Trolling motor batteries...

[Javelin_Venom]

I fished 3 days this week and after fishing about 6 hours one day in the wind, my trolling motor slowed down quite a bit.  I figured this was normal since I had it on high a good portion of the day and was running it a lot.  So I charged it back up that night and went again the next day only to find after a couple hours it was slowed way down again.  I know it got fully charged, or at least the charger said it did, so my questions are...how often do you replace trolling motor batteries?  Do you think it needs to be replaced?  What are some good brands and about how much do they cost?  Any certain type of battery (I think Deep Cycle Trolling is what I was told, but not sure) that I should look for?  Thanks for any info you can give me.

[tunnelengineer]

I have always had good success with the special yellow batteries from Walmart.  I can't remember what they were but have "Max" in the title.  They are yellow.  I also hear exceptional reviews of optima batteries but they are twice the price.  I don't fish as much as you though either.  Maybe once a weekend through the summer.

[bassnleo]

Are you fully charging your batteries after every use?

How old is the battery(s)?

[Ben]

If you run them hard and long, and have the room for group 30 or 31 batteries (about 13 1/4") long, about the best and baddest battery on the market is the Trojan SCS 225, their next model would be the SCS200. They are not sold just anywhere so they may be hard to locate in your area.

If your more of the average angler, the big yellow Wally world batteries are hard to beat for the price. Properly maintained and charged they will give you two - three years of good service. I run them in both Stratos's and the Fisher, and the Trojans in my Javelin but I always swap batteries out every three years so I've never tried to see how long they will last.

If your batteries have removable caps, (the only kind to buy to my notion) go to Napa and get you a good Hydrometer, the kind with the float bulb in it (about $8) and check the specific gravity.  After charging, use the hydrometer in each cell.  All cells should be within 10% and if still floating in the white or red, it's time for new batteries.  Should be at least 1.260 and on most new deep cycle batteries about 1.280.   At less than 1.260 the battery is charging up to full volage but willhave a reduced amp hour capacity or all most no capacity at all below 1.20.  1.20 is considered a fully discharged battery.  Check them again before charging after using them and see if they are still all about the same level of discharge, still should be within about 10%

[gajpb]

I've heard two views on this:

1) Charge your battery AFTER EACH USE, no matter how drained it is. For instance--you go out, and only use 25%, come in and charge it to full again.

2) Wait until it is fully drained, or at least close to it. The logic behinmd this is that if you do it everytime then the battery develops a memory of sorts, meaning, if you charge it every time, then over a period of time it starts to die quicker. Does this make sense?

Anyhoo, I like the first option simply because I hate going out for a couple of horus to find that I've drained it almost completely.

[Javelin_Venom]

Posted by: bassnleo Posted on: Today at 7:03am

Are you fully charging your batteries after every use?

How old is the battery(s)?

Yes, I usually fully charge my battery after every use, but I usually use it quite a bit when I take out the boat. I'm not exactly sure how old the battery is, it's still the one that came with the boat when I bought it last year. It still looks fairly new but can't be exactly sure.

[Ben]

Never fully discharge a lead acid battery.

Never let a lead acid battery sit for any length of time without charging it. It's best if you get a good charger, On board of a good Smart charger that drops into the float mode once charged and leave it connected when the boat is not in use. If you have one of those auto cut off chargers, get you a maintainer (Wal-Mart sells them for about $17) and leave it connected after charging the battery when the boat is not in use. BatteryMINDer makes an excellent maintainer with the Pulse mode conditioner for about $45.

A lead acid battery "WILL NOT" develope a memory, but they will develope sulphation if left discharged for more than a few hours. The more the plates sulphate, the greater the lose of capacity until it's useless. Claims are, after a few months a pulse mode conditioner will eliminate the sulphation.

[bassmasta7]

I have always had good success with the special yellow batteries from Walmart. I can't remember what they were but have "Max" in the title. They are yellow. I also hear exceptional reviews of optima batteries but they are twice the price. I don't fish as much as you though either. Maybe once a weekend through the summer.

I am going to pick that big yellow battery up this weekend after looking at them last week. It is $70 with the exchange of your old battery. It is the best one they have. They do have a couple cheaper models but this one last longer out on the water each day. I think it is an Everstart Max? It is a deep cycle/starting battery.   Good Deal!

[Ben]

Check the round stick on top, that's the date code.  Don't want to get one older than 02/06, they should have the 03/06  this late in the month.  

[Javelin_Venom]

So do you think I should probably go ahead and replace it then?

[Ben]

Like I said earlier, don't know until you get a hydrometer and check them.  If they are sealed batteries, check the voltage as you use them and see how fast they drop.  Most fully charged deep cycle batteries will read approx 12.8 volts 24 hours after charging and should not be run down to below 12.0 volts.    I take very good care of my batteries but I still replace mine every three years, that's in everything, cars too.  I just feel you're running on borrowed time after that.  If not properly charged, kept charged while stored/not in use and full of water, one or two seasons are about the most your going to get from lead acid batteries.   If you don't keep a charger/maintainer on them, I would recommend getting Gel Cell or AGM batteries.  Those can sit for weeks in a partial discharged state and not bother them.

[cgs2004]

When buying batteries I have always went with the idea that the heavier one is always better, not sure if its the case 100% of the time but it can't be far off, my reasoning:

The lead inside the battery is what holds the charge.  Lead is very heavy compared to all the other materials used in batteries.  Logically, the heavier the battery, the more charge it will hold.

[stimpy17]

For me it's always about trust. Do I trust that (blank) to give 100% or am I going to have to baby it and worry about it all day. "Big ole' yellers" for me too. Good price and heavey enough to counter balance my fat butt if I stow it on the other side of the boat.

IMHO, also check your charger. Does it have a "deep cycle" setting? It's a little kinder to the battery. And use the auto setting and not the manual one.

[redboat]

So do you think I should probably go ahead and replace it then?

Try this, hopefully I can 'splain it sufficiently. You'll probably need to remove the battery from the boat:

1) Fill all cells with water if they're low. Distilled is best.

2) FULLY charge the battery. (Don't set it on the concrete floor of your garage when you charge it).

3) Remove the caps. Using a voltmeter set on "DC" put the negative lead on the negative battery post. Put the positive lead into the first cell ( the one closest to the negative post) lightly touching the plates. Record the voltage.

4) Now put the negative lead into the first cell, the positive lead into the next cell. Record that voltage.

5) Continue until you're on the last cell (negative lead) and the positive lead is on the positive terminal.

Now, the add the FIRST reading and the LAST reading (one will be high, the other low). Divide by two. That number and all the other numbers from the cell to cell tests should be within .2 volts of each other. If you have a shorted cell it'll read really low, like your cells will all be 2.2 volts but cell number three will be 1.4, or some such.

If the numbers add up and there's no significant variation the battery's OK and doesn't need to be replaced.

This is a much more dependable test than the specific gravity test, which doesn't tell you anything other than the battery's charged. A cell which has shorted plates will have a lower voltage than the others; the battery should be replaced.

Or...

Say you have a shorted cell, you can try this trick which sometimes works: Dump all the old cells out somewhere (I like my neighbor's yard, yuk yuk). CAREFULLY refill the cells several times with clean water and dump it. After you've gotten all the acid out put a couple of spoons of baking soda in each cell, then refill with water. After it quits foaming dump the cells again, rinse, repeat.

You may need to do the baking soda thing a couple of times - sometimes that'll clean the sediment out and "unshort" a bad cell. Now go to the local auto parts store and buy a box of battery acid (its liquid but they sell it in a box, like fine wine). Turn the battery upside down and let it dry overnight, refill with battery acid, recharge, then repeat the cell to cell test.

This only works about half the time but baking soda and battery acid are cheap, it won't cost you nearly as much to try to "rejuvinate" a dead trolling motor battery as it'll cost you to buy a new one!

Let me know if this works for you.

[JTL]

Are the Optima Batteries worth the price???

[Ben]

NO, not if you take care of your batteries.

A good, properly maintained  lead acid battery will give you about half again the run time.  The last time I looked, the Optima had 160 min reserve, the Trojan SCS 225 has 225 minutes, that's another hour more than the Optima.  

If you don't use a good Smart or Entelli charger that drops into a float mode (not one of those $30 automatic shut of things) or On board charger and keep the batteries on it when not in use, then you might want to look at the Optima, or a Gel cell.  They won't sulphate like the lead acid batteries will.   The Optima is suppose to last 1 - 2 years longer than a lead acid but I haven't seen that either.  In the equipment I work on, properly maintained golf cart batteries outlast the AGMs by a bunch.

If you look down in the cells and they don't look like their flaking coming all apart and the side are not bulging like it's trying to turn into a soccer ball,  what was posted above will usually bring a battery back to a very usable battery.  Five gallons of acid is only about $10.  I use distilled water on the final rinse after using the soda.  I do this all the time but don't post it because to the trouble and I found most people wouldn't do it anyway.  I had a pair of Trojans that were were two years old only used once and never charged that came in a boat I bought, (blew the motor and let it set for two years and sold it)   I ran those batteries three years after flushing and cleaning them.

[redboat]

Are the Optima Batteries worth the price???

Before bass fishing I was into offroading. Optima batteries are the "hot" battery with the offroading crowd, because of the jarring an offroad vehicle is subjected to as well as high temps under the hood and occasional high loads as when winching. They outperform other batteries in this type application hands down.

A bass boat is another animal, in some ways similar to an offroad Jeep or truck, in other ways not. I doubt if temps in the bilge are nearly as high as in a Jeep climbing a hill at 2 mph, and I've not seen a bass boat with a 300 amp winch mounted on it. The jarring is debatable, should be less in a bass boat but all the same I've hit some hard waves which throw the boat around.

I don't know how Optimas would perform in a bass boat, but I'd like to hear from someone who's tried 'em.