I need Battery Help

[Rob G.]

Ok fellow anglers and gear heads

I need advice on how to charge and maintain my battery. About 3 years ago I bought a Interstate Deep Cycle marine/RV battery. It worked well for a long time. I even used like 5 times before I had to charge it. Over the course of 3 years it hasn't been keeping it's charge the same. I recently had it checked and the guy at the shop said it was marginal; meaning it still worked. Ok, my problem was that I used it and it wouldn't put out enough juice for my finder and minn kota.

So, I went out and bought a new Optima Deep Cycle Marine/RV battery, and dropped about $165 on it! Now, I want to keep this thing in good shape. I have a tripple charge battery charger that has three settings, but I don't know what they mean:
they read as this; 6V 6amp/ 12V 2 amp/ 12 6amp

I went out last weekend with my new setup: old battery on the finder and new battery on the minn kota. Well, I didn't troll the entire time, but my new battery didn't last all day. I expected to troll all day without having to turn my speed up.

So my questions are:

Am I expecting too much from my batteries? (I had four total grown men in my boat on Saturday)

What settings should I charge my batteries?

How long should I charge them?

What should I do to maintain them?

How long should I be able to troll?

Am I an idiot?

Thanks for the feedback, I know you all will come to the rescue!

[A9]

Auto chargers are the way to go. A new optima should last a while. It's all about what lb thrust you are using, what speeds you are using and how powerful your fishfinder is and how big the battery is...

Charge your batteries on the 12v/2amp draw. Deep cycles needa be charged as slow as possible and it's suggested to charge them as slow as they can. If you need to do it faster, it's not a bad thing to charge it in the 12v 6 amp setting. But also keep your batteries full when not in use.

I have trolled my 12' Lund with my 30lb thrust Minn Kota hooked up to a Trojan battery for well over 6-7 hours and haven't ran out of juice or come close

[Rob G.]

Wow, thanks for the quick reply! Ok, so I have a really old 27lb thrust minn kota, and a 12ft Livinston. I weigh 234 lbs. and I usualy bring a buddy. So, we're talking about at least 400 lbs of persons every time.

And how do I keep the batteries charged? Do I leave them on the charger, or just charge them after evey use?

[A9]

Charge them after every use. Atleast keep em 90%+ full....Yea it sucks but then again, it's a decent sized investment and it's worth it to get an extra year or two out of them...
Did you charge that new battery properly/at all before it's first use? That could have been your problem..

[Rob G.]

No, I thought it came fully charged! LOL

[A9]

No, I thought it came fully charged! LOL

That could be the issue. I don't know if they come fully charged or what, but it'd be safe to say that the performance next time outta your new Optima will be much better after it's fully charged...

[urbanangler]

After I charge my battery, I leave it on a float/trickle battery maintainer. I took some advice of others on WL.com:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=42292

CHEAP! A little over $15 with tax and shipping.

[Toni]

I brought a trickle charger too but for much more. My Walmart deep cycle didn't hold the charge any more so I got the Joe's anniversary sale Optima. I figured the battery came like my cell phone -somewhat charged- but not all the way so I charged it before I went out. It did great. I have a 36 lb thrust Minkota.

[northfork]

I had the optima deep cycle, finally wore it out.
If you want long life out of your battery do not run it dead. There are only so many recharges to a deep cycle. If you only run it down to 50% it will last alot longer. The battery will not deterioate sp as fast and will hold a better charge.
The optimas need to be charged SLOW at 2amp setting to keep the battery temp down. You can actually cook a optima trying to charge it to fast and then its dead.

[HillbillyGeek]

Shallower the average depth-of-discharge (DoD), increases the battery life. For example, a battery with an average of 50% DoD will last twice as long or more as an 80% DoD; a 20% DoD battery will last five times longer than a 50% DoD. Try to avoid DoD that is less than 10% or greater than 80%. Most marine an RV deep cycle batteries are designed for 50% DoD. NEVER discharge below 10.5 volts. If more ampere-hours are required, you can connect two (or more) new and identical 12-volt batteries in parallel. You can also connect two larger new and identical six-volt batteries in series by attaching the negative terminal of the first battery to the positive terminal of the second battery. If you connect two 12-volt batteries in parallel that are identical in type, age and capacity, you can potentially double the total capacity. If you connect two that are not the same type, you will either overcharge the smaller of the two, or you will undercharge the larger of the two.

High ambient temperatures (above 80%deg; F [26.7° C]) will shorten battery life because it increases positive grid corrosion and growth.

Depending on the type of battery, it has natural self-discharge or internal electrochemical leakage at a 1% to 15% rate per month that will cause it to become sulfated and fully discharged over time. Higher temperatures accelerate this process. A battery stored at 95° F (35° C) will self discharge twice as fast than one at 75° F (23.9° C).

After using your battery, recharge it as soon as possible. This will prevent "lead sulfation". Use the lowest charger setting possible (typically 2 amp), even though it may take a considerable amount of time to fully charge.

Avoid excess vibration whenever possible.

Use a "smart charger" to prevent overcharging. Overcharging will reduce battery life and could lead to an explosion. A battery explosion probably won't kill you but if you get battery acid in your eyes, you could easily lose your eyesight.

[Rob G.]

And that's why I love this site! Thanks gentlemen.

[bassmasterderek]

Rob G.,
I use a Die Hard charger from Sears that charges and shuts off automatically. It is worth every penny I spent on it. Batteries should come fully charged. When I buy a new batterie I make sure I drain as much as I can before I actually charge it for the first time. After that I always charge it within 12 hours of use. My batteries never reach below 50% even on the lake for 8 hours.

[ChrisB]

Great tips. I've been running an AC Delco Marine/RV battery for about 3 yrs and its probably time for a new one. 36 lb minn kota on a 9 foot boat. I think with your charger go with the 2amp if you have the time to wait, or 6 amp if you are in a rush. My charger has a 2 and 10 amp setting, guess I'll start using the 2 amp.

[Rollin with Rolland]

Nice link BMD.

[Kokonuts]

I had 2 batterys on my old fiberglass 16ft. boat. I used the Minn Kota 55lb. thrust transom mount & the
MinnKota MK220 on board charger. I used 1 battery for the MK & 1 for the big motor. The charger was mounted under the closed bow & all I had to do was run the ext. cord to the boat & plug in.
Charging the batteries every time really keeps them up and working great. The only downside was the cost.

[swedefish4life1]

Charge the batteries at least 2 of them on board= Opti good stuff set your charger on the lowest setting and the longest charge make sure your battery selector is off during this process and your selector has battery one, two and off while setting/storing.
A power Invertor system is sweet as well on board, batteries, alternators= 90 ampers are the blood supply to failed trips:-$ .
3 batties on board are even Better:compress:

[BentRod]

HillbillyGeek is right. The best way to get the most out of your batteries it to try not to let them fall below 50% charge (damn near impossible when you want to be out all day trolling and using a fishfinder ), don't let them sit uncharged for long, keep the water level full, and use a "smart" trickle charger to maintain the batteries when not in use. You can buy "battery tenders" at most automotive stores. Motorcycle riders use them as well as some RVers.
If you want more (way more) info on deep cycle batteries, try this link:

The 12 volt side of life

Tight lines.

[gian]

I might be late on this one, but your old battery... did you or is it possible to check the water levels in the battery? When the water levels drop you lose the ability to hold a charge. Even "maintance free" batteries sometimes have caps covering the holes for the water in the cells. There are also techinques out there to bring back dead or dying batteries (google). If the water is low, adding distilled water may help to increase the battery usage times. You might be able to have 2 perfectly good batteries.

[wolverine]

I'm on my 4th year on a Costco marine battery that I use with a 40 lb Minn Kota with the maximizer infinite controller. This pushes around a 10' pontoon boat, 40+ lbs of gear, and my 270 lb fat butt for 8+ hours of trolling without dropping below 50% charge. On over night trips the battery gets trickle charged overnight in the motel or if camping I get a site with power so I can again charge the battery. I rarely use a trickle charger to keep the battery topped off as overcharging is as bad as totally discharging a battery. When not in use I keep the battery out of the sun and in the coolest place that I can. When I'm on big water like Rufus or one of the big Canadian lakes I find room on the toon for a motorcycle battery to make sure that I can get back to the launch without having to row.

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