Battery Help

[jp]

I need some help to understand my batteries overall condition. I went fishing a couple weeks ago and after about 5 hrs the trolling motor batteries were very weak. I charged fully the next day based on my charger which provided the “green” light. It was weak again after about 5 hrs. I used a tester the next charging and it was 12.7 which I would assume is a good battery. So I got a load tester and checked it. When I put a load on the fully charged battery, it went down to 10.6.

Question: I know I can still use these batteries, but they seem to be weak. At what point do most just replace the batteries? Is the best way to test?

I’m sure others can use this information also.

Appreciate all the help.

[GeoFisher]

I need some help to understand my batteries overall condition. I went fishing a couple weeks ago and after about 5 hrs the trolling motor batteries were very weak. I charged fully the next day based on my charger which provided the “green” light. It was weak again after about 5 hrs. I used a tester the next charging and it was 12.7 which I would assume is a good battery. So I got a load tester and checked it. When I put a load on the fully charged battery, it went down to 10.6.

Question: I know I can still use these batteries, but they seem to be weak. At what point do most just replace the batteries? Is the best way to test?

I’m sure others can use this information also.

Appreciate all the help.

Replace them............low batteries on the water ****.

I think you probably have a dead cell........check the specific gravity of each cell. If they are are the same, then the battery is just getting old. What I think you will find is that one cell is significantly worse than the others. If that is the case, the get a new one.......

Later,

Geo

[canepole]

Replace them............low batteries on the water ****.

I think you probably have a dead cell........check the specific gravity of each cell. If they are are the same, then the battery is just getting old. What I think you will find is that one cell is significantly worse than the others. If that is the case, the get a new one.......

Later,

Geo

Just changed mine same thing full charge 4 hours max and 12.8 on meter with green light. Didn't realize I bought them in 05 they should have died a long time ago.
The new ones were 14.3 off the shelf.

[artcarney_agr]

It's just not holding a charge as much as it did originally.....that's what happens to batteries as they age. Getting 4 years out of a bass boat trolling motor battery is about average.

I tend to get 5 years out of mine - I keep up the maintenance on them and it seems to help. The biggie is making sure to charge the batteries once you get home from the lake...letting a low battery sit is not good at all, especially if it's almost dead. When I worked at a marina, we made a killing on batteries each spring - boat owners that just let their batteries sit over the winter without a full charge were junk come spring time, regardless of age.

[Astrobass]

I buy deka batteries where I can put distilled water in them to keep the levels up, and keep them on a charger 100% of the time. I normally get 4 years out of them before they start to die.

[silvercreek]

Since we are talking batteries, I have a 12 volt Minn Kota trolling motor 50 lbs thrust, can I hook two 12 volt batteries parallel and get a lot more run time, and can I still hook my two bank on board battery charger to this set up. One bank going to the starter battery and one bank to the two batteries that are hooked up parallel.Thanks for any help.

[Whitski]

Since we are talking batteries, I have a 12 volt Minn Kota trolling motor 50 lbs thrust, can I hook two 12 volt batteries parallel and get a lot more run time, and can I still hook my two bank on board battery charger to this set up. One bank going to the starter battery and one bank to the two batteries that are hooked up parallel.Thanks for any help.

I have a Minn Kota 12v 55lb motor with two Optima Batteries in Parallel and it's one of the best things I've done since I got my boat (Lund Pike Special 16ft, 25hp 'Rude). I've not done a scientific comparison or anything but I can tell you that I fish hard, usually 12 hours a day, often loaded down with two other guys + gear and even on the Cumberland River fighting current I've not run out of battery in a day.
The idea, from what I understand, is that when you double up on the batteries for 12v you actually more than double your run time because the batteries discharge at a lower rate, which lengthens run time more so than if you had two separate 12v batts. and used them separately.
Can't speak directly to the charger question, but I can tell you that I charge the "bank" of two batteries the same way I charged the single, just hook up my external 10 amp charger and charge till it's full. It does take longer to charge that bank than a single battery, of course.
Found all sorts of good information by google-ing the topic.
W

[sweetwater]

Since we are talking batteries, I have a 12 volt Minn Kota trolling motor 50 lbs thrust, can I hook two 12 volt batteries parallel and get a lot more run time, and can I still hook my two bank on board battery charger to this set up. One bank going to the starter battery and one bank to the two batteries that are hooked up parallel.Thanks for any help.

If I remember my science the two 12 volt batteries on a parallel ciricuit will still put out 12 volts to the circuit but will last the combined life of the two batteries. If you were to put a charger bank on each of the two batteries in the twelve volt circuit you would have 24 volts charging a 12 volt battery circuit. It may not be a good thing to do. If you were to disconnect the cables that join the two batteries together you could then use the two bank charger. Our deep cycles are in a series circuit that supplies power to a 24 volt trolling motor. We have a bank going to each battery which totals 24 volts going into a 24 volt circuit.

[procraft 192 super pro]

I need some help to understand my batteries overall condition. I went fishing a couple weeks ago and after about 5 hrs the trolling motor batteries were very weak. I charged fully the next day based on my charger which provided the “green” light. It was weak again after about 5 hrs. I used a tester the next charging and it was 12.7 which I would assume is a good battery. So I got a load tester and checked it. When I put a load on the fully charged battery, it went down to 10.6.

Question: I know I can still use these batteries, but they seem to be weak. At what point do most just replace the batteries? Is the best way to test?

I’m sure others can use this information also.

Appreciate all the help.

Hey its a waste of time to go though the trouble testing batterys cause from a dead cell to low acid levels. just save time and money and go buy some new DEKA batterys. I did the same thing trying to figure out my old batterys testing and testing, charging and trying and felling on every try so just buy the batterys. you cant go wrong by doing it.

[silvercreek]

Thanks for the information.

[Moveon]

If you need a new battery please check out the Optima Batteries for your boat. I got 7 years out of my Optimas and still am using both of them today. I did buy a new larger Optima Blue Top for the Trolling motor. But the Optima that I purchased in 2003 is still being used to start my boat and runs all my electronics. It's going on 7 years years. I'll probably by a new Optima for the Boat main motor next spring.

Like Art Carney AGR said above. Make sure that you recharge the battery up right after using it and make sure it's charged up before putting the boat away for the winter.

One thing about the Optima's that I like is that they are gell filled and don't leak even if you turn them upside down. So you don't have to worry about making sure the cells don't dry out. And they remained fully charged up for almost an entire year after a good charge. And their wound around design helps them take vibrations much better than lead acid plate type batteries, which can be ruined quickly by excessive vibrations of a boat.

Get the Blue Top Optima and relax on the water knowing that they will be there to start that motor when you need them.

They are more expensive but I'd say if you take care of them you will 7 good years out of them as I know I did. I had to wait 7 years before I could make this statment. But I know it's true now. I still have the receipt for mine in my file drawn with all the other paper work for my boat and motor. I keep all that stuff in my files.

[king fisher]

I dont know if this will help or not, but i bought a small marine bat from auto zone for my 12 volt 43 lb thrust trolling motor, it died after about 5-6 hours, and that was fully charged, I took it back and replaced it with their bigger one. I have used it for long periods of time (8hr plus) and had no problems at all. So do take into consideration the extra $20 bucks for the big one will pay off in the long run.

king fisher