charging a trolling battery

[fishing5]

I have a maintance free trolling battery. How many amps should I charage it to keep it maintaned and top off. Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Bob

[Micro]

What sort of charger are you using?  Most modern chargers start out at a higher amp, say 15, and go down as the battery charges, down to say 1 or 2 amps.  Once the battery is charged, it should provide a trickle charge of .01 or .02 amps or so.   So that would be the proper setting.

[David P]

I have an old charger. I put it on 10 until it's almost fully charged, then switch it to 2.

[boatnik13]

Im with brokejew !  10/2 system. recharge asap after use and use that 2 amp the night before to make sure. I don't suggest maintance free. I like seeing what the cells are holding. No need to pro rate cause I keep the cells topped and by looking at the lead plates I can tell if a cell is dying . Maint free strips you of this and then your stuck with a dead battery in a lake and you'll be rowing it in. A charger is charging  100% charge of whats left of the cell. 100% does not mean its 100% charged like a new battery. So if my battery only has 1/2 its tol. life left then I have 100% of 50% cell life at the end of the charge cycle. Now this is for deep cycle wet batteries not GEL!

[Micro]

Whatever you do, if you are going to leave your charger on your battery, use the lowest amp setting.  Deep cycle batteries in good condition don't naturally discharge anywhere near a rate of 2 amps.   2 amp trickle charge output is the norm, so use that.  Check your battery periodically.  If it's warm to the touch, disconnect your charger and "trickle charge" every few days for a few hours at a time.  

[Way2slow]

It's recommended you charge it at 10% of it's rated amp hour capacity and absolutely no more than 15%. Don't leave any charger on a battery once it has reached full charge that does not have a built in float mode, not even a 2 amp , it will overcharge and damage the battery.

If you have one of those old style Automatic chargers, put it on a wall timer so the timer can shut if off after about 12 hours. They can damage a battery with the trickle charge the leave going into a battery, and can overheat the battery to the point where they will come back on and totally fry it, if not disconnected after they have compteted their charge.

You could just get you one of the newer high frequency Intelli chargers, or Smart chargers and then you can leave it connected 24-7.

[fishing5]

The battery is a AC Delco Voyager and the charger is an older 10/2 amp fully automatic with a selector switch for deep cyle charging. Just order a new on board charger from Cabales and wanted to use the old one until I get the new one. Think I'll use it on a timer for 4 hrs on then off. The battery is showing a voltage reading of 12.5 now. Thanks Bob

[Ann-Marie]

You can leave it on, don't worry about it.  Even though modern batteries have a lower self discharge rate and may only require 50/1000 of an amp or less to maintain you can still use a 10 amp or a 2 amp output.  Those ratings refer to the maximum capacity of the charger, not how much it will pump into the battery when turned on.   If it has a meter you will notice that on either setting the amount of current flowing will taper off to zero as the battery reaches full charge.

It order to push more current in for a fast charge the charger will put out a higher voltage.  If it is an electronic "smart" charger it will switch back to a lower voltage once the battery is charged.  The big advantage of smart chargers is that during the early stages of charging  they can temporarily force a higher voltage than would normally be safe into the battery and thus reduce the charging time.  They are "smart" enough to reduce that voltage before it does any harm.

If you have a simple switchable 10/2 "dumb" charger, the voltage it puts out on 10 amps will be safe but fairly close to the maximum allowable voltage while the 2 amp setting will have a lower voltage.

Both settings will maintain your battery fully charged but for long term idle conditions, running at the lower 2 amp setting will reduce any risk of water loss.

[Travlin_Man]

I have a Delco Voyager deep cycle battery that I bought in November of 1999. My M.K. trolling motor is the only power on my Gheenoe. I always charge the battery as soon as I return home and   use the 2 amp setting on the charger and leave it on from 24 to 48 hrs. The battery still runs my 44 lb. trolling motor for four or five hours of fishing.

[Crestliner2008]

Here's an alternative for you. For a mere $49. you can purchase a "Stay N' Charge" charging system for your tow vehicle. Uses the vehicle's alternator to charge your battery(s) while you travel to & from your destinations. I've had mine installed in my F-150 and charge both my trolling motor battery and my starting battery for 2 seasons now. Have experienced no problems. Best part is, I never have to worry about charging; finding a 115 circuit, running an extension cord or hauling a heavy charger. A plus on the side is that no heat is generated. Check it out at: www.stayncharge.com. You won't be sorry.

[Ann-Marie]

Actually for charging in the field, a Combiner100 for under $50 at a number of retail outlets will charge your trolling motor from the alternator on your outboard and many report that it is fully charged by the time they get back to the trailer (YMMV).  

Our Combiners are fully waterproof and over 30,000 have been installed since we started manufacturing them in 1993.

If you have a short run from the fishing spot and it needs a little more you can hook it to the charging line from the vehicle.

If you do need 24 volt charging, the Trollbridge24 for under $90 will do it at less than half the price of the Stay-N-Charge Allcharge and the Trollbridge24 comes with a one word warranty "UNCONDITIONAL".  

For 36 volt systems, the new Trollbridge36 is now available.  List $199, but it will probably discount to around $160.

[Crestliner2008]

Interesting response Ann-Marie. But you make is sound like this "unconditional" guarantee is just on your unit. It's not. Same with the Stay N' Charge. All I'm saying is that this system works for me - and all the "Bassin' Gals" tournament people. Along with countless units in the field on both tournament rigs and on rigs like mine. It flat works - as I'm sure your system does. Why did you not respond to this person earlier?