would give me longer
time on the water.

Here's my question -- as I'm shopping for these batteries (Bass Pro Shop,
Wal-mart, Sears, Auto Zone, Boat/US Marine, etc.) I'm finding that some
Group 24's weigh the same as Group 27s (at Wal-mart and Sears I've gotten
scales from the housewares department and weighed the batteries in the
store!). At Wal-mart the batteries are the same weight but at Sears there
is a 8-10 pound difference. The weights also don't appear to be correlated
to reserve capacity, either.

Why would a Group 24 and Group 27 battery from the same manufacturer be the
same weight??? And, since they are the same weight, why wouldn't the
reserve capacity be the same?

Thanks in advance for any input...

Marty

--
Marty S.
Baltimore, MD USA