Posts: 410
Location: With my son on the water | Aaron
You may want to do a search on here under Boats & Motors. A bunch has been writen about (starting and trolling motor batteries and also the method used to charge them). You will also learn that there are lots of brands but only about 3 manufactures so you know many brands are identical. I do know that not every battery is meant for the same application and they are very specalized so you need to understand what the letters on a battery mean and which one to use for the particular application. Most manufactures have a tech call line that are very helpful.
I do know may people who got short battery life on 24 volt system and cured the problem by putting a shut off or disconnect the + & - jump. I am no EE but I worked with several who explained it as the stronger battery is always trying to charge the weaker battery and basically kills its self. This is why some guy get 2 or 3 years and others get 4 or 5. But most people will not realize what is going on and chalk it up to a poor battery.
I also have been told that the larger numbered battery will have more capacity. 27 will have more duty cycle than a 24, and a 31 will have more duty cycle than a 27. So if you are fishing all day and using your TM a lot your day will last longer with a 31.
I had 27s Interstates in my last boat and they seemed to perform fine, and that is all that would fit in my boat. In my current boat I have 31 series Northerns and they seem to work fine but they are not very old yet.
I also read on one of the post on here that the only real advantage of the matt or jell type battery is that you can tip them on there side, so it may not make sence to spend big money on the really high price batteries if you don't need it. If you are putting your battery straight in and out of a compartment a wet cell will work. But I could be wrong.
Storage in the off season will determine battery life too. A charged battery will not freeze, and the colder the environment it is in the more the dielectrode in a battery will slow down. So leaving in a cold environment is the best way to store them however you do want to check to ensure they are charged. Putting them in the basement of your house is not as cold as the garage or even the boat. Many guys leave them in there boat with the on board charge hooked up and plug it in on occasion to ensure they are charged. This is a good method if you have access to you boat. I however would not leave the charge plugged in all the time as you are creating a potential fire issue if something fails, and you should not need to do this as you are not drawing any current anyway.
So I am not sure I have answered you question, I do know there are about three guys on here who have been formally educated on this stuff and I have not been. I learned from them. So again I would encourage you to do a search. Or maybe one of the experts can jump in too.
Have a good day.  |
