Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

[dkorzun21]

Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season or just start her up and go or jump it?

What do you do?

Wondering if I should let my boats battery trickle charge overnight because im taking out the boat tommorw and havent started it up yet or if I should see if she starts right up. If not jump it.

Whats your views????

 

[ECVCHAMP]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

Battery Tender all winter.

 

[brick75]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

Mine is hooked up to a trickle charger all winter. Sure couldn't hurt to hook it up before you go out.

 

[mattpyle]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

Battery Tender all winter.

Same here.

But If it's REALLY dead, it will be best to trickle charge it starting the day before. Otherwise it might still be very dificult to start with jumper cables.

 

[tschmidty]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

Yes you should. If you have a charger than yes. You should also be trickle charging it once a month during the winter in order to make your batteries last longer.

 

[redone4x4]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

i trickle mine a few times in the winter, then yes, definitely before the first trip out. Just did last weekend actually. I have two batteries so i just keep rotating them to guarantee no starting problems.

 

[clarkbre]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

Battery Tender all winter.

This is probably the best way to preserve your battery(s) for years to come. I?ve got an onboard Minnkota charger tucked up near my battery. If the boat isn?t in the water or in transport, it?s plugged in. The battery is always full and ready to go.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

Battery Tender all winter.

Me too. Nervous about this being the sixth year on them but they still load test perfectly.

 

[jdsgrog]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

yes, always trickle charge batteries during winter. Also, I usually slow charge batteries after every use. I have a multiple speed charger, but I found that slow charging seems to charge batteries the best.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

guess i'm the odd one out...

Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season or just start her up and go or jump it?

i put a real charger on mine every month or three during layup. and certainly charge it prior to going out to the lake for the first time. i also load test prior to taking it to the lake. napa in my city does this as a service. no charge.

Wondering if I should let my boats battery trickle charge overnight because im taking out the boat tommorw and havent started it up yet or if I should see if she starts right up. If not jump it.

for sure, charge it up, load test it. for sure start it up in the driveway, then ya won't be jump starting at the ramp. also, have you seen this from the adults only sticky at the top of the i/o forum. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=192804. i do that too, + what my service manual says to do.... there are things to do prior to taking your boat to the ramp. if ya wanna have your best shot at a successful first run of the year.

 

[Boatenheimer]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

GEEZ LUEEZ Did you even take the battery out for the winter storage???

When was the last time you cleaned the terminals???

When was the last time you cleaned your starter connections???

Your ground connections???

Tested your blower?Your bilge pump?

You want to take the boat out tomorrow!!!!!

Have you changed the oil?The drive fluid?Greased the gimbal?Changed fuel filters?Checked and greased your wheel bearings?

You have been BEGGING all week for someone to TELL YOU how to fix your shifter.Is it fixed or that doesn't matter now because the weekend is here and you want to go boating????

I'll bet you have your beer already though.

I was never a Boy Scout but BEING PREPARED is just common sense.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

...Nervous about this being the sixth year on them but they still load test perfectly.

Why be nervous, if you take care of them, and they test fine - thn don't sweat it. I love how so many people complain about the cost of boating, but don't do anything to prolong the life or their batteries. what's a couple hundred in rpl costs between friends???

 

[5150abf]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

I am with Boatenheimer here, do you really expect it to start right up?

I was always taught if you want something to take care of you, you have to take care of it.

If your battery was not charged all winter and the boat was in cold weather there is a good chance you froze the battery and it is cooked, yes a discharged battery will freeze so see if it will take a charge before you go out and get stuck on the water, if the battery won't start the boat without jumping replace it.

Start it in your driveway on ears BEFORE you go out to see if it will even start or if you cracked the block or any other problem.

 

[gjm700]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

Battery Tender all winter.

guarantees our batteries are in good shape all year

 

[PWH1]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

I take my battery out of the boat and store it in my heated basement during the winter months. When I took the battery out of the basement this spring, it still held a charge.

However, I did hook it up to the trickle charger for a most of a day - then hooked it up in the boat, dropped her in the tank and she fired right up.

 

[milmat1]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

A Lead Acid battery needs to be maintained. I keep a battery tender on everything. Lawnmower, Motorcycle, boat etc.. Besides you need to start with a Fully charged battery. The charging system isn't made to charge a dead battery (Although it will, Takes a long while). And jump starting should be reserved for emergencies !..JMO

 

[dingbat]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

Don't own a trickle charger. I charged the batteries (Grp. 27 deep cycle x 2)before putting the cover on for the winter in December. Pulled the cover off the first weekend in March and fired it up on the hose. Let it idle for 10-15 minutes and went fishing.

 

[airdvr1227]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

I'll be the odd man out and tell you the only thing I did was disconnect the battery after winterizing. Didn't even take it out of the rig that was stored outside all winter. Come this spring I reconnected it so I could tilt the drive up for towing. Took it home and she started right up as if I'd been using them all winter. Guess I'm just lucky.

 

[JimS123]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

It all depends on the quality of the battery to begin with. Constant trickle charging can ruin a battery.

Buy a 2 dollar multi meter from Harbor Freight tools. A fully charged lead acid battery should read about 12.7 volts.

I bring my 3 boat batteries and lawn tractor battery in the basement for the winter. The first of the month.....every month....time to check. If they fall below 12.3 volts I put them on the charger at 2 amps. They charge up in about 30 minutes.

They take about 3 months for the charge to drop that low. If it takes less time, or if it takes more than about 60 minutes to recharge, the battery life is getting to its end.

I buy 48 month batteries and get about 8-10 years out of them. When I can't meet the 3 month / 60 minute criteria anymore, I just trash them and buy a new one. A dead battery on a sunny day when the fish are biting is an absolute catastrophy.

How many years do you get out of a battery tended battery?

 

[180shabah]

Re: Do you Trickle Charge your battery at the beginning of the season

How many years do you get out of a battery tended battery?

Don't know yet, but I am on season 5 with my auto zone battery - not exactly top of the line - and it is still just as strong as when it was new.

FWIW - battery tender is a little more than just a trickle charger.