Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

[Bert1]

I just switched from a pure starting battery (440ca - 300mca) to a combo unit (730mca with a reserve capacity of 160 minutes. I would usualy set my charger at 'normal' but I do have a 'deep cycle' setting on it, should I now charge at 'deep cycle'? I use the 12 volt setting. My charger is automatic 10/2 amps and can be used to charge 6 or 12 volts or as a boosting unit. Thanks!

 

[Bert1]

Re: Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

Oops!, that should read 630mca's for the new battery.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

Charge at 2 amps at 12 volts. This will make your battery last longer and give you longer running time. rather than a fast charge...

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

Bert – You want to pump as many amps into the battery as fast as appropriate for the batteries 20-hr rating. Even 10-amps may be too low to be ideal but it’s better than the 2-amp setting. You definitely want a charger that will manage the charging profile, increasing the voltage and reducing the amperage as the charging progresses. 2-amps may or may not be too much for a float charge.<br /><br />Rickdb1boat - Lead-acid batteries benefit from having their soup chemistry ‘equalized’ as soon as possible. Lingering sulfates on the lead plates begins to etch as soon as it forms. You want it off the plates asap. The more amps, the faster the charge, the more aggressive the chemical interaction that removes the sulfur from the lead.

 

[Bert1]

Re: Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

Thanks for the responses guy's. What about the ''normal'' vs ''Deep cycle'' setting on the charger, what difference does this setting mean? I have the option of manualy switching from one to the other, but I do not know what this will cause the charger to do differently on each setting.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

I believe in deep cycle mode it has different charging "stages". I have a regular 6 amp automated charger on my now 7 year old starting/deep cycle battery. The battery still works perfectly. The key is to keep it always charged it after every use. <br /><br />I now have it on as a starting battery on my inboard and I no longer have a need to charge it after every use. I am not running any demanding electrical components(like electric motors)...if I did I would check it after every use to ensure it was fully charged.

 

[jackc]

Re: Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

18rabbit is correct about charging.<br /><br />Use the mode that charges up the battery faster.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

Gottcha, Rabbit. Wonder what I was thinking?? Must have had my mind on trickle charging...

 

[philtheskipper]

Re: Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

Thanks for the responses guy's. What about the ''normal'' vs ''Deep cycle'' setting on the charger, what difference does this setting mean? I have the option of manualy switching from one to the other, but I do not know what this will cause the charger to do differently on each setting.

I would like to know the answer to this too. Anybody know the difference?

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

Yeah, different voltages across the charge profile as well as different allowable current on some chargers. This is due to the slightly different chemistry between the batteries.<br />For example, the float charge voltage should be 13.2v for a normal flooded wet cell deep cycle, where it should be 13.6v for an AGM battery.<br /> Some info if you're interested.

 

[JB]

Re: Charging a starting/Deepcycle battery

Moving to Boats