Batteries

[ryanmitchell]

Gents. Only had our boat for a year, we use it a lot. Charge it up and burn it down pretty quickly as we stay out all day dmost outings. The battery seems to die down rather quickly. We have one battery up front and one in the back. We have an on board charger that we just plug in which is nice. We are going on a 4 day trip, and want to either replace it or have a spare.

Any recommended brands of batteries?

[Gary Brady]

I've always used Interstate because my Dad is a dealer for them and I usually get about 3 years out of a set. You probably are actually overcharging your batteries. If you don't run them all the way dead before you charge them they will develop a memory and won't fully charge. It's also hard on them if you don't fully charge and just give them a little bit here and there. The biggest difference you will notice is if you get a 24 volt system, you get about 4 times the life out of them then. Hope that helps.

[ryanmitchell]

You are a good man Gary. So you suggest a 24 volt Interstate marine battery? We almost always run the current battery down to the bone and then charge it up the night before each trip for 3-4 hours and then a little boost in the morning. It is a minn kota troll, and it shows 4/4 bars, but after like 20 minutes on the water trolling around, holding position, it is almost dead.

I had a tiny fish nip my bucktail that frontal day last week, saw him, take a nibble and then he swam away. We saw a few fish, but landed 0. Still 0fer the year.

[Gary Brady]

A 24 volt system is having two batteries wired together and makes a huge difference. Sounds like you may not be getting it all the way charged. With most onboard chargers you probably need 8-12 hours for a full charge. The MinnKota system will show full charge when it's on the charger or recently removed and then drop rapidly if it's not charged all the way. Interstate has great deep cycle batteries and you can get them replaced anywhere which is nice.

[MuskyMaven]

I'm on my first season running Cabelas AGM batteries and I love em. I have found I am able to fish for 2 full days and still have over 80% charge remaining, but I usually plug in the onboard each night and leave it run until the next morning. When doing that the batteries never go below 95% charge when fishing for 8-10 hours.

I run 2 batteries for a 24 volt system.
I'd say if your only charging for 3-4 hours your probably not getting a full charge back into the battery. Rather than use the bars on the motor I'd check it with a volt meter. I'd suggest just running the charger overnight, most will automatically switch to a trickle charge when battery is full so you dont have to worry about overcharging.

[moquah]

Gents. Only had our boat for a year, we use it a lot. Charge it up and burn it down pretty quickly as we stay out all day dmost outings. The battery seems to die down rather quickly. We have one battery up front and one in the back. We have an on board charger that we just plug in which is nice. We are going on a 4 day trip, and want to either replace it or have a spare.

Any recommended brands of batteries?

If your using lead acid batteries they should be charged immediately after even a partial discharge or the batteries will start to sulfate which greatly reduces battery capacity. Even a new battery that has been left discharged for several days or weeks will never be able to be recharged back to its full capacity or may not take a charge at all.
I have a 24 volt system with optima batteries (previously used common lead acid) going on three years with never a problem. First thing I do when parking the boat is to plug in the battery charger.

I could go on & on & on about batteries but the main point is proper charging.

Steve

[ryanmitchell]

Thanks guys. I am going to try charging them overnight before our next trip and see if it makes a difference. I am also going to see if the on board charger shows anything. 24 volt system sounds great. I will have to see if I have room up front to do so.

[curleytail]

Ryan,
Just to make sure you don't fry anything expensive, you'll need a 24 volt trolling motor to run a 24 volt system. If you have a 12 volt motor, you can still hook two batteries together (parallel) to make 12 volts with double the run time.

As far as maintenance, I fish a lot (not this year, but other years I have). During the summer I would usually get out 3-4 times per week, sometimes more. I almost always charge the batteries after each outing, and really try to make sure they get a full charge before taking them off the charger.

With my 24 volt system of two batteries, I got great life out of them. They were a year different in age. I got 6 years out of one of them, before it wouldn't hold a good charge when it got cold out last fall. The other was 5 years, and was still doing decent at the beginning of this year, but I figured I had better get two new batteries so they were equal.

I consider that great battery life for typical lead acid batteries. These were two 27 series Napa batteries. Now Napa has changed manufacturers for their new batteries. I've heard mixed reviews on the new ones. I'll have to see how they hold up.

Also important to run life is battery size. Get the biggest battery(s) that you can fit in your boat. I have been using 27 size/series, but should really see if 29's would fit when I have to get batteries again.

Good luck!

curleytail

[ryanmitchell]

Thanks again. Plenty of info to chew on and discuss with my brother. We have a lot of research to do. Great info. I would rather run 2 parrallel than buy a new trolling motor and charger. I would rather invest in a better fish finder. That is for another day. The little Hummingbird 565 is not cutting it! Thanks.

[Ifishskis]

Thanks again. Plenty of info to chew on and discuss with my brother. We have a lot of research to do. Great info. I would rather run 2 parrallel than buy a new trolling motor and charger. I would rather invest in a better fish finder. That is for another day. The little Hummingbird 565 is not cutting it! Thanks.

My 30 yrs of boating/fishing experience suggests that when you're using a acid/water battery when musky fishing (using the TM often) that a single battery (for a 12v TM) just isn't enough for a long hard day of fishing. I've never used a gel battery so I can't comment on them.

As suggested by another poster, get another battery and wire them so you have 2 batteries supplying power. If you already have a good deep cycle battery, buy another one THAT IS THE SAME SIZE. i.e. group 24, group 27 etc.
I am also a big fan of Interstate batteries.

If you have 2 TM batteries, and one starting battery for your engine, invest in a 3 bank battery charger. Keep that charger plugged in whenever the boat isn't in the water, or while it's docked. Most resorts have outlets at their docks. You'll want to invest in a heavy duty 50' 3 wire extension cord.

There's lots of fishing forums (especially bass boat forums) where the guys are selling a used charger. Turtle Marine's website has great prices on new chargers if you want to go that route.

Fishing forums are great places to buy used electronics too. Seems like people are always upgrading to the latest and greatest.

Just my .02!

[ryanmitchell]

Here are the specs of the setup we have currently in the boat.

Battery is a DC120F:
120 Amp Deep-Cycle
185 Reserve
720 Cycling Amps

Charger looks to be a ProSport12 Dual Bank On-Board Marine Battery Charger
Specs:
12/24 Volt DC Sequential Multi-Stage Charging
Input: 115 VAC /60Ho 3 Amps
Output: Dual 12 VDC @ 12 Amps
12 AMPS MAX FULLY DISTRIBUTED

Does this mean it will not overcharge? My brother said the levels in the battery are fine.

[Ifishskis]

You actually have a ProMariner charger. Click on this link:

www.promariner.com/download.php?file=ProSport_Manual.pdf -

After I post I'll make sure the link works.

You'll get lots of opinions on which is the best charger. I am interested to see how you like yours as I'm getting a ProMariner ProSport 20 Plus (3 bank) for the boat we just bought. Yes I like Dual Pro but their past levels of customer service apparently have dropped off severely. ProMariner supposedly makes a good unit and I got a very good deal on it from the dealer.

Yes, you can leave the charger plugged in at all times and no if it is working properly it will not overcharge the battery. In short it will monitor the charge levels and adjust accordingly. I left my 3 bank Dual Pro plugged in 24/7 and I still had the original batteries in the boat when we sold it after 3+ years. I never used them like a Ty Sennett would but I was VERY pleased getting 3+ years out of them.

You only have one battery? What brand is it and how old is it?

[ryanmitchell]

We bought a new Crestliner Canadian SC last spring, so we have almost 2 seasons out of it. I am not sure the battery even has a name. If the specs I provided did not ring a bell, then I am not sure what brand it is. I just bought all the tools for the skis. I think in the winter I am going to save a little and buy a new GPS fishfinder. I will alos probably buy a good brand name battery. leaning towards an interstate right now after toalking to some people. If out current battery performs well the rest of the season it will probably make the starting rotation next season. If anything I will bring a the old one along, charged up for long weekend getaways. Thanks!

I can't wait to charge the crap out of those batteries! We have never let them charge for more than say 4 hours. Bad initial instruction that we stayed true to until now.