Is My Battery Dying?

[rhymobot]

So I have gone fishing on my inflatable twice so far this year. Charged the battery with my deep cycle charger the night before until it read 90%. Both times it was working fine for first hour of on and off use while on the river and lake. But both times the motor was getting slower and slower until the point where I was just putting along barely moving and had to resort to rowing to get back to shore.

 

Some background info:

 

• Bought the cheapest deep cycle marine battery from CT for around $100 + tax
• Have used it with my 30lb trolling motor for the 2 summers prior to this with no problems at all
• Always charged it while in the plastic carrying case and on top of a foot stool in my garage since I know concrete is no good
• Though the 4 times I charged it this year, I did it in the case but on top of only a rug on the concrete in the garage
• Past 2 summers I have left it in my car for weeks at a time so it has gotten lots of humidity
• Also left it in garage on a shelf during the winters
• I've tried charging it various times the past 2 weeks to fool around with it and I'd get it to 90% or FULL and then I'd come back next day to hook up charger and it would read LOW at first. Then I'd come back an hour later and it was at 60% and even after like 3 hours it was at 70%

 

Is it dying? I just just got a suggestion from someone that I should get a battery conditioner for it. I had no idea what that was until I just googled it.

 

Do you think that's what I should do?

 

 

Thanks.

[Raf]

have you checked the water level in it?

[rhymobot]

have you checked the water level in it?

 

nope. no idea how! don't know much about batteries.

 

the battery I have is basically this one: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/3/Batteries/MarineBatteries/PRDOVR~0102499P/Group+24+Starting+%26+Deep+Cycle+Battery.jsp?locale=en

 

not sure how you check the water level on something like? maybe I can find that on google.

[wallyboss]

Bring it back to CTC and ask them to test it. They will put it on Load test. I had a defective charger that ruined one of my batteries. Got them both replaced because they were both from Canadian Tire.

 

By the way batteries on concrete is just an old wives tale. It used to be true when the battery case was not made out of plastic.

 

 

Make sure that you recharge your battery every time you use it. If you use multiple times and just recharge every once in a while it will create a memory and not fully charge anymore.

Edited May 31, 2013 by wallyboss

[Woodsman]

Battery you posted has some poor reviews.

A starting/deep cycle battery is not the best for your purposes. Better off with a deep cycle.

If it's not charging better than 90% than that's a problem.

Is it an unheated garage it is stored in during the winter? Big you keep a charge on it over the winter?

Sounds like it may have lost charge and froze during the winter.

[rhymobot]

Bring it back to CTC and ask them to test it. They will put it on Load test. I had a defective charger that ruined one of my batteries. Got them both replaced because they were both from Canadian Tire.

 

By the way batteries on concrete is just an old wives tale. It used to be true when the battery case was not made out of plastic.

 

 

Make sure that you recharge your battery every time you use it. If you use multiple times and just recharge every once in a while it will create a memory and not fully charge anymore.

 

Thanks for the idea. Do they test it for free?

[rhymobot]

Battery you posted has some poor reviews.

A starting/deep cycle battery is not the best for your purposes. Better off with a deep cycle.

If it's not charging better than 90% than that's a problem.

Is it an unheated garage it is stored in during the winter? Big you keep a charge on it over the winter?

Sounds like it may have lost charge and froze during the winter.

 

ya. lol. too bad they didn't have those reviews when i bought it in 2011.

 

and garage was not heated. just left it in the battery case on its own on a shelf.

 

i was kinda naive and/or lazy with this. probably would have been more diligent if i was using this battery for a real boat and not a 12 foot blow up dingy.

 

i will look into getting it tested and also into a conditioner.

[Dabluz]

Yes....your battery is almost dead. You should be able to recharge a good battery to 100% within a few hours on the charger. First of all....the battery you chose is not a deep cycle battery. It's a hybrid between a starting battery and a deep cycle battery. You should buy a deep cycle battery. Second point.....the battery you bought is not a very large battery. It's ok for a couple of hours of trolling but not much more. It has a reserve capacity of 120 minutes. This means that it will give you 2 hours of power at 20 amps.before going completely dead. Every pound of thrust from you trolling motor consumes about 1.2 amps. Trolling at 1st speed does consume a good 5 to 7 amps.....maybe more. Another point to consider is that you never want to completely discharge your battery because this will cause damage and therefore greatly reduce the life of the battery. Buy a woltmeter and never let you battery go below 12.5 volts when you are trolling. A battery left to sit over a long period of time will go dead. It loses a small percentage of every month so you should recharge it about once per month. Even better, make the battery work a bit over the winter by plugging a 12 volt light bulb for a few hours. Since deep cycle batteries have covers that can be removed in order to check battery acid levels, the best tool to buy is a hydrometer to measure the specific gravity of the liquid in the battery. Never let the specific gravity of the battery go below 1.240. If the level of the acid is too low....add distilled water and recharge the battery until it attains 100%. Check the specific gravity when the battery is at 100% to see what the reading is. If you plan to troll for more than 1 or 2 hours, buy a much larger deep cycle battery. Get one with at least 180 minutes of reserve capacity. The largest Canadian Tire Nautilus model (group 31) has 205 minutes of reserve capacity and costs 140 dollars. Some deep cycle batteries sold in battery shops have 225 minutes of reserve capacity and cost about 180 dollars.

Edited May 31, 2013 by Dabluz

[Terry]

why is it only charging to 90% that is the first problem

 

but as for charging it will take much more then a few hours to charge a battery

 

if you have a dead 100 amp battery and a standard 10 amp charger , it will take a min of 10 hours to charge it to full charge

 

a 2 amp charger will raise a battery by 2 amps per hour a 10 amp will raise a battery by 10 amps per hour and so on...smart chargers will take a bit longer to charge because they have 3 stages of charging

[rhymobot]

Thanks guys. Looks like I got some reading to do.

[bassfighter]

As debluz had suggested, buy a hydrometer from princess auto, they are cheap to own, to ensure stores do not rip you off telling your battery is dead when it was not. Plug your trolling motor to get the battery somewhat discharge, then charge it up again to full charge. test the liquid using the Hydrometer, let it sit for a while before testing the acid inside the battery, the meter will tell you which cell is alive or dead.

 

Buy batteries from Costco, no question ask on return. and cheaper, keep your receipt. Very good batteries for the money and warranty, and last long if well maintained.

 

I do not trust the hybrid battery, so I have three batteries on my boat, two deep cycle for trolling alone and one for starting. just in case for emergency back up.

Edited June 6, 2013 by bassfighter

[rhymobot]

So as someone suggested, I believe I will buy this higher capacity battery:

 

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/5/SportsRec/Marine/MarineBatteries/PRDOVR~0103199P/Group+31+Deep+Cycle+Battery.jsp?locale=en

 

It is 20 lbs heavier but I'll make do. It's worth it I guess. It's $140. And it's strictly a deep cycle battery instead of a starting and deep cycle.

 

But I have a standard battery box for my existing one and I've read on the reviews on CT site that CT doesn't have a more rectangular box that would fit this battery. Any suggestions on where I could get that and how much it should cost? I am in Mississauga, Oakville, and will be taking the 400 up north this weekend to Midland and Penetang.

 

By the way, this is what I use to charge my batteries:

 

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/3/Batteries/BatteryChargers/PRD~0111525P/MotoMaster+Nautilus+Battery+Charger%2C15%2B10%2B2A.jsp?locale=en

[Walleye72]

Well, from the info you've provided it could be either the charger or the battery. If you didn't top up your batteries over the winter seasons, they most certainly could have become sulphated, which greatly lowers the performance of your battery.

 

I have an older model of that same charger, and presently the smart charger function is not working. If I select the 15 amp, or the 10 amp setting, it won't charge past about 60 %. It reports that it does. The display reads 100 % and Charge Complete, but after taking it off charge and leaving it for an hour, it drops back to 60%. I have to use the 2 amp setting, and then it does charge all the way to 100 %, albeit slowly. I intend to replace my charger next year with an onboard dual pro.

 

You might consider trying the 2 amp setting and see if it charges properly. Having Canadian Tire perform a load test is also a good idea. They could also show you how to check the liquid levels. You might just get a new battery out of it.

 

Comments already posted about the size of your battery are relevant. Pick a size that you don't discharge past 50 % and you will realize many many more cycles than running it nearly dead and then recharging.

 

 

Edit: Sorry, I didn't see that the original thread started 3 months ago. I'm sure you've figured it out by now. I need to pay better attention.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Walleye72

[rhymobot]

Well, from the info you've provided it could be either the charger or the battery. If you didn't top up your batteries over the winter seasons, they most certainly could have become sulphated, which greatly lowers the performance of your battery.

 

I have an older model of that same charger, and presently the smart charger function is not working. If I select the 15 amp, or the 10 amp setting, it won't charge past about 60 %. It reports that it does. The display reads 100 % and Charge Complete, but after taking it off charge and leaving it for an hour, it drops back to 60%. I have to use the 2 amp setting, and then it does charge all the way to 100 %, albeit slowly. I intend to replace my charger next year with an onboard dual pro.

 

You might consider trying the 2 amp setting and see if it charges properly. Having Canadian Tire perform a load test is also a good idea. They could also show you how to check the liquid levels. You might just get a new battery out of it.

 

Comments already posted about the size of your battery are relevant. Pick a size that you don't discharge past 50 % and you will realize many many more cycles than running it nearly dead and then recharging.

 

 

Edit: Sorry, I didn't see that the original thread started 3 months ago. I'm sure you've figured it out by now. I need to pay better attention.

 

you make some good points. i'll check out the amp settings when i get home.

[Terry]

if you think a bigger battery is what you need , I don't think you really took the right info from the replies to your original question

[rhymobot]

if you think a bigger battery is what you need , I don't think you really took the right info from the replies to your original question

 

based on walleye72's last post, it got me thinking about holding off of the new battery and trying something different for now. but ultimately, if a bigger battery gets me more trolling time, which i do a lot of, then the bigger battery is probably the way to go. i do like small river fishing. to be specific, a few sections of rivers i fish regularly don't have a lot of weeds and structure and are also murky so i can't see down. so i troll a lot. and i mean a lot.

 

so ya, i've revised my needs now after a couple months of fishing since i originally posted.