NOCO GEN2 not fully charging batteries?

[Raycaster]

Charged 2 deep cycle batteries with my NOCO GEN2 20A (2 bank) and went fishing only to notice it displayed 75% battery after the first hour of use.

Fished for the whole day with my 24V Terrova 80 no problem and the batteries were fine.

Got home and next day charged again with the NOCO GEN2 20A (2 bank) and they gave me the green light after 5-6 hours and voltage was 13.2 for both.

Just to check I setup my Motomaster Eliminator 12A on one of the batteries and it read 13.2 but LO. Within 1 hour it went 60%,70%,80% and sitting now at 90% for 90 minutes...

Yes I topped up levels with distilled water in a cool garage.

Battery technology is WAY above my grade and you can quickly go down a rabbit hole reading FAQ sheets all day (I did).

They are cheap Deep Cycle batteries 2016 but still last almost 3 days full at slow speed so performance is still excellent.

Obviously this is nothing but nitpicking but wondering if anyone has seen the same.

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2018 by Raycaster

[Fisherman]

Part of battery maintenance,  a couple times a year you might want to "equalize" them each separately by using your Motomaster charger and letting the voltage come up to around 14.5 for an hour or so if you have a manual mode on it.  Vigourous gassing will "swirl" the electrolyte to mix with the distilled water you added.  After letting the battery sit for 24 hrs, no load, check the voltage, should be at least 12.65 to 12.7.  Ensure the tops of the battery and around each post is scrupulously clean, anything on there can cause a slow discharge.

Just for S&G, I went out and looked at my RV battery, June of 09 and still strong.

Edited September 8, 2018 by Fisherman

[grimsbylander]

^^^ good information. 

[misfish]

I had to do this to mine as Enrich said. I charged it fully with a manual charger. Needed to get the cells happy happy. Now when I am done using it for my outing, I charge it for one hour, 15AMP/12 VOLT, then put a maintaining 1.5 amp charger on it for the week to keep it maintained. Come the weekend, it,s ready to go. It is a AGM battery. Not sure if that makes a dif or not.

 

 

[mike rousseau]

For me I’d say your batteries are on their way out

I use cheap batteries and I only get 3 full seasons

mine are also 2016 batteries so this is their third season

 

im starting to see minor charging issues (similar to whatbyoure describing) but still making it through a day of fishing easily so I’ll finish the season and get 2 new ones next spring 

[Raycaster]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Basically each battery took about 60-90 minutes to get to 90% and then a day to get to FULL.

I will now separately charge them a few times a year.

Might get out on Balsam one more time to drain the batteries again and recheck...

 

[Garnet]

1 of your battery's is done. Get a load test done.

The happy news is cosco puts marine battery on sale now 50% off. 

[Raycaster]

Ok ,got both batteries tested, THEY PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS!!

I will keep charging separately once every few charges to keep a eye on them.

Thank you for the commenst guys

[Fisherman]

There ya go, nothing wrong with the batteries, just needs a good overcharge now and then.  Even in winter I do it.

[Canuck]

On my boat I have an automatic 40 amp charger (Pronautic 1240).  It has an equalizing cycle that auto runs periodically.  It cranks up the charge voltage to 15 or 16v for a bit to hit them hard and desulfate the plates.  Supposedly they need that periodically to make them last longer.  It also has a charge cycle matched to the type of battery where it starts high, then tapers off.  Seems to work, but it does mean I need to watch the water/acid levels in the cells over the season.  The worst thing you can do for a deep cycle battery is run them way down, and then slowly charge them up with a low capacity charger.  They won't last long that way.  They need a hard and fast charge for the first stage.

[Garnet]

Now you know.

The next thing is your connections get wire brush and shine them up.

Apply white grease. Don't forget both side of breakers.

 

[Cando]

On 9/10/2018 at 8:42 PM, Raycaster said:

 

Might get out on Balsam one more time to drain the batteries again and recheck...

 

Balsam's my favorite lake. I haven't been out there in a few years, but I fish Coby twice a year. I have a cottage on Canal Lake but only fished once this year due to medical issues. Great lake for smallies though.