Charging A Deep Cycle Battery??

[horsetrader]

Originally Posted by Flyrod1970

Interesting thread, but I don't know bout some of those claims. I've been using electric trolling motors on my zodiac for the last 18 years, gone thru three of them. I've charged the batteries slowly and i've charged them fast but I have never, ever, ever, ever, EVER gotten 3 days of trolling from a battery. They last a day if your lucky, depending of how much and how fast your trolling. I usually never go out without two batteries and if i'm actually trolling instead of just goin from spot to spot and casting I will easily use up both batteries in a 9 or 10 hour day of fishing.

I would suggest you invest in a new minn kota motor they have come a long ways if you can't get more then 9 hours out of a charge then your either using to small a motor or to small a battery

[Tezma]

Originally Posted by horsetrader

If you are only getting 9 hr out of your battery i would check the condition of your battery on my 16'crestliner I can run 2 full days plus thats with a 70lb 24v on my 12' jon i can also get 2 days plus with a 55lb 12v

Yea you get 2 days because you have to have 2 batterys to make 24 volts. you have to link them in series.

there for having 2 days of trolling if i had to batterys i would have 2 days aswell. just saying

[horsetrader]

Originally Posted by Tezma

Yea you get 2 days because you have to have 2 batterys to make 24 volts. you have to link them in series.

there for having 2 days of trolling if i had to batterys i would have 2 days aswell. just saying

sorry it does not work that way it still uses 24 v its like having one 24 v battery

[johnny2]

My latest batt. is a Rocky's 650 Deep Cycle R/V, I try to run it as dead as possible,then charge for 4 hrs at 10 amp, then 2 amp overnight, it usually comes up to 12.8-12.9 V. With my Minn-Kota Maximizer 30 lb (3 yrs old) I can get 3 / 8 hr days of steady trolling, on calm waters, out of it. The biggest factor in my batt. life is Wind. The longer I have to buck a strong wind, usually 1 way on my Troll, & increase motor speed to maintain the same trolling depth, the shorter the batt life. The new motor technology has increased my time on the water 3-4 times, I love it ....also I use a charger w/ auto shut off..they say you can over charge a battery, shortening it's life...Johnny

[Deep]

X2 Johnny

[Speckle55]

Some advice on here is good but go to Mini-kota site and look at chart about speed of discharge when trolling at differn't speed of motor with maximiser.. as a rule i have 2 12 v r28 or bigger batterys per day just to be safe they are 180 min deep cycle batteries or bigger i use a 55 lb thrust moter with battery meter and varable speed and maximiser .. you can also buy a battery tester from them.. if trolling on Maligne Lake i can get 10 hrs to 14 hrs on 1 R28 or R32.. you can do a quick charge but it will not be fully charged u need to do a 2amp charge to top off battery 4 to 8 hrs as it is a Deep cycle battery.. i have use Mini-Kota motors on Maligne for over 30 years and have used 2 Cat 410 minute Deep Cycle Batterys from Rockys Battery in Edmonton also although u have to be a big man to load them.. i get on average 10 years out of my Deep Cycle batterys using 10 times per year but keeping charge every 3 months they say every month to charge if not using.

I would not use a truck to charge a Deep Cycle as you will not have a topped off battery and could damage it over time
Food for Thought
David

[trapshooter]

Thanks guys, I found a fairly new Motomaster (I Think) battery charger that charges 2 amp and 6 amp. Hopefully it will work for me.

[FishingFrenzy]

On another note, what about OVER charging deepcycles.

I have a trickle charger thats a good 30+ years old that still works, but it doesnt shut off automatically. So on a couple occasions I forgotton about it overnight and charged it up to 13.8 volts...

Is this GOOD, BAD or UGLY..

[horsetrader]

I use a MK22OD on board 2 bank charger gives you the max charge every time

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by FishingFrenzy

On another note, what about OVER charging deepcycles.

I have a trickle charger thats a good 30+ years old that still works, but it doesnt shut off automatically. So on a couple occasions I forgotton about it overnight and charged it up to 13.8 volts...

Is this GOOD, BAD or UGLY..

I'd say that's normal, a good way to check is to check your vehicle battery with the same tester, it should be in the same range too. If your battery is not hot I wouldn't worry about it. An overcharged battery will be hot.

[great white whaler]

i get about 8 to 9 hours out of one battery,,i carry two batteries at all times ,,i like to run my batteries totally dead before recharging ''''when charging i go trickle charge.

[freeones]

I run two group 31 deep cycles to power my 24V system and at best I get a day out them, anywhere from 4-10 hrs depending on how fully charged they are and how hard I'm working them. I find these claims of 2-3 days run time really hard to believe no matter what technology the motor has, but I guess it's possible if yuo're always running at low speeds, in calm water, and pushing a small boat.

As for charging, I dont' buy the trickle charge leading to longer battery life argument. If I trickle charged only, I'd never get a full charge in time to use them the next day, even if they were plugged in for 12 hours or more. I like to charge mine at a minimum of 10 amps, and then top them off at a trickle. The MinnKota onboard chargers take care of that for you, and battery life has been great for me. Also, running the battery down to completely dead before charging is hard on them in my experience. The best way that I've found to maximize battery life is to charge them every chance you get, even if you barely used them, keeping them fully charged is the key.

[Braun]

Originally Posted by freeones

I run two group 31 deep cycles to power my 24V system and at best I get a day out them, anywhere from 4-10 hrs depending on how fully charged they are and how hard I'm working them. I find these claims of 2-3 days run time really hard to believe no matter what technology the motor has, but I guess it's possible if yuo're always running at low speeds, in calm water, and pushing a small boat.

As for charging, I dont' buy the trickle charge leading to longer battery life argument. If I trickle charged only, I'd never get a full charge in time to use them the next day, even if they were plugged in for 12 hours or more. I like to charge mine at a minimum of 10 amps, and then top them off at a trickle. The MinnKota onboard chargers take care of that for you, and battery life has been great for me. Also, running the battery down to completely dead before charging is hard on them in my experience. The best way that I've found to maximize battery life is to charge them every chance you get, even if you barely used them, keeping them fully charged is the key.

x2. If you read up on the deep cycle batteries alot of them say the same thing that its bad to fully drain them. reduces their life span. One thing i read said to drain it no more than like 50% for maximum life.

[coachman]

One of the trolling motor companies sells a solar charger to go with there motors. I think it is a 50 watt. I used a 30 w this spring for 4 days at Malinge on one battery that we used up getting to Fisherman Bay, It did help us get home. Very poor weather, no sun. In full sun light this panel should put out around 2 Amps per hour. My fishing partner will not let me hook up to his battery while trolling so I don't know how much it would extend battery life, maybe go a whole day on one battery? Minn Kota 55 at full speed burns a battery up in a little over an hour. Trolling speed may be 8-9 hours so if your in a hurry to get up the lake and back it is a 4-6 battery day. The old Minn Kota compared to a new one does make a difference in battery drain, also the size of the motor, boat size, load in the boat, wind, and the type of boat all make a difference in battery useage.

[chubbdarter]

I dont care what anyone says about optimum run down levels.....if i need to run the bow mount the battery will get used till its as dry as a prairie fart.

[Jiffy10]

Regular Batterys are measured in Cranking Amps or in Canada CCA or
cold cranking amps. CCA are used to start a vehicle that require between 200 and 400 amps . These batterys get get asked for power in Huge quantitys quickly and need to recover quickly so... your vehicle recharges them at up to 14.8 volts. On the bench we use 10 to 20 amps to charge these. FAST In ..... FAST OUT ....

Deep cycle batterys are asked for power slowly. As an example ....your trolling motor or the lights in your camper etc. In turn they are to be charged up slowly either with a controlled charge that has a Deep cycle charge option or in many cases a 2 to 4 amp charger.

MCA batterys are a hybrid if you have both ano outboard and a trolling motor
that you need to run off the same battery. MCA ie Marine

Most batterys ... Automotive or Deep cycle are flooded with acid over
a lead typed base plate system, AGM or Absorbed Glass Matting. is simply
a diff way of construtions. Sealed and controlled vented

Spiral core Technology is the most expensive and has the longest stay time and the shortest recovery time ( charging time ) because of its construction . We know then as an OPTIMA ( brand name ) type of
battery. They really Kick some serious Butt with reserve time and fast
recovery .

For most of us.... a standard acid flooded battery is good enough
unless your running a tournament boat or 24 v / 36 v system.

Slowly discharge and slowly recharge is the key to longevity on your
deep cycle batterys. Dont use the for starting and dont give them
to much charging to fast.

CCA for starting
Deep Cycle of trolling
MCA for dual purpose.


Yes... I sell batterys......

[Jack&7]

good enough for me!

Thanks Jiffy10!

[PlayDoh]

I have a minn kota 50 lb, and the largest deep cycle at Costco, I think its 875 crank amps and like 115 amp hour. I can troll 3 full days in a 14' fiberglass, no word of a lie. It takes like 8 hours to charge it afterwards, but I never leave it low. Thats very important to the life of the battery.
I've used it only a couple times a year, but its lasted over 3 years now. I charge it during the winter also, just to maintain it. I have a electronic charger I got at CT for 80 bucks or so. 2/8/12 amp I think, and it goes in to maintain mode after it reaches 100%.
I talked to a guy who had a bigger battery, but an older Motor Guide and he said he only gets 4 hours on a 16' boat. That would suck. lol

[horsetrader]

Originally Posted by Jiffy10

Regular Batterys are measured in Cranking Amps or in Canada CCA or
cold cranking amps. CCA are used to start a vehicle that require between 200 and 400 amps . These batterys get get asked for power in Huge quantitys quickly and need to recover quickly so... your vehicle recharges them at up to 14.8 volts. On the bench we use 10 to 20 amps to charge these. FAST In ..... FAST OUT ....

Deep cycle batterys are asked for power slowly. As an example ....your trolling motor or the lights in your camper etc. In turn they are to be charged up slowly either with a controlled charge that has a Deep cycle charge option or in many cases a 2 to 4 amp charger.

MCA batterys are a hybrid if you have both ano outboard and a trolling motor
that you need to run off the same battery. MCA ie Marine

Most batterys ... Automotive or Deep cycle are flooded with acid over
a lead typed base plate system, AGM or Absorbed Glass Matting. is simply
a diff way of construtions. Sealed and controlled vented

Spiral core Technology is the most expensive and has the longest stay time and the shortest recovery time ( charging time ) because of its construction . We know then as an OPTIMA ( brand name ) type of
battery. They really Kick some serious Butt with reserve time and fast
recovery .

For most of us.... a standard acid flooded battery is good enough
unless your running a tournament boat or 24 v / 36 v system.

Slowly discharge and slowly recharge is the key to longevity on your
deep cycle batterys. Dont use the for starting and dont give them
to much charging to fast.

CCA for starting
Deep Cycle of trolling
MCA for dual purpose.


Yes... I sell batterys......

I listen to the guys that sold and made my motor I run a inboard charger that charges at 10a then maintains at 2a and run a 16ft crestliner bowrider and get 2+days so i'm not complaining