Thread: Am i expecting too much from my batter?

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........

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...

Originally Posted by wannabe fisherman

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.

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?

Originally Posted by 10point

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?

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.

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

Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

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.

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

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.