Deep Cycle Battery Charging

[Rudy198]

thought it would be better posted in this section,than general
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looking at getting a new deep cycle battery for my 12ft jon boat...I am concerned on about charging it..I have done alot of research on the best/proper way.Read u want it charged to 12.6-12.8V and don't wanna run it lower than 10.5-10.8V...I'm just not sure on what amps to charge the battey,read that if using a 100amp battery to use 15-30% amp charger so does that mean i shouod charge the battery using my 10-20amp chrager..
Also looking at another battery that is 70amp so 15-30% recommends 10-20amp charger.....
i was always told to use a 2A and tickle charge..
These are the 2 batteries i am looking at
•Group size 24
•625 marine cranking amps, 70 amp hours, 120 minute reserve capacity

•Group size 27
•730 marine cranking amps, 100 amp hours, reserve capacity of 160 minutes

Any advise is greatly appreciated,Thanks

[Speckle55]

imo you should use R28s(180min) or bigger if you are going to do much trolling(i use R31 or R32s)

on your battery charger you should when finishing charging use 2 amp

I have used for 30 plus years

Food for Thought
David

[Willowtrail]

I roll with a costco battery, 120 ah at $99

I have a canadian tire automatic charger, 2, 10, 15 amp. Also $100 but watch for sales.

The best charge on any battery is a trickle charge but sometimes you don't always have that option and you need to pump the amps into it fast.

Get the biggest battery you can afford

[Rick.]

General rule of thumb is the bigger the deep cycle the more Amp Hours it has. If your trolling all day then go big. Which ever you choose, the battery should be recharged after every use and 20 amp is better (and quicker) than 10 amp. but a 10 amp. will do the job. Don't trickle charge your battery. Most of the newer units can stay connected and will "maintain" your battery after a full charge but in my opinion that feature is more for winter storage than say the fishing season. Some even reduce the amps as it gets closer to full charge. It is surprising how long a battery really takes to get to full charge after being run down. Walmart normally has good ones for about a hundred bucks and Costco too. Well maintained they should last for several years. Rick.

[pickrel pat]

hmmmm..... dont trickle charge.......always trickle charge...... anyone else got an opinion on this? im about to buy a deep cycle battery and charger.

[Iron Byron]

I'm not 100% but if you have a chance to get a newer charger you can actually tell it what type of battery you have and it will charge it accordingly. I have heard great things about the AGM batteries. Much safer and long lasting. Optima has one, but I also think Costco carries AGM as well. They have blue tops on them, with no maintenance required. I think..

[Big Bull]

Originally Posted by pickrel pat

hmmmm..... dont trickle charge.......always trickle charge...... anyone else got an opinion on this? im about to buy a deep cycle battery and charger.

I'll add my $.02 to the confussion!
I buy my deep cycles from Walmart, and have been very impressed. I currently have 4 Energisers on their 7th season, and 4 EverStarts(I think that's what they are called) on their 2nd season, and they are all working great. I use a Mastercraft deep cycle charger, and charge my batterries on 2A if I'm not in a hurry, or 12A if I'm going to need them right away. I've just found that the 2A charge seems to give me more run time. Don't let discharged batterries sit too long before recharging. Ocassionally I check each cell with a specific gravity tester, and top up each cell, if needed, with distilled water. Don't overfill the cells, as this will allow the acid/water solution to leak out and start destroying things - trust me! You just need enough water to cover the plates in each cell. Not all deep cycle batterries are created equal. In the past, I used to use UAP batterries, and would be lucky to get 2 seasons out of them.

[BeeGuy]

I have a one amp charger and 2 ~100amp•hr batteries.

Each battery lasts about 3.5 hrs and they charge pretty slowly.

They charge to almost 13v and are never discharged below about 11v.

Everything works fine so far. Probably 30 charges.

[Speckle55]

most of my batterys i get about 7 to 10 years out of.. i use on Maligne Lake all day long and have for 30 years plus .. the min i go between charges is 3 months and haven,t had a problem ,, mine are stored outside in shed
The charger i use is a 15/2/100 amp auto charger/starter on 2amp 12v settings

Here is a FAQ enjoy
http://www.marine-electronics.net/te...q/b_faq.htm#13

David

[Rudy198]

Ok got a good idea,now when lets say 100amp battery is fully charged to 12.8V,gonna be using a 30lb thrust minn kota on my jon boat total weight in the boat might be 400 max...How long should this battery last me,just say running on speed 3 outta 5.....Hate to get stuck out there with a dead battery,Thanks

[Speckle55]

Rudy are you going for a full day trolling up to 3 out of 5 and do you have a maximizer?

i would have a couple batterys per day with a maximizer but min R28 180min
i have a 55# with maximizer and Varible speed i get 8 to 12hrs per battery below 50% power

David

info
http://www.minnkotamotors.com/advantage/freshwater.aspx

[Rudy198]

Originally Posted by Speckle55

Rudy are you going for a full day trolling up to 3 out of 5 and do you have a maximizer?

i would have a couple batterys per day with a maximizer but min R28 180min
i have a 55# with maximizer and Varible speed i get 8 to 12hrs per battery below 50% power

David

info
http://www.minnkotamotors.com/advantage/freshwater.aspx

No i just a cheap $130 minn kota,nothing fancy
I like to go all day but the wife and others i go with can't handle it out there all day,but i would like to beable to have the option of staying out all day if i went alone..Thanks

[Speckle55]

Rudy its been years since i had a plain one but i think i got 6 hours ..you will have to do a test run at home on your favorite lake and see .. then get the number you need to do all day or a trip..

We just came off Maligne in June for 4 nights and 5 days so we had 2 14ft boats roped together and had 11 /R28's or bigger with 4 of them R32 or 205min.. only were rope together for the trip to Fishermans Bay.. then use one boat at a time.. but my rule is 2 batterys per day even in bad weather as long as you do not go over 50% for long

David

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by Rudy198

Ok got a good idea,now when lets say 100amp battery is fully charged to 12.8V,gonna be using a 30lb thrust minn kota on my jon boat total weight in the boat might be 400 max...How long should this battery last me,just say running on speed 3 outta 5.....Hate to get stuck out there with a dead battery,Thanks

3-4 hrs

Lead acid is a chemical process it takes energy to restore the battery. More than you take out as some goes to heat. You can normally recharge at c/10 for best.rrsults. you must charge at constant.current to begin when the voltage rises to 14.4 (! Assuming room temp) then you must switch to constant voltage.control. this is wbere.current slowly drops as charge.increases. then finally at a specific. Current you switch back to float voltage which prevents over hatge and gassing. So u see all 3 are required. Most old guys just flipped on a car charger but kept an eye on it when the current fell off they move the switch to trickle. This finish charged without boiling and is where the myth about trickle being the best came from.


Buy a charger with a rate.of amps that covers your battery c/10 and your good all the modern stuff should do it jow.
Darn cell typing