Battery questions

[new to fishing]

Hey guys...i use a large deep cycle battery for my trolling motor and a smaller battery for all other accessories...my question is if it is better to charge them as soon as i get back from fishing or wait until just before the next time i go out...which can be up to two weeks...also...in the winter my boat will be stored outside in illinois (think ice, snow, misery)...it'll be winterized and i'll pull the batteries out and keep them in the garage...should i fully charge them before long storage or just leave them as is??? thanks in advance!

 

[ebsworj]

Re: Battery questions

Lead acid batteries like to always have a charge. It damages them to go below 80% charge. Deep Cycles can go lower. Best to charge them as soon as you get back and get a small battery tender to keep them charged all the time.

 

[Lrider]

Re: Battery questions

Lead acid batteries like to always have a charge. It damages them to go below 80% charge. Deep Cycles can go lower. Best to charge them as soon as you get back and get a small battery tender to keep them charged all the time.

Is it ok to use a 2 amp battery tender to charge 2 batteries at the same time?

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Battery questions

No, a 2 amp tender is for maintaining. Get a 3 step microprocessor controlled charger. It's cheaper than a good battery but it will make the batteries both last.

 

[Capt'n Chris]

Re: Battery questions

We use he CTECK MultiUS 7000. There is not a better charger/maintainer built. It is especially effective for our Optima boat batteries.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Battery questions

I'd second always keeping a 2 a charger on them whenever possible, preferably a "smart charger" that backs off when they're done, ie. battery tender. They're cheap just buy two, but don't try to charge both batteries off of one. Always fully charge before storage, and at least once a month for extended storage.

 

[5150abf]

Re: Battery questions

Get a 2 bank charger, as soon as you get home plug it in and forget it, but yes, you should charge them as soon as you can.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Battery questions

New to Fishing
The longer a battery is discharged the shorter it life will be. Always fully charge as soon as possible.
All batteries self discharge and they self discharge faster as temperature goes up.
In winter and cold month you can get by with charging every other month.
a Fully charged battery will not be damaged by cold.
In summer fully charge at least one time a month.

Most batteries do not die they are killed by their owners by not keeping them charged. Also if it has removeable caps check the water level a couple of times a year. Keep filled to the proper level with distilled water.

How to charge. I recomend a Automatic or smart charger of 10 amps or more.
3 stage charger are probably even better. All the on board charger I have seen can be left plugged in with out damage to the battery.

Do not use a trickle charger. Trickle charger offten over charge and will also damage a good battery. If you use a trickle charger that continues to charge you must turn it off when the voltage gets to 14.8 volts and above.

Battery maintainer are ok to leave connected but should not hold battery higher than about 13.5 volts.

Charging more that one battery at a time from a single bank charger is not a good idea unless you have some type of battery isolator. This is because if one battery has a bad cell it will also suck the charge out of the other battery and cause it to go bad.

Many will say use a 2 amp automatic charger and your batteries will last longer.
I like chargers of at least 10 amps. On a deep cycle 50 percent discharged it will start out charging near 10 amps and within a couple hours will have tapered down to 5 to 8 amps.
It will take more than 12 hours to fully charge a good group 24 battery and longer still for a group 27 or 31.
Some think slower makes it last longer but I do not.
An example is my boat has a 65 amp alternator that I charge both batteries thru a battery isolator. The boat is a 1980 model and I have not had any battery that lasted less than 6 years. My truck has a 100 amp alternator and the same is true.
This is because like any automatic or smart charger they have a voltage regulator that limits the voltage to somewhere between 13.8 volts and 14.8 volts.
The battery it self determines how much current it will take.
At first it will take a large current just like your car battery but very soon the current will drop off and when it reach full charge it will drop to less than a amp.

2 amp chargers, to fully charge a group 27 will take several days and it leaves it discharged too long.

 

[new to fishing]

Re: Battery questions

thanks for all of the input...helpful for sure...I have a duel on board charger in my boat...it's a Guest 8 AMP duel charger that says "total power management" with "Automatic Power Distibution" wrote under under it...I got this boat as a repo with no manuals and have had a hard time looking anything up that has to do with this charger...Do I understand you right that I can just leave it plugged in all the time and it will be good to go?? Thanks again

 

[Boatist]

Re: Battery questions

I do not know guest 8 amp Dual on board chargers but have herd many say guest is the one of the best.

Per the add below for a 10 amp it is a 3 stage charger and battery maintainer during storage.

So I think safe to leave connected all the time.

I personaly disconect my battery charger after the batteries are charged but that is just me.

http://www.iboats.com/GUEST-Dual-Ap...9918619--**********.782055776--view_id.359550

 

[TJ Phillips]

Re: Battery questions

It is best to recharge your batteries as soon as you get back but make sure you give it a t least 24 hours before you head out and bring them up slow(4 amp). In the winter time put them in a place where the temp dont change a lot if possible. The main thing is to keep them off the ground. Happy boating!

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Battery questions

The main thing is to keep them off the ground.

Actually this is not true anymore...maybe 70 years ago though.

 

[Dave1027]

Re: Battery questions

Only since battery casings have been made of polypropylene. They changed over from hard rubber about 1970. That's why old batteries were always black. Now they come in all kinds of colors.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Battery questions

Even when they were hard rubber it wasn't true.