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I am a 3rd year boat owner ( 16 foot Tracker Pro Angler) and have the battery recharger on the battery since 11 am yesterday and now it is between 4 and 6... seems so slow to get it fully recharged. So just how do you know how much life does the battery have as far as long term goes?
Also what do you think of those on-board battery rechargers... do they work? Is it worth the cost?
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HEY PAUL,
THE BATTERY LIKE ANY BATTERY LIFE DEPENDS ON USEAGE, OR NON-USEAGE, THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO TO A BATTERY IS LET IT SET WITHOUT USE FOR ANY EXTENDED AMOUNT OF TIME. THE ON-BOARD CHARGERS ARE GENERALLY ALLRIGHT, THEY USUALLY ARE A SLOW CHARGER TO BEGIN WITH, LIKE YOU NEED TO HOOK THEM UP OVERNIGHT. THEY USUALLY HAVE A 10 TO 20 AMP OUTPUT IN SOME CASES IT MAY BE LESS. TRICKLE CHARGERS ARE WHAT THEY CALL THEM.
AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO TELL IF YOU BATTERIES ARE ANY GOOD, YOU CAN DO ONE OF TWO THINGS, FIRST OF WHICH IS TAKE THE BATTERY TO AUTO ZONE OR CHECKER AND HAVE IT LOAD TESTED TO SEE IF ITS ANY GOOD. THE SECOND IS GOTO THE SAME PLACE AND BUY YOURSELF A BATTERY LOAD TESTER SO YOU CAN TEST THEM WHILE CONNECTED TO THE BOAT, IF THE BOAT IS EQUIPPED WITH A MOTOR WITH AN ALTERNATOR ON IT, YOU MAY WANT TO LOOK AT A FEW TESTERS AND GET ONE CAPABLE OF TESTING THAT ALSO, DONT WORRY IT MAY BE WORTH THE FEW EXTRA BUCKS, BUT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER ONE, AND YOU CAN TEST THE CHARGING SYSTEM ANYTIME YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE AN ISSUE TO ADDRESS.
THE CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF A MARINE TYPE BATTERY IS THE SAME AS AN AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY, OFTEN CAR BATTERIES ARE USED ON BOATS, I PREFER TO USE A OFF-BOARD CHARGER, THAT WAY ITS NOT TOO HARD TO CHARGE UP A BATTERY WHILE I HAVE ONE INSTALLED IN MY SETUP. THAT WAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A FRESH BATTERY READY FOR USE. ONE THING I HAVE BEEN EYEBALLING IN CABELAS, IS THE SOLAR BATTERY MAINTAINER, I SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT IDEA, WORKS ON CLOUDY DAYS, AND IT EMITTS A 7.5 AMP CHARGE TO KEEP YOUR BATTERY "TOPPED OFF" IF YOU WILL OR IF YOU HAVE A SMALL ELECTRIC TROLLING MOTOR THAT ONLY DRAWS 5 AMPS, YOU COULD THEORETICALLY RUN IT OFF OF THE SOLAR CELL.
THEY DO MAKE CHARGERS THAT ARE A LITTLE MORE BEEFY, TO PUT ON YOUR BOAT, BUT WITH A STANDARD BATTERY CHARGER, YOU CAN CHARGE UP YOUR BOAT, CAR, 4 WHEELER, DUNE BUGGY, ANY BATTERY YOU COME ACROSS, GET ONE THAT HAS A 6 OR 12 VOLT CHARGE OPTION AND IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT GET ONE WITH AN AMPERAGE OUTPUT ADJUSTMENT SWITCH YOU CAN GO FROM LIKE 20 TO 10 TO 2, SOMETIMES WHEN A BATTERY HAS SAT ALL WINTER AND IS DISCHARGED YOU HAVE TO PUT THAT 2 AM TRICKLE ON IT FOR LIKE 24 SOLID HOURS TO GET IT BACK TO USEABLE STATUS, OTHER WISE YOU HAVE TO BUY A NEW BATTERY.
JUST FYI..THIS INFO COMES FROM MY FAMILY THAT HAS RUN AN AUTOMOTIVE EQUIPMENT SALES AND SERVICE COMPANY SINCE 1913. MY DAD STILL RUNS IT AND IF YOU TELL HIM CHRIS SENT YOU IN HE WILL TREAT YOU RIGHT ON WHAT HE OFFERS FOR BATTERY CHARGERS. THAT GOES TO ANY OF YOU BFT PEOPLE, I WILL TALK TO HIM AND SEE IF HE IS WILLING TO PUT UP A DISCOUNT FOR YA, MORE ON THAT LATER. IF YOU WANT CONTACT INFO PM ME AND I WILL SEND IT TO YOU AS I DONT WANT TO VIOLATE ANY OF THE ADVERTISING RULES ON THE BOARD, TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT THE COMAPNY DOES, IT SELLS/SERVICES THE LIKES OF TIRE BALANCERS, BATTERY CHARGERS, HOISTS TO PICK UP A CARE AND CHANGE THE OIL, BRAKE EQUIPMENT LATHES, FLYWHEEL GRINDERS PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING YOU NEED TO USE IN A SERVICE SHOP FOR A CAR. A BATTERY CHARGER IS A BATTERY CHARGER, AND A BATTERY IS A BATTERY, JUST DIFFERENT CASES FOR THE APPLICATIONS. WE EVEN HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE "NEW" GLASS PAK DESIGN BATTERIES, NO ACID, TOTALLY SEALD AND ALL. ANYWAY THAT IS ENOUGH RANTING ON A SUBJECT I PROBALY KNOW WAAAAY TOOO MUCH ABOUT.
HOPE I HELPED,
LATERS,
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A weak battery will discharge rapidly. As the above post said, you have to load test it.
Most batteries suffer from neglect. To get the max life out of your battery you need to keep the water levels filled, never letting the plates become exposed. And try to minimize time that the battery sits without a full charge. Lead acid batts do not develop memory. Try not to completely discharge them and after using them, charge to full as soon as possible.
I have to disagree with the above poster's comment on onboard battery chargers. They are the best thing you can do to maximize the life of your batts. They have the intelligence built-in to know when to charge with high amps and when low amps are needed. And the good ones can be plugged in and left all winter long without boiling your batts dry. An ideal charge starts at high amps and the amps decrease as the charge level increases. The best onboard charges are CSI and Guest.
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shake it and listen to it closely LOL just kidding paul
I usually keep track of the dates of purchase and replace when they get old or recycle them into other things that dont require a hard load.
when my batteries start getting old I'll put them in a vehicle and I usually get a year or two out of them because autos have a better charging system than a boat.
DZ
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I like the MinnKota battery meter that shows you in an instant how much capacity you have left. Some of their motors have one built in. I have one and it is great. As far as testing trolling motor batteries, the load test they do at Autozone or Checker is designed for starting batteries and not deep cycle batteries. Once I had Checker test both high end deep cycle batteries in my boat, one for starting and one for the bow trolling motor, and they said they were both performing poorly. That was several years ago and they both are still running strong. Deep cycle batteries, if that is what you have, just don't test right at the autostores. I have heard there is a different test/equipment for deep cycle batteries, but know nothing else about them. I rely on all the good maintenance tips mentioned above and use my multi-meter to check the voltage.
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[reply]A weak battery will discharge rapidly. As the above post said, you have to load test it.
Most batteries suffer from neglect. To get the max life out of your battery you need to keep the water levels filled, never letting the plates become exposed. .[/reply]
I'll be danged!!! I just followed your advice and ideas, and found that my battery plates were definitely exposed and rather dry. !@#%! So what does that mean for this to happen? I filled it with distilled water. Does this help at all or definitely have to buy a new battery?
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The best way is to use a hydrometer to check the specific gravity of each cell. It only takes 1 bad cell to ruin the battery.
Autozone sells hydrometers for $5.00. I use the gauge on the charger, then check it with the hydrometer. You can see how well the battery is holding a charge by the specific gravity reading in each cell.
It looks like a giant turkey baster that you suck up the electrolyte and take a reading with.[cool]
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I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT WHEN TOPPING OFF A BATTERY THAT HAS BEEN "DRIED OUT" YOU DID THE RIGHT THING, DISTILLED WATER IS THE THING TO USE, UNLESS YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THE ELECTROLYTE SOLUTION THEY USE AT THE BATTERY WAREHOUSES WHEN THEY "WET DOWN" THE BATTERIES BEFORE THEY GOTO THE RETAIL MARKET PLACE.
I AGREE ON-BOARD CHARGERS ARE GREAT, I DID NOT SAY THEY DONT WORK, I JUST STATED I PREFERR THE BENCH TYPE CHARGER OUT OF THE BOAT. I JUST THINK ALL THAT EQUIPMENT AND ALL IS TOO VALUABLE TO LEAVE ONE OF THOSE UNITS CONNECTED ALL WINTER, I MEAN IF YOU WERE RUNNING ALL THE TIME YOU WOULD GET TIRED, THAT IS WHY WE HAVE QUITTING TIME. SO I PREFERR THE OTHER CHARGER, THEY DONT BREAK ANY MORE OR ANY LESS, BUT I DONT WANT IT TO DIE IN NOVEMBER AND I DONT FIND OUT TILL SPRING, WHEN IT HAS HAD TIME TO KILL MY WHOLE ELECTRICAL SUPPLY SYSTEM, THATS ALL. ONBOARD CHARGERS ARE GREAT FOR CHARGING UP WEEK BY WEEK AFTER YOU HAVE BEEN RUNNING THE CRAFT AROUND AND ALL THAT, JUST OVER WINTER I WOULD PREFERR TO USE A STANDARD CHARGER. BUT AGAIN THAT IS MY PREFERENCE. ALOT OF SMALLER CHARGERS BOTH ONBOARD AND OFF, ARE NOT BUILT TO WHAT WE WOULD CALL HEAVY-DUTY STANDARDS, THE ARE KNOCKED OUT CHEAPLY IN TIWAN, CHINA, JAPAN AND ARE SOLD UNDER HUGE NAMES HERE IN THE USA, LIKE CENTURY, SCHUMACHER, ASSOCIATED, SNAP-ON, MAC TOOLS, ALL THOSE HAVE WHAT IN THE BUSINESS WE REFERR TO AS "DISPOSABLES" THAT MEANS THAT WHEN THEY DIE, IT COSTS MORE TO FIX THAN TO REPLACE, AND UNFORTUNATLY THOSE COMPANIES WANT TO SELL CHARGERS AND MAKE MONEY, SO THEY BUILD A MID GRAGE PRODUCT, AT BEST, AND PLAN FOR THE JUNK FACTOR AND BUILD MILLIONS OF THE UNITS FOR SALE AND REPLACEMENT, I JUST THINK YOU ARE BETTER OFF TO GET AN OFF BOARD CHARGER LIKE AN AUTOMOTIVE UNIT TO CHARGE UP OVER THE WINTER. THEY ARE SERVICEABLE, AND BECAUSE THEY HAVE "BETTER" COMPONENTS IN THEM THEY WILL GIVE YOU A BETTER CHARGE.
WHEN YOU STORE A BATTERY MAKE SURE IT IS ALWAYS ON A BOARD OR SOMETHING NON-CONDUCTIVE, ONE INCH THICK AT LEAST. THE BATTERIES WILL ACTUALLY DISCHARGE INTO THE GROUND THROUGH TILE, LENOLEUM, CARPET, CEMENT, ANYTHING BUT WOOD OR THICK PLASTIC OR SOMETHING, PUT EM UP ON THE BENCH OR WHATEVER, OR THAT BATTERY YOU WANT TO USE THAT WAS FULLY CHARGES LAST WEEK, WILL BE DEAD AS A DOOR NAIL THIS WEEK.
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THE PEOPLE AT AUTO ZONE AND CHECKER SHOULD HAVE A DEEP CYCLE TESTER, IT SHOULD BE READILY AVAILABLE, SO ILL GIVE YOU A NAME OF A WHOLESALE PLACE, IT IS STANDARD BATTERY, THEY ARE ON REDWOOD AND ABOUT 15TH SOUTH, IN SLC, THEY DO THE ACTUAL TEST OF THE FLUID IN THE BATTERY TO SEE WHAT THE ELECTRODE RATING IS, I DONT KNOW IF THEY CHARGE FOR IT BUT IT IS WORTH 5 BUCKS TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE TO REPLACE A 75 DOLLAR BATTERY. JUST A THOUGHT, I HAD. HOPE IT ALL HELPS.
LATERS,
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Badfish, I have 3, sometimes 4 batts aboard my boat. Hooking them up to a bench charger and charging them all individually would take a week to bring all of them back to a full charge. And the last battery charged has sat a week in a depleted state, shortening its lifespan. With an onboard charger, you plug into the nearest outlet at home, hotel, campsite, restaurant, and they're all fully charged by morning.
I agree that I wouldn't leave an onboard charger plugged in indefinitely over winter, but I know guys who do. And if you listen closely, you might hear them panting. 
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I have heard that it is an "old wives tale" that you need to put a battery on a board to keep it from discharged into the ground. As long as the plastic (non-conductive) case is clean, you won't have a problem. I have five deep cycle batteries for various things and three get stored through the winter directly on the concrete and two are on wood shelves. I just tested all five and there wasn't half a volt difference between any of them. At least from my experience, I tend to dismiss the notion of direct contact battery discharge into the ground. I would be interested if others had similar or different experiences.
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