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I just bought a new battery, do i have to charge it before i use it? And also, i only use if on my 24ft pontoon, just for tooling around, no fishing, should i charge it after each use? Thanks for your help!!!!!!!! Shelly
it never hurts to top one off when new. the can sit quite a while before purchase. i have found them the have about a 70% charge off the shelf. also the do not like to sit in an uncharged state. decreases there like quite a bit.
Hydrometer is good too. You can also find a bad or weak cell this way.
However, a voltage reading WILL determine quickly the state of a battery charge. Open circuit voltage should read 12.80 for a full charge.