Deep cycle marine battery?

[KansasCityLunkerville]

Hi! I have a deep cycle marine battery that I only use for floating lights at night or it will be used for a troll'n motor only. Question is...if the battery is not drained/dead do I still need to keep it at a full charge after every use? After a single charge I can use it multiple times but I thought I saw on here somwhere that to extend the life of the battery keep a full charge on it after every use. What do you guys think? Thanx!

[jlaughlin72]

I have always been told to use your battery from a full charge to completely dead then recharge and do it again, That is supposed to set a memory or something for the battery. I know it works on a cell phone battery, I have 5 phones on my account and two of my kids didn't do theirs and the batteries last about half of what the rest do.

I, like you, have read on here about keeping it charged all the time. Maybe hook a light or something up to it the first couple times to finish draining it, and after that, recharge it when you get back from fishing so that it will be ready to go next time. just my oppinion, im no expert on this, maybe one will chime in.

[cook]

Ditto

[Barnacle Bill]

Recharge within 24 hours everytime you use it. The battery will last much longer. This keeps the plates from building up crude on them and shorting out.

[Gray Ghost]

Most electronic and cell phone batteries are nickle based and can develop a memory, so you need to use the up and then recharge. Most car and Marine batteries are lead acid batteries. I ve always been told never let these go completly dead. It's best to recharge as soon as possible. In a car, the alternator keeps the battery full all the time. Hope this helps. Merry Christmas all.

Ghost

[CrappiePappy]

http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/carfaq.htm

http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Bat...ini%20Factoids

But, to make a long story short ... here's some quotes from these two sites:

"Lead-Acid batteries do NOT have a memory, and the rumor that they should be fully discharged to avoid this "memory" is totally false and will lead to early battery failure.

Inactivity can be extremely harmful to a battery. It is a VERY poor idea to buy new batteries and "save" them for later. Either buy them when you need them, or keep them on a continual trickle charge. The best thing - if you buy them, use them.

The vent caps on flooded batteries should remain on the battery while charging. This prevents a lot of the water loss and splashing that may occur when they are bubbling.

When you first buy a new set of flooded (wet) batteries, you should fully charge and equalize them, and then take a hydrometer reading for future reference. Since not all batteries have exactly the same acid strength, this will give you a baseline for future readings."


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14.12. MYTH: Lead-acid batteries have memories.

False! Lead-acid batteries do not have the "memory effect" mistakenly identified with first generation Ni-Cad batteries; however, continuous undercharging will lower the capacity of the battery over time due to the accumulation of permanent lead-sulfate or "sulfation". Deep discharges below twenty percent State-of-Charge (approximately 12.0 volts) can damage batteries and will shorten their service lives.

***************

I've used a single Deep Cycle Battery in my boats, over the last 30yrs or more ... running the main motor, trolling motor, lights, instruments, accessories, etc. from that one battery. I've ALWAYS recharged the battery after a days/nights use. I've also charged the battery, once a month, when stored at home over the Winter months. All of the Deep Cycle Batteries I've had, over those 30+yrs, have lasted approx. 5yrs each. Some years, I've only made 5 or 6 trip/days use ... other years, it was as much as 50-60 trip/days use.
I bought a GNB "Firstmate" Battery Energy Gauge ... it came with a formula for determining how long to charge a deep cycle battery, with a specific amp charger. Had I not had/used this gauge ... chances are I would have overcharged or undercharged my batteries.
The formula is: 100 minus the gauge reading in % ... multiplied by the AH (amp hour) capacity of the battery ... multiplied by 0.01 ... and that number divided by --- the amp output of the charger multiplied x 0.7

For my 105AH GNB batteries, (for a 50% discharged state) it worked out to --

100 - 50 = 50
50x105 = 5250
5250 x 0.01 = 52.5

10amp charger x 0.7 = 7

52.5 divided by 7 = 7.5hrs charging time
(NOTE: this formula is for use with this gauge, and may not represent the formula of other gauges/devices)


Batteries are considered "full charged" when they register over 80% ... and leaving them in a state of charge BELOW that, for any extended period of time, will lessen the charge holding capacity of the battery and decrease the possible lifespan of it.

.............. cp

[zappaf19]

A electrical engineer told me NEVER drain a deep cycle. It will damage the battery. I have 2 in my boat and a regular marine bat. for starting. I trickle charge them every time I am done fishing. A trickle charge is alot easier on the bat than a regular charge.
My 2 cents
Bill

[KansasCityLunkerville]

Thanx all for the info!!! Looks like I will throw on a little trickle charger after every use when I can.

[LIL' Joe]

More than I ever wanted to know.

http://www.marine-electronics.net/te..._faq/b_faq.htm

[slab-happy]

A electrical engineer told me NEVER drain a deep cycle. It will damage the battery. I have 2 in my boat and a regular marine bat. for starting. I trickle charge them every time I am done fishing. A trickle charge is alot easier on the bat than a regular charge.
My 2 cents
Bill

i agree