Roy Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Lots of battery talk lately in preparation for the softwater. I've noticed a few people interested in the CTEK battery chargers (although I prefer to refer to them as maintainers) CTC has them on special starting Friday March 4th at 40% off. Regularly $89.99 on sale for $49.99. Just a heads up to those who might be interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Good deal. That raises a question.To charge a deep cycle battery, are these chargers adequate?or do you require a special type of charger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bob Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 I agree, more of a maintainer or SLOW charger with a rate of 3.3 amp max. Most of today's on-board chargers are also smart chargers but do a better job at charging the battery quicker, especially if you want to fish again in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bob Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Good deal. That raises a question.To charge a deep cycle battery, are these chargers adequate?or do you require a special type of charger? You're better off with a on-board charger....deep cycle batteries require a high amp rate. Not to mention you can get a on-board charger with 2 or 3 banks so you are charging all your boat batteries at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbuck Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 It's more of an off-season charger. CT has an Intelligent charger/maintainer thats 2 amps that goes on special for 19.99. I've kept my 3 deep cycles charged all winter with it (2 for the boat and 1 for my travel trailer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Hummm. I will have to check that out Bob.I bought a MinKota portable charger last year, but with the new boat coming soon, i will have 2 batteries to charge, so i may do what you said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bob Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Paul I have a Cabela's brand on my boat and it's a 2 bank charger....works VERY WELL....and it maintains my batteries all winter long......I don't take the batteries out of the boat....just plug in the boat and that's it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightfisher Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Very satisfied with this charger for my deep cycle batteries. I also use it on my 7.5amp 12v gel cell I use for my fish finder. I will use my 10amp charger however if I have deeply drained my battery and need it for the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercman Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Paul I have a Cabela's brand on my boat and it's a 2 bank charger....works VERY WELL....and it maintains my batteries all winter long......I don't take the batteries out of the boat....just plug in the boat and that's it. They dont freeze Bob? I took mine indoors last fall.I had no idea you could leave them outside, plugged in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banger68 Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Batteries shouldn't freeze when they are charged. But they will if they go flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Posted March 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 I use a 2 bank Guest charger that I bought at Cabela's and it works perfectly for my two deep cycle TM batteries. I bring my 3 batteries inside for the winter though. I could leave them outside but I prefer to take everything out of the boat before winterizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icefisherman Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Best thing since sliced cheese Not to mention this is the charger recommended by Optima to charge their batteries. Optima blue tops been the best deep cycle battery out there. Got one 4 months ago and love it....one of my deep cycle batteries is on it for a maintenance charge all the time... Cheers, Ice Fisherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Bob Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 They dont freeze Bob? I took mine indoors last fall.I had no idea you could leave them outside, plugged in. No I don't bring them in....haven't since I added the on-board charger...a well maintained battery cannot freeze.....like your car battery...and if it does freeze it was a bad battery and need to be replaced anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishnwire Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 You're better off with a on-board charger....deep cycle batteries require a high amp rate. Deep cycle batteries don't require a higher amp rate to charge. The only thing the amount of amps has to do with is how fast the battery charges. As long as the output voltage of the charger is greater than the desired voltage of the finished-charged battery, it will fully charge regardless of the amp rate (within reason). The slower you charge your battery, the better it is for the life of the battery. Even batteries for power tools that have an optional "rapid-charge" setting will last longer if you use the normal charge setting instead. Intelligent or smart chargers will often have three to five stages in which they charge a battery...varying their output depending on the level of charge of the battery they are hooked up to. They also avoid over-charging, which along with leaving a discharged battery in that state for an extended period of time is one of the worse things you can do to any battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 FishnWire, good post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish4Eyes Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 (edited) My understanding and experience is that the slower you charge your battery, the longer it holds its juice. If you charge it at a higher amperage, then it drains quicker. I have verified this to be true with my own battery. There is a Interstate warehouse near my place and the guy there has over 20 years experience working with batteries and he swears by the C-TEK charger. Edited March 3, 2011 by Fish4Eyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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