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fishinglady · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:49 pm Post subject: Charging a dead marine battery ?

OK, I confess the battery went dead because 1) I haven't used the boat much in the last few months due to brown tide and other things beyond my control, and 2) I didn't realize that it wasn't a sealed battery, so I had never checked the water in the battery. The battery is exactly one year old.

Rabbit came over and added water and hooked up a charger ....

How long should I leave the charger on? Will the battery hold a charge or should I get a new one to be safe?

Texican · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 7:17 pm Post subject:

If it's true marine battery then it might also also be a deep cycle battery.
Those things are tough and are design to withstand a total discharge so it should be fine.
As for charging, it depends on the type of charger used. However most halfway decent chargers are dual rate; rapid charge/trickle charge. Once it detects the battery level is up to snuff it will automatically switch to a lower rate.
In short, overnight should be fine.
Sorry if I made it a little confusing.
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Gib · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 8:17 pm Post subject: deep cycle

If it is a deep cycle marine battery and completely dead, it will take a couple of days to get a good hot battery.

Interstate Battery on Ambassador will check water, give a good solid charge, test the cells, and give you a good report on condition of your battery.

dripple · Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:44 pm Post subject:

it really depends on how long it sat uncharged it could be sulfated. There is a way you can jump a battery with another good 12v battery to break up the sulfation. My name is darren and i work at interstate battery. We open at 7:30am and close at 6:00pm and dont close for lunch. We would be glad to help check out your battery free of charge and charge it if need be. Glad to see that other corpusfishing people think highly about us also. Also, we sale used batteries that are basicly refurbished with tax and all $44.08 and a 3 month warrenty. Thats all I use on my boat and have had great success.

hope this helps,
darren

Uncle D · Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 7:30 am Post subject:

Bluffer · Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:02 am Post subject:

Nita, I would recomend getting a battery maintainer to keep it charged between trips.
This small slow trickle chg keeps battery fresh and will triple the life of your battery.
They cost about $25 and you just leave it plugged in and on the whole time your not using your boat. Will not overcharge either. Ive seen them at the Walmart boat section in the Bluff.
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ironmanstan · Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 12:04 pm Post subject:

If I get 2 or 3 years out of a battery I feel I have done good. I also have a onboard charger that I plug in after every use. It's actually time for me to clean my posts and connections to keep corosion down. I also have a couple of good other battery chargers. Most chargers have an automatic shut off. Let me know if you need some help Nita. I work for food and drink....and will bring Deb along for company. Very Happy

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fishinglady · Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 2:51 pm Post subject:

Thanks for all the ideas and offers of help. A neighbor came over and put a different charger on after disconnecting the battery from boat cables so charge wouldn't be drawn off if there was a bad connection. It seems to be charging now.

I definitely plan to get a trickle charger as several people suggested. The first battery I had lasted for 4 years without any problems or any charging...this [dead] one I got at WalMart.....exactly a year ago.... 10 days past 1 year guarantee.

New question: What is the best marine battery to get for a 115 HP four stroke outboard?

It is only for starting the engine, marine radio, depth/fish finder.... and a live bait well & running lights [which I very seldom use..fish artificials in the daytime]. I've been looking on the web and have read about gel battery, and two others..... One problem is that the battery is in a place hard to get to...has to be pulled out in order to check water levels in cells.

Texican · Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 3:43 pm Post subject:

Personally, I like Optima brand batteries. I have two of them in my truck.
They are a sealed unit and use gel instead of water, therefore they will not leak.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/optima_products/bluetop/index.php

I warn you though, they are EXPENSIVE!
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"Money will buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail." - Kinky Friedman

PS: Screw you Photobucket!

ironmanstan · Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 4:09 pm Post subject:

Gel cells are nice but way over priced. After years of talking with fellow fishermen there seems be no difference in the time of which they last. Yes there is a convience factor involved of not having to add distilled water to them. If yours is just starting the engine and running a baitwell from time to time then the engine alternator will charge the battery. I have a separate battery just for my trolling motor which I charge after every use and have to add some water from time to time because of the constant charging. I get the biggest I can get always when buying a battery which is a 27. Interstate batteries have served me well so have the marine batteries at walmart and so have Sears batteries. Many batteries are made by the same factory just like oil they just slap the customers name on them and manufacture them to customer specs. Of course if the battery is sitting idle for periods of time a 2 amp trickle charge does great. More amperage for faster charging. Yes I have done my homework.
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riverrat · Finger Mullet Joined: 28 Jan 2008 Posts: 24

A common trickle charger will boil the electrolyte out. Invest in a
charger/maintainer. Academy carries them,