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Charging batteries
Not sure if this has been brought up on here before or not but its worth bringin up again if that is the case.
So whats the deal with charging up batteries? Lets say you have 3 or 4 good or great batteries and a solid onboard charger (10 to 15 amps per bank). How often should you charge them? Ive heard you should keep them as full as possible at all times....and also that you should charge them as little as possible to let them run down (so to not build a memory I guess).
I charge my probably once every 4 times I go out fun fishing. Of course you are going to plug them in as soon as you can during a multiple day tournament but what are the pros and cons to both sides?
So whats the deal with charging up batteries? Lets say you have 3 or 4 good or great batteries and a solid onboard charger (10 to 15 amps per bank). How often should you charge them? Ive heard you should keep them as full as possible at all times....and also that you should charge them as little as possible to let them run down (so to not build a memory I guess).
I charge my probably once every 4 times I go out fun fishing. Of course you are going to plug them in as soon as you can during a multiple day tournament but what are the pros and cons to both sides?
Views: 45
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mark Byrne on
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Good question! The only time mine are not plugged in and charging is if I am fishing or the cord won't reach! LOL (100 foot cord) I am on three years on my batteries. It does matter how good your charger is, mine goes to trickle when the batteries are fully charged. I do use a surge protector between the power source and my charger. I also unplug during bad storms, I don't know if that helps but it couldn't hurt!
www.huntingandfishingnw.com
Mark -
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Permalink Reply by rzone on
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The rule of thumb I have heard is charge them every chance you can get.
Modern chargers like Minn Kota on-board units go to "float" mode when the batteries are full, so you don't really have to worry about cooking the batteries.
I have a little portable generator that I take with me when we are camping and there is no shore power, after a full day of fishing I run the charger until the Minn Kota says its in the 0-2A (top off) mode.
Running for a day and letting them sit and not charging is not good as the battery will recover a little on its own, but not be charging.
The worst thing you can do is deplete the charge all the way.
Charge early, charge often.
I have an onboard (DC-DC) unit that I will put on my boat to pump juice back into the batteries while I am on the big motor. -
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Permalink Reply by Marc Marcantonio on
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I think you must be confusing your boat batteries (probably lead acid with nickel cadmium batteries. You are shortening the life of your batteries by not charging them the moment you can. They don't develop a memory, and whenever the charge starts getting low the batteries build sulphate on the plates which reduces their ability to charge. Plug in your charger whenever you can.
I run a Stealth 1 charger on my Ranger which is both an AC and DC charger. When the outboard is running, the charger is charging the batteries. That way they rarely ever get even close to being low. The higher you keep them charged at all times, the longer your batteries will last. I also have the TowNCharge system by Stealth, so if I have a long drive home from the lake or river, my Yukon charges my Ranger batteries.
ciao,
Marc -
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Permalink Reply by D.J. LaRoche on
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Like Marc, I run a similiar charging system that charges my batteries while running the big motor and while towing to and from the lake. Mine is a Stay-N-Charge system. I also plug it in when I get home.
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Permalink Reply by Josh Potter on
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How do you get 4 days of fishing in without charging? I only unplug the boat to fish.
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Permalink Reply by Eric DeLay on
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I sense an impending raging debate.
Daniel said:what type of batteries do you have? its not impossible. -
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Permalink Reply by Mike Bess on
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Brian "The Voice of Reason" Reimers at your service Josh...
Brian Reimers said:Josh,
Maybe Daniel only fishes four spots, one spot each day. Or maybe he just doesn't move around a lot with the trolling motor.
Josh Potter said:How do you get 4 days of fishing in without charging? I only unplug the boat to fish. -
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It was a pretty obvious assumption to make. Potter is a little slow...
Brian Reimers said:Thanks for backing me up on that mike.
Mike Bess said:Brian "The Voice of Reason" Reimers at your service Josh...
Brian Reimers said:Josh,
Maybe Daniel only fishes four spots, one spot each day. Or maybe he just doesn't move around a lot with the trolling motor.
Josh Potter said:How do you get 4 days of fishing in without charging? I only unplug the boat to fish. -
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Permalink Reply by NickBarrFishing.com on
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Like everyone else has said, charging batteries as much as possible is the best way to go. Just make sure you have a quality charger.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Hastings on
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Here is a very good description of the normal cycle of discharge, sulphation, recharging... and of why the recharge as soon as possible approach is the right approach.
http://www.progressivedyn.com/battery_basics.html
Steve -
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