Batteries

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by T Dot on June 22, 2009 at 9:52pm

we have been through alot of all electric boats, so batteries are pretty much our lifeline. we started with a bunch of everstart batteries so we could simply get onto the water. it was a decent starter battery. for the price you cant beat their customer service. as for their quality, well - we dont use them any more. i know guys who replace these batteries on a yearly basis regardless on how they performs for them.

we have moved onto optima batteries, and havent looked back. they worked great with our 101, and it always ran it like a champ. atleast when someone wasnt lazy and charged the batteries.

Permalink Reply by NickBarrFishing.com on June 23, 2009 at 8:54am

Not all batteries are built the same. Yes, a lot of lower quality batteries are built by one major manufacturer, then badged for a bunch of different people. The construction, electrolyte additives and the such make a battery. I personally like Interstate, good, solid lead acid batteries and they last about 3-4 years then need to be replaced, but if you service them, they can last longer. Good warranty, good battery, can't go wrong, especially with about $100 a battery.

Permalink Reply by Ben Hanes on June 23, 2009 at 5:51pm

Where do you buy Interstate batteries at?

NickBarrFishing.com said:

Not all batteries are built the same. Yes, a lot of lower quality batteries are built by one major manufacturer, then badged for a bunch of different people. The construction, electrolyte additives and the such make a battery. I personally like Interstate, good, solid lead acid batteries and they last about 3-4 years then need to be replaced, but if you service them, they can last longer. Good warranty, good battery, can't go wrong, especially with about $100 a battery.

Permalink Reply by Mike Bess on June 23, 2009 at 6:45pm

The deal with batteries is maintaining them. I like Interstate and Trojan. The key is after every outing, charge the batteries. In addition, check the fluid levels once a month. If water is needed, use distilled water and only fill enough to cover the plate. I learned the hard way with my batteries over the years.

Permalink Reply by rzone on June 23, 2009 at 8:35pm

I just updated my boat to 3x Trojan's.

Got them from a place in South Seattle, they gave me an excellent price.

I agree with the keep em charged theory from Mike, to that end I picked up a little Yamaha generator (1000W) to run in the camp site in the evening.

I can roll back into the camp site and top the batteries off in a couple hours.

The little generator is barely big enough until the cranking battery goes to top off mode, then it idles down and you can barely hear the thing.

I know I could fish all week with a couple gallons of gas for that Yamaha. The thing is tiny too, it would store away in the dry storage easily.




Mike Bess said:

The deal with batteries is maintaining them. I like Interstate and Trojan. The key is after every outing, charge the batteries. In addition, check the fluid levels once a month. If water is needed, use distilled water and only fill enough to cover the plate. I learned the hard way with my batteries over the years.

Permalink Reply by Marc Marcantonio on June 23, 2009 at 8:47pm

Mike B. is right on the mark. The biggest problem with batteries are their owners. As long as the battery has a durable case (most major brands are solid), and you religiously charge the batteries as soon as you are off the water (or even on the water like I do), and keep the electrolyte level above the plates, most batteries will last for five years. If you get lazy even once, and wait two days to charge your batteries, you just shortened their life even if they seem to come back to full charge. When the electrolyte loses its charge, the plates get coated with sulphate from the uncharged electrolyte. Sulphated plates prevent the electron exchange between the plates and the electrolyte, and could also cause the plates to heat up more during charging due to the resistance from the sulphate, which can warp the plates (since lead is soft), and then the warping causes the plates to touch each other and short out the battery.

Another reason for battery failure can be from the charger used. Over the years I learned that the transformer type chargers work great if you fish calm water, and are a value. But if you fish big water and your boat takes a pounding, these can fail and also cause your batteries to fry in the process.

Another problem that crops up from rough water is that the cables pulling on the threaded battery terminal in rough water can make your threaded post work loose in the lead post. This may cause an intermittent problem that can be tough to find.

I use Trojan batteries and a Stealth 1 Charging system that puts make battery problems a thing of the past. The Stealth charger also charges the batteries from my outboard, so the batteries never get drawn down far to begin with. I even added the TowNCharge so I can charge my batteries from my Yukon on the way home from the lake. Then when I get home, I plug in my Stealth charger and keep the batteries fully charged until the next trip. No sulphate problems, no dead batteries, life is great!

ciao,
Marc
Mike Bess said:

The deal with batteries is maintaining them. I like Interstate and Trojan. The key is after every outing, charge the batteries. In addition, check the fluid levels once a month. If water is needed, use distilled water and only fill enough to cover the plate. I learned the hard way with my batteries over the years.

Permalink Reply by rzone on June 23, 2009 at 10:20pm

Marc,

I read a post from you once that listed all the things you had done to your boat, it was a cook book of cool mods.

Do you have that list somewhere? I cant find the post where you detailed all the things done.

I want to do things like solder the ring lugs on my cables, etc...

Being a big believer of not re-inventing the wheel, I would like to borrow some of your ideas if you don't mind.

I also noticed that the previous owner had left the full length of cord on each lead from the Minn Kota charger to the batteries, I want to trim that back so there is not a big weight of the cable bouncing around.

Thanks.

Mike


Marc Marcantonio said:

Mike B. is right on the mark. The biggest problem with batteries are their owners. As long as the battery has a durable case (most major brands are solid), and you religiously charge the batteries as soon as you are off the water (or even on the water like I do), and keep the electrolyte level above the plates, most batteries will last for five years. If you get lazy even once, and wait two days to charge your batteries, you just shortened their life even if they seem to come back to full charge. When the electrolyte loses its charge, the plates get coated with sulphate from the uncharged electrolyte. Sulphated plates prevent the electron exchange between the plates and the electrolyte, and could also cause the plates to heat up more during charging due to the resistance from the sulphate, which can warp the plates (since lead is soft), and then the warping causes the plates to touch each other and short out the battery.
Another reason for battery failure can be from the charger used. Over the years I learned that the transformer type chargers work great if you fish calm water, and are a value. But if you fish big water and your boat takes a pounding, these can fail and also cause your batteries to fry in the process.
Another problem that crops up from rough water is that the cables pulling on the threaded battery terminal in rough water can make your threaded post work loose in the lead post. This may cause an intermittent problem that can be tough to find.

I use Trojan batteries and a Stealth 1 Charging system that puts make battery problems a thing of the past. The Stealth charger also charges the batteries from my outboard, so the batteries never get drawn down far to begin with. I even added the TowNCharge so I can charge my batteries from my Yukon on the way home from the lake. Then when I get home, I plug in my Stealth charger and keep the batteries fully charged until the next trip. No sulphate problems, no dead batteries, life is great!

ciao,
Marc
Mike Bess said:

The deal with batteries is maintaining them. I like Interstate and Trojan. The key is after every outing, charge the batteries. In addition, check the fluid levels once a month. If water is needed, use distilled water and only fill enough to cover the plate. I learned the hard way with my batteries over the years.