How to charge cranking battery

[copeman5011]

So I just got an interstate 24 cranking battery and I was wondering how to properly charge it. I have a black and decker smart charger. I currently have it charging at 2 amps on wet battery type and I just got off the water. Any tips should be appreciated, I hope I'm doing this right I don't wanna ruin a brand new battery. I have an 83 mariner 60 hp 2 stroke w/ electric start so it should charge when running but I'm not sure if it actually does. Thanks

 

[Silvertip]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

2 amps is a maintenance charge and as such is used primarily to keep a fully charged battery topped off during long periods of non-use. Since the battery is new, it may not be fully charged so you should charge it at a 5 amp rate or more. Your motor should charge the battery when the engine is running.

 

[reddogg]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

If your pulling it out of the boat to charge, don't set it on the concrete, put it on a piece of wood. Dunno why, but concrete sucks the life outta batts.

red

 

[copeman5011]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

The charge settings on the charger are 2/10/15 so use 10? Is this a wet cell battery? You can choose agm, gel or wet. I heard the concrete thing is just a myth, I also heard to charge a marine battery low and slow, meaning use the lowest amps you can.

 

[Boatist]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

If it is a smart charger use 15. The longer it discharged the more damage is done so set in on 15 unless unless it is 105 degrees and you have it in full sun. Many battery charger if set to 15 will still step down to 10 and then 2 on it own as it reaches full charge. All smart charger will taper to 0 amps and not over charge. My boats alternator charges at 65 amps an I have not had any battery last less than 6 years. My truck alternator is 100 amps. What damages batteries is being left discharged. Also know that batteries self discharge so charge once a month in summer and every 2 month in winter.
The concrete thing has not been true since they went to plastic cases. Also I would charge it in the boat.

 

[copeman5011]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

Sorry it's 2/10/25 amps on the charger and it does go down. I set it to 10 and it went down to like 3.something in a minute or so. Just hope it's a wet cell and I'm not screwing anything up with that setting. Can anybody clarify?

 

[Fishing Dude too]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

It's fine.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

If your pulling it out of the boat to charge, don't set it on the concrete, put it on a piece of wood. Dunno why, but concrete sucks the life outta batts.

red

That statement has been untrue for years. It is not necessary since the material used in battery cases was changed many years ago.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

If it drops with any of the higher settings the battery is charged and the charger is simply telling you that it is going into the maintenance mode.

 

[j_martin]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

If your pulling it out of the boat to charge, don't set it on the concrete, put it on a piece of wood. Dunno why, but concrete sucks the life outta batts.

red

If you have an 1899 wooden cased battery, concrete will cause it to discharge in a week instead of a week and a half. The concrete catches he!! too.

Modern plastic or rubber cased batteries are not affected by the surface they are on.

 

[copeman5011]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

I was wondering if I should be charging the battery before or after each use or not at all since the motor should be charging it while running. I use it once a week or more in the summer. I have an old analog multimeter of my dad's but I can't really tell the difference in voltage when the motor is running or when it's off. I'm going to buy a digital one but still don't know how often I should charge the battery.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: How to charge cranking battery

Didn't we just go through that?? You always charge a battery AFTER each use because damage occurs when left in the discharged state. The engine charges it when running. How much it discharges between use is impossible for us to tell and a voltmeter will not tell you that. If you are unsure how to do this, buy an on-board or portable smart charger and plug in at the dock or at home whenever the boat is not in use. The charger knows when to charge and when not to.