Care and feeding of deep-cycle batteries

[AnglerBob]

I bought a 115amp battery at Walmart last week for an Endura 40 trolling motor. Did the maiden voyage yesterday at Piru, fished 8:30-2:30. Although it felt like I still had plenty of juice when I returned, was disappointed to see that the charger claimed I'd knocked the battery down to 25%. I was using it mainly for positioning and working small areas, not running all over the lake, mostly speeds 1-3. Is this normal battery depletion?

Also, the charger I got—a Schumacher 6amp SpeedCharge, took overnight to bring this battery back to full. Should I get a bigger charger? I don't mind long charge times, but just wondering if this thing is up to the task for such a big battery.

TIA for any advice!

[bonitoboy]

Hi,

I have a 27 lb thrust MK. Without any more info regarding boat size, I would say yes this is normal. The motor instructions should have come with a estimated time of use for a typical size battery. 27 says about two hours on the five speed. This should be taken with a grain of salt. My deep cycle is not a typical size battery, so it lasts a little longer. If you avoid the five setting you will be able to go much longer. However with that being said, the 27 is probably pulling 30% less juice at any given setting than your 40lb. Also, the battery should give you 100% efficiency down to the last drop, so there will be almost no warning before it goes dead. It is best to have a gauge on board to measure in real time what you have left on the battery. The battery is deep cycle so is will take longer to charge, sometimes overnight.

[GeordyBass]

I bought a 115amp battery at Walmart last week for an Endura 40 trolling motor. Did the maiden voyage yesterday at Piru, fished 8:30-2:30. Although it felt like I still had plenty of juice when I returned, was disappointed to see that the charger claimed I'd knocked the battery down to 25%. I was using it mainly for positioning and working small areas, not running all over the lake, mostly speeds 1-3. Is this normal battery depletion?

Also, the charger I got—a Schumacher 6amp SpeedCharge, took overnight to bring this battery back to full. Should I get a bigger charger? I don't mind long charge times, but just wondering if this thing is up to the task for such a big battery.

TIA for any advice!
bigger the charger the better...I think i have the same one and i get real bored of waiting for it to get my batteries up to full charge...I guess theyre really for honda,atv,quad batteries....lol....

[lurk 182]

that's normal and your charger is fine. batteries will last longer if you deplete and charge slowly as opposed to quickly. also, try to recharge as soon after you use as possible. 6 amp is fine and yes, it will take all night at that rate. even ten amps will take 6 hours or more if you really drain it. fifteen amps is only for emergenicies when you need to get back out there and you've only got a couple hours to juice it. if its a home charger, you're fine with that one cause you'll have all night to charge even if you fish back to back days.

[sansou]

Buy another exact same battery, and parallel connect them (plus to plus, neg to neg).

Double the capacity....double the fish? LOL

[AnglerBob]

Thanks so much guys this helps me plenty. I should have mentioned I was using this on a standard-size rental boat. It pushed the boat along OK when not fighting wind. Sansou—I like your idea! Only thing is—and this is the downside to clipping one of these things on a rental boat—with all this crap in the stern, the weight is considerable and the rental boat won 't plane. At least with one person, the bow comes way up in the air. I'll have to see if it works better with a buddy on board, reasonably sure the copious hind end of Bassmaster Jack in the bow could take care of this problem. Might also try getting some longer cables and putting the battery up front.

[BingJr]

The Slower the Charge, the longer it holds. Deep Cycles are best charged at a 2 amp trickle charge over long periods. That is the proper care and charging for a battery. Quick charges wont stick and provide the all day performance you are looking for. Always use the lowest amp setting on a charge that you can get away with. Other than that it sounds like proper usage for your battery.

Not sure what my buddy geordy is talking about with that bigger the charger the better. That is fine for charging a starting battery but for a trolling motor deep cycle batter slow and low!

[Poxy Boggards]

I've been having an issue charging my Class 28 battery that I use on my pontoon. I bought a battery tender Junior, and it never gets up to a full charge. The indicator light just stays in full charge mode. It's a trickle type of charger, but it just does not seem to get the job done. Any advise?

[BingJr]

4 distinct possibilities


1. Battery is low on water and will not take/hold a full charge

2. Batter is old and will not take/hold a full charge

3. The meter system on the trickle charger is not functioning properly.

4. On a super slow/low charge it will not top off some of these big batteries, especially ones that have a few hours on them. That doesnt mean the battery will not give you a good full day performance, it just means its not quite what it used to be. The water is a common problem when this happens.

[Poxy Boggards]

Well I bought the battery brand new, so it's not old. Maybe 6 months.

I am thinking about changing where it is plugged in to see if that makes any difference.

If that does not work, I am going to take th battery back to where I bought it for a test, cause it is probably still under waranty.

Thanks for the respose Bing!

[Ronira]

Yo Poxy, try turning your charger from auto to manual and it should keep charging at low amps. My battery is three years old and it runs my toon all day no problem and I'm a 225 lb guy and I carry a ton of crap on my toon.

[Poxy Boggards]

Thanks, I see if there is any settings that I can play with when I get home. I don't remember any buttons though. It's a really basic charger.

[drivelikejoewho]

Hi all.. I figured I'd post my questions in this thread instead of starting a new one. I have a little Sea Eagle inflatable that I power with a Minn Kota trolling motor and use in Alamitos bay. I have a few older Deep Cycle Batteries that are on their last legs as of last summer and they've been sitting for a while so I want to buy a new one. I'm not the most experienced person with this stuff so can somebody recommend a battery for me. I want something that will last me as long as possible. I usually bring two batteries. One for fishing and the other as an emergency to get back to my car if the other runs out.

I figure I'll use the new one for my fishing and use one of the stronger old ones as the back up.

I use a battery charger with 2/4/6 amp charging options. I bought it at wal-mart I think. I always charge on the 2 amp setting which usually takes a whole night. Do I need a charger that specifically says "slow trickle" or for use with "deep cycle" or is what I am using sufficient?

Thanks!

[ElementX]

AnglerBob and drivelikejoewho, this link will help you guys out. It helped me out greatly with setting up my pontoon and trolling motor:

http://tufox.com/hobie/TrollingPerformance.html