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I just recently bought a new battery for my boat. Today I fished mostly long lining for about six hours. Mostly on speed 1. My motor is a small minn kota 30. When I put the charger on it it said it was only at 30%. I bought the same battery I had before and I think when it was good I got more out of it
My batter is fine. It's the battery that I'm worried about. LOL
Time to do a little troubleshooting......First you didnt say what class the battery is, but I wouldnt trust the meter on most chargers, check the battery voltage prior to charge, then again when the charger indicates full charge. This will tell you if the battery is good and if the charger is working as it should.
I attached a battery volt/% chart. If you don't have a DMM you can pick one up most anywhere you dont need a 300 dollar meter for around the house/shop harbor freight has them for under 10 bucks........Attachment 201410
So I went and got a DMM. After charging the battery last night it reads at 13.17 volts. The battery is 675 cranking amps 182 minutes reserve capacity and 105 amp hours at 20 hours. I went and talked to my neighbor to learn how to use the DMM and he showed my this thing he has that he called a solar battery maintainer. He told I could hook that up to the battery as I was using it and it would provide 1 amp of charge as I was using it. I have never hear of this and I'm kind of skeptical since I haven't. Is a battery maintainer a good thing to use?
most guys use an on-board charger, plug in when at home and forget it until you go fishing then plug back in when you get home.
A battery maintainer be it solar or from any automatic charger is a good idea, especially if the battery sits for any length of time in between use. A typical lead acid battery can loose 5% a month to self discharge, Also check and be sure you do not have something causing a constant draw on the battery...
An on-board charger is going to be able to charge my battery while I'm on the water correct? It has to be plugged in right?Quote:
Originally Posted by wannabe fisherman
If you have access to a 120V outlet, like at a dock or marina slip, then yes. On-board chargers are simply battery chargers that can be placed IN the boat, for use in charging your batteries while the boat is docked. They're waterproof, more or less, and made to fit in the transom hold & stay connected to your batteries, even when not in use.Quote:
Originally Posted by 10point
The old style chargers were not meant to be placed IN the boat's transom hold, but outside the boat. They're not waterproof, and are meant to have the alligator clips attached only when charging is being done.
Ignition of gasses from the batteries being charged, or gas fumes from your gas tanks, is not as likely with an on-board charger as it can be from the old style chargers, because the electrical components are sealed in an on-board charger .. but exposed somewhat in some old style chargers. There's less danger of a spark from an on-board charger, because the connection leads are already connected to the batteries when the plug is hooked up to an outlet.
One should never plug a old style charger into the outlet THEN hook the alligator clips to the battery posts !! They should always be clipped to the posts, first, THEN the plug inserted into the 120v outlet ... making SURE, first, that the positive & negative wires are connected to the proper positive & negative battery posts. This not only reduces the chance of creating an electrical spark, which can ignite gasses/fumes, but it also reduces the chance of reverse polarization of the battery (switching the pos/neg flow).
... cp :kewl
Thanks for the explanation. I have a good old style charger that stops charging when it's at 100%. I don't think an onboard charger is really needed for my one 12 volt battery on an aluminum boat.Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
CHECK TO SEE IF FISHING LINE HAS WRAPPED UP ON SHAFT... THAT CAN HURT THE PERFORMANCE TOO
I was able to take the battery back to Menards last night. I went and got one of the Everstart Maxs at Wal-Mart. I'm hoping for better results from it.
I average about 3-4 years from these ...Quote:
Originally Posted by 10point
The advantage is that Walmarts are everywhere ...
Rickie