Battery charging question

[Kramer]

I have searched the "FAQ'S" and read what I can find on battery care but I still have a basic question.....<br /><br />I took my battery (a "boat US" dual purpose starting and deep cycle) off the boat and put it in the basement for winter. Then I bought a 6 and 12 volt (1 amp charge rate) charger. I have been told of two ways to maintain / charge it and I don't know which is correct.<br /><br />method 1 - hook it up to the charger, leave it on all winter and add distilled water once per month.<br /><br />method 2 - every month or two hook it up to the charger for a couple of days, check the water level and top it off if needed (no reference to what type of water to use.<br /><br />What is the best way to do it?<br /><br />Thanks in advance for your input--<br /><br />Kramer

 

[JB]

Re: Battery charging question

I think with the 1A charger, either would work okay, Kramer.<br /><br />Be sure to keep it ventilated, not sitting on a concrete floor, and check the water regularly.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[18rabbit]

Re: Battery charging question

What size or amp/Hr rating for the battery?

 

[Boatist]

Re: Battery charging question

Kramer<br />Most 1 amp or trickle charger are just cheap unregulated chargers. Left on the battery will very likely overcharge your battery and destroy it. You would be better off to buy a good automatic (regulated) battery charger, on battery maintainer. <br /><br />If you do use your 1 amp charger then get a good volt meter and only charge until the battery reaches a voltage of about 14.4 volts. If you forget to check it will probably go much higher.<br /><br />You should charge your batteries at least once a month never go longer. See the link below and go to section 13 and then read 13.1 about overcharging. A charger that the amps output drops to 0 at about 13.8 volts could be saftely left on the battery for a long time. Problem with 1 amp battery chargers is they are usually just a transformer and a rectifer with no voltage regulation. On a old tired battery at one amp may never reach your target voltage but on a good fresh battery could reach 18 to 20 volts and over charge your battery.<br /><br />As far as water goes do not just add water. Check the level and maintain it at the eye level, do not over fill and only use distilled water. When you add water do not allow any dirt or stuff on the top of the battery to get washed in to the battery.<br /><br /> http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/carfaq.htm

 

[JB]

Re: Battery charging question

Boatist's advice is better than what I gave you, Kramer. <br /><br />The automatic charger is definitely the way to go.

 

[Kramer]

Re: Battery charging question

Boatist:<br /><br />Thanx for your reply and the link. I am now a bit overwhelmed with the notion of maintaining my battery. Since I took it off the boat just over a month ago I have already gone a month without charging it and it seems that the charger recommended to me is not the one I should be using. The thought of haveing a dead battery on a good fishing day is enough to motivate me to get the battery taken care of but I never thought it would require as much as I read on the link you provided!!!!!<br /><br />Thanx again--<br /><br />Kramer

 

[gss036]

Re: Battery charging question

I read the above link on maintence and agree fully, especially about a pulse charger. The link below is for Battery Mart and look at the BatteryMinder, it has a pulse system. That is what I use and it seem to work great. I hated to put out the bucks but got tired of cooking batteries.<br /><br /> http://www.batterymart.com/ BatteryMINDer

 

[Kramer]

Re: Battery charging question

ok, so I am to spend more than the battery costs on the charger?? Something is wrong here. How many amp charger do I need for my deep cycle battery? Also, why does it say on the exide website not to use my deep cycle for starting my outboard??<br /><br />Kramer

 

[airman]

Re: Battery charging question

If you buy a good charger you will save $ in the long run because your batteries will last much longer. You might also save yourself the cost of a tow home. I choked at the cost of mine but I would never go back. That's part of the reason they're so hard to find used. You can use a deep cycle to start if it's substantially oversized but they're built differently inside. Eventually it will damage the battery to put such a high current load on it. Unfortunately batteries haven't really evolved much and there is no real easy, cheap solution. That's been the problem wiht electric cars and the automakers haven't solved it either.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Battery charging question

Kramer<br />I have just a couple of 10 amps automatic charger with settings for Convential and Maintenance free. Each cost $20 to $30 but they have done a good job for me. I have a starting battery and a deep cycle and I have not had a single battery that did not last 6 years or more. My boat is 23 years old. I think the most inportant thing is when you get home fully charge your batteries. When I get home from a day on the water I hook up the charger then unload the boat. Leave charger on until both batteries fully charged. Many times this is 30 minutes or less. My batteries are wired thru a battery isolator and charged on board with a 30 amp alternator. At home still charge thru the battery isolator but have a plug wired at the front of the boat to make it easy to connect the charger. Also if I feel batteries way down can hook boat up to a 12 volt 8 guage wire on the trailer that runs to the trucks charging system.<br /><br />There is not a one of us who has not forgot to charge the batteries every month. Batteries usually do just fine. In the summer uses boat a lot so the one month thing is not a problem and in winnter still do some Sturgeon or Shark fishing. Then get started snow sking and offten do not use boat for several month. Good thing is that durning cool weather batteries actually self discharge less than durning the hot summer. One thing I do that I think helps the batteries is in summer out in the hot sun with the cover on My boat temperature will reach 140 degrees durning the hottest part of the day and I never charge when they are hot like that.<br /><br />Bottom line to me is if you plan to keep your boat for a long time and if you have Two or more batteries then long term I think you will save money if you have a good automatic charger. If you want to spend the money for a good 2 or 3 stage charger it is a good investment. Still a cheap Automatic Charger in the 10 amp range Like I have will also do a good Job. Most of guy I fish with who have batteries problems all the time do one of two things. <br /><br />1: They run there trolling battery all the way down. Anywhere more than 50 percent discharge does damage to deep cycle. More than 20 percent discharge does damage to starting batteries.<br /><br />2: They get home and are tired and do not feel like hooking up the charger, Just want to clean there fish and go rest. That the reason I wired my boat where it is reall easy to hook up the charger. One guy I fish with lots of the time does not charge his battery until right before the next weekend. I can not tell you how much barrery problems he has. Boat has a 175 hp older outboard that has small charging system with not enough amps to charge the trolling batteries. While It would help the batteries would probably burn up the charging system running at max amps all the time.

 

[Kramer]

Re: Battery charging question

Thanx for the education everyone, <br /><br />here is what I did today. <br /><br />1) I bought a hydrometer and checked the specific gravity in my battery, each cell was about 1.210. <br />2) I bought a schumacher 10 amp "ship'n shore" charger (about $40) with automatic and manual settings, the box says "ideal for marine and deep cydcle batteries."<br />3) I bought a gallon of distilled water.<br />4) I added a little water to each cell and cleaned off the battery top.<br />5) I hooked up the charger (on the automatic setting)at about 3:30 est.<br /> <br />I intend to take the charger off when it is done charging (9 to 13 hours according to the instructions.) I like the idiot proof green light that goes on when it is fully charged and the automatic off feature. <br />I fried a deep cycle battery last year with a 1 amp charger that I left on all winter (never checked water levels). Lucky for me the boat store I bought it at replaced it free! <br /><br />I also bought a digital multimeter (still trying to figure out how to use that)<br /><br />I guess in the end the investment in the charger will pay off in battery life being extended, althought I really wish the boat store guy would have told me I can't use the deep cycle to start my outboard. I assume that I will need to buy a second battery for the outboard at the start of next season. It's an old 40hp Johnson. I used the deep cycle to start the boat all summer. I guess I'll be ready to keep the new battery charged next winter too.<br /><br />Giddyup---<br /><br />David

 

[SlowlySinking]

Re: Battery charging question

Hi Kramer, here's a web site with info on using a digital multi-meter. Any chance you bought it on eBay? I might have sold it to you, Ken <br /> <br /> http://www.multimeterwarehouse.com/usingamultimeter.htm

 

[Kramer]

Re: Battery charging question

Ken:<br /><br />Thanks for the link, it looks a bit technical. I want to figure out how to use the multimeter on my battery. <br /><br />The charger read "charged" after being on for only 3 hours, I checked the specific gravity and it had not changed too significantly. I am going to leave it on overnight. (on the automatic setting).<br /><br />Kramer

 

[SlowlySinking]

Re: Battery charging question

Kramer, turn the meter to the 20 volt DC range or the range that's higher that the voltage you are expecting, the polarity of the test leads doesn't really matter matter, if you connect the red lead to the negative battery terminal the readout will be simply preceded by a negative sign, but the voltage noted will be correct, that's all it takes, good luck, Ken

 

[Kramer]

Re: Battery charging question

Ken:<br /><br />Thanks for the instruction, I tested it after it was done charging and it read 12.96. I also tested with the hydrometer and it said the specific gravity was 1.225. From the charts I read on the link you gave me it looks like it is at about 75%.<br /><br />should I expect it to be higher? <br />is it likely that using it to start the boat for one season did any damage?<br />is there anything more I should be doing?<br /><br />Thanks for all your help--<br /><br />Kramer

 

[Boatist]

Re: Battery charging question

Kramer<br />For what it worth Wallmart has a 2/6/10 amp 3 stage charger for under $40 and a 20 amp for under $60. I would also check here as IBoat has some good deal too.

 

[TELMANMN]

Re: Battery charging question

My two cents. Tired of batteries going belly up over winter after sitting and charging etc. Found a battery maintainer at Northern Tool up here in Minnesota. Suppose to de-sulphate and keep a charge on up to four batteries without boiling out the water? I am trying it now. If you want some info on batteries and how to maintain go to www.vdcelectronics.com. Also can do a search on battery maintainers to find other internet sites that have some good info.

 

[airman]

Re: Battery charging question

If you recently added water, I am not surprised the SG is a little lower than you might expect. It's perfectly normal and won't harm the batteries as far as I can see. Your voltage is good so I would suggest doing nothing more than a top up charge once per month. I doubt you harmed your battery using it for starting. 40hp isn't very big, unless it's very hard to start.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Battery charging question

Kramer<br />Useing a Deep cycle to start your motor will not damage your battery. Deep cycle batteries actually have thicker plates than a starting battery. Only problem is they also have fewer plates so if you have a big outboard that requires a lot of amps the battery may not supply enough current to turn over a big outvoard. I know the charger you got and it is a fine charger.

 

[Kramer]

Re: Battery charging question

Thanks for the input everyone:<br /><br />I'm still unsure if I need to go buy a second battery to start the boat with. The battery manufacturers web site says not to use the deep cycle to start the outboard, others say it is ok??????????