Charging a Marine Trolling Battery

[qwerfdsa12345]

Hi, I'm a newbie in boating/fishing and I have been trolling in small lakes for the past couple months. However, I think my marine trolling battery is running low. It hasn't run out yet, so I was planning to charge it before my next outing. Can anyone recommend a charger? I have a Minn Kota Endura 30 lb thrust 12v Trolling Motor and a Power Plus Deep Cycle 40 battery from Joe's. It has 100 amp hours. I have no idea about what all this means, but if anyone has anything similar to this can they tell me what charger they have or any recommendations? By the way, as I was looking at the battery, it said something about how the vent caps needed to be secured, can someone tell me what vent caps are? And can someone also tell me how to secure them and what happens if they aren't? I was getting kind of worried when I read the label. Anyways, thanks.

[bassmasterderek]

http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/ya ... -Help.aspx

Here is a link from awhile back that should help you out!

[ChrisB]

I'm guessing its not maintenance free then ? If its not, then check the water/elecrolight level in it. The best thing for max battery life is to always plug in your charger as soon as you get home after a days fishing. With just a 30 lb thrust, if its not too windy a good battery should be able to troll you all day without much power loss.

[qwerfdsa12345]

Hey BMD, I saw your reply to the other thread and it said that you had a diehard charger from sears. It so happens that I have the same one that's automatic. (your's might be automatic too.) In the instruction manual, it talked about water levels and acid and stuff like that, but all I did was hook the positive clip to the positive part and the negative clip to the negative part. Is this all I need for battery maintenance or am I supposed to do other stuff. Plus, I heard something about battery caps and what are those?

[bassmasterderek]

Hey BMD, I saw your reply to the other thread and it said that you had a diehard charger from sears. It so happens that I have the same one that's automatic. (your's might be automatic too.) In the instruction manual, it talked about water levels and acid and stuff like that, but all I did was hook the positive clip to the positive part and the negative clip to the negative part. Is this all I need for battery maintenance or am I supposed to do other stuff. Plus, I heard something about battery caps and what are those?

The caps are usually located on top of the battery...always remove those and check the water level before charging the battery! Assuming we have the same battery charger...when I hook my battery up I check the percentage level to see how much I am discharging on an average trip! I usually still have 75 percent or better left on the battery. Next I select the 12v deep cycle setting and then the charging speed. I will only use the rapid charge in an emergency otherwise use the regular charging speed. The manual also stated that in colder temperatures a battery can lose about 2 percent charge a week or so when not in use but if you leave the battery hooked up it will charge itself during this loss! The main thing which has been mentioned is to charge it as soon as possible after use!

Hope this helps!

[qwerfdsa12345]

Thanks. Are those metal things the caps? This is exactly what my battery looks like: http://www.cchipman.com/images/CPAP/CPAP0002.JPG . To charge my battery, I just clipped the things on the battery as in the picture and charged. I didn't check any water level. Are there any caps located on this thing?

[Anonymous]

Hello qwerfdsa12345
I would recommend that you take the battey to your local Les Schwab or other battery shop and ask questions until you understand how to work with a battery. They can be very dangerous.

The caps that you are asking about are the square black covers across the top of the battery, one of which has the DANGER/POISON label on top of it and the other which is blank. They can be removed using a screwdriver.
WEAR EYE PROTECTION and be very careful while working around the battery. Place the on battery on a stable surface. Place the screwdriver under the cap and gently wiggle it to remove the caps. Be very careful to not spill any liquid from the battery on anything that could be damaged. If you do spill on your clothing, the next time you wash the clothing it will be full of holes. If the liquid contacts any skin, it will burn. Rinse with lots & lots clear water. If needed, fill the battery with only DISTILLED WATER to the level of the bottom of the holes and replace the caps.

AS I STATED ABOVE:
BATTERIES CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS. PLEASE DO NOT LEARN BY DOING. LEARN BY HAVING SOME ONE THAT KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING TEACH YOU.

Also, you can find alot of info looking on the web. Just do a google search about deep cycle battery charging.

[G-Man]

Big D made some very good points. I just want to mention that the liquid in the battery is sulfuric acid. It can pit a cement floor rather quickly if not cleaned up properly so it's best to work with newspapers as a floor covering, just in case. If you do manage to spill some, wipe it up immediately and neutralize it with a baking soda and water solution/paste. When it stops bubbling/foaming it's neutralized. This is also a great way to clean the terminals and cable ends as well as any other surfaces that may have been effected by the acid. However, under no circumstances let the baking soda make it's way into the battery as very bad things will happen!