Deep cycle battery draining fast!

[eoitker]

I have a deep cycle Ever Start, cheap battery from Wally world that is 2 years old. It doesnt get much use and I store it in the garage on the floor with a slab of wood between it and the concrete. I use it with a 40# thrust MotorGuide trolling motor and a 14' Jon boat. It worked great all last year and as recently as a few months ago. This last weekend I topped off the charge and headed to the lake only to have the battery die on me in an hour. I paddled back to shore, loaded everything up and went home. I then put the battery back on the charger and it said it was 9% full. I charged it until the readout was 100% and 12.7 volts. Went to the lake the next day only to have the same thing happen! I'm going to have it tested today but I noticed that there was an inch or 2 of water in the back of the boat that the battery was sitting in. Would that cause the battery to drain faster? Also, the negative connection was hot so I'll need to clean the posts and connecters real good but could that also contribute to the battery dying so quickly?
Sorry for the long winded question but I know the more information I give the better for advice.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Deep cycle battery draining fast!

The best advice I can offer is to have it load tested, it sounds like it has a cell going bad. Sitting in water wont have any effect but a bad connection sure will that will cause it to draw twice of the amps it normally would.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Deep cycle battery draining fast!

If you routinely waited to charge battery until the day you decided to go fishing, then the battery is likely "toast". To get the best life out of any battery you need to charge immediately after use. Batteries don't like to be left in a deeply discharged state for long periods. And not setting a battery on concrete is no longer an issue so you don't need the board.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Deep cycle battery draining fast!

Also, if you routinely discharge your battery completely, you will cause your battery to quickly lose its capacity.

 

[pnwboat]

Re: Deep cycle battery draining fast!

I've had bad luck in recent years with the Walmart brand Everstart batteries. They used to be pretty decent, but the last two car batteries I bought there only lasted a year and a half and two years. Seems like the quality has gone down hill. They are about the lowest price I've seen. I guess you get what you pay for.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Deep cycle battery draining fast!

I'm still using a MAXX Dual purpose from "07. Hope I haven't guinczed (how do you spell that anyway?) that up.

 

[hivoltg]

Re: Deep cycle battery draining fast!

If the battery is serviceable, I top off the cells equally with distilled water and then trickle charge them for a 7-10days. I have had pretty good luck bringing old batteries back to life with that method.

 

[eoitker]

Re: Deep cycle battery draining fast!

Thanks for the replies!
So far I've learned not to let the battery drain completely, charge it right after each outing, clean the connections and you get what you pay for.
I will have it load tested this weekend and if it isn't trash, I can add distilled water and trickle charge it for 7-10 days.
Thanks again guys!

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Deep cycle battery draining fast!

I'm still using a MAXX Dual purpose from "07. Hope I haven't guinczed (how do you spell that anyway?) that up.

JINXED!(sp) First cell next to neg. terminal no longer bubbles on a charge. Can it be re-energized? Less than ten volts after sitting.