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| I bought an Everstart Deep Cycle 27 series last fall. late Sept. It has a sticker on it that states 8/06. The code that is pressed into the casing is unlegible. I have charged it at most 12 times this year. I did not start using it til this spring, after i installed the 55PD MinnKota. I have been using a Vector portable charger. The motor stopped for abit Sunday so I peeked under the caps afterwards and saw what i believe is sulfation in 4 or 5 holes. Charger says it is full. But after checking each 'port' with a hydromter, cheap one, floating balls, the best I could get in any of them was a 50%. I have been charging on the 12amp setting, though it has a 2 and a 6 available too. Was the battery bad to begin with, or am I not charging correctly? I dont want to do this to the next one. Right now i cannot locate the receipt for a free replacement. Thanks. |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Seeing that it's an Everstart, I take it that you got it from Wal-Mart? If so, they usually put a little plastic pocket that is on the side of the battery where the receipt can go. But for some reason though, you might be able to take that battery back without a receipt if you bought it from Wal-Mart. But as for the battery, sometimes you just get a bad battery. Were you unplugging your trolling motor when charging it? |
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| Walmart has been great weith me regarding batteries. Have them put the battery on the load tester, not just an amp meter. This could take up to a couple hours, but will tell you just how good/bad the battery is. I had a couple 'bad' everstarts over the years and they went 'bad' after only a few months and were replaced without fail. The new heavy duty models(Everstart Maxx) seem to be a bit better. |
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Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Bruce- I am assuming you are using the "wet-cell" setting on the Vector. Also with wet cell batteries you have to be carefull that you periodically replenish the electrolyte that boils off in the recharge cycle with distilled water. Alway check the levels before charging.
Any time you add water to a wet cell battery you need to put it through a recharge cycle before checking the electrolyte specific gravity (SG). This allows the water to fully mix into the existing the electrolyte.
Plates that are exposed to air will appear whiter than those submerged in electrolyte. Were you actually looking at the top of the plates, i.e., they were not covered with electrolyte. I don't know of many folks that could visually recognize sulphation of the plates, i.e., they actually look thicker because of the lead sulphate.
Most importantly is immediately recharging them after use, if you don't then you risk sulfating the plates.
Take it back to Walmart or where ever you bought it and have them test it. Actually you may have a connection problem and not a battery problem, i.e., because the charger is not indicating a problem. Dissassenble and clean & re-tighten all the connections. A faulty connection may let the battery recharge normally, but not discharge normally, i.e., because you are connecting the portable charger directly to the battery terminals.
Also - over winter/when not in use you should recharge them ~ every 30 days. Some manufacturer's say 90 days, but I always use 30 days.
Al
Edited by ESOX Maniac 8/7/2007 11:06 AM
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| I always unhooked the motor from the battery when charging, even though I could have left it hooked up because of the inline fuse. I usually hook up the charger at night and go to bed. It will top it off and shut down. But the last couple of times the 'finished' light was not on even though the l.e.d. screen said "Full." I checked it this am and found some cells had gone up to read 75% with the tester. Not all did though. I bought the battery at a WalMart 200 miles away when we were on vacation. There are two stores locally. I called one so they already know of my problems and said I would have to return it to the store where it was bought. I think I will take it to the other and see if they will load test it for me. |
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| All I use this battery for is the 55PD. The battery has 'dual' posts if you will. Threaded ones that I use when attaching the PD's wires, and the wider lead (?) posts. That is where I hook the charger to. Is this wrong? Should I charge where I hook up the PD, or doesn't it make a difference? Thanks, the rookie. |
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Posts: 734
Location: Watertown, MN | Bruce
Any Walmart should exchange the battery for you if it is bad. Just bring it in and get it test and my guess is they will exchange it
troy |
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| I just got back from their test and the machine said it was fine, 100% condition and a 90% charge. This was after their load test said the battery was too hot. The tech then went after another reader that told of the 100/90 condition. He then said someone needs to come in and look at their load tester since it has been giving that too hot reading to other batteries as well. I might try their other store another day. I want to use the 55PD Friday. I am not seeing marine batteries like I used to in cataalogs as in years past. Most are dual purpose. I heard to stay way from those. Like Cabelas AGM. Duals dont last long. Can someone explain why??? |
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Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Bruce- Definitely get a second opinion/test. Connecting the battery charger to the post's is fine. The thing that concerns me is the the 90% state of charge when you had the battery tested. Did you put the battery on charge for 24 hours before getting it tested? If you are using the Vector 12A setting a fully discharged group 27 battery should be fully recharged in ~24 hrs. Does your Vector have an "equalize" setting" if so, set it to equalize and let it run through that cycle.
It is fairly easy to check the state of charge of a battery with a digital voltmeter, i.e., if the battery has just been recharged, and has been at "rest" for ~ 4 hours. By rest, I mean disconnect the charger or turn it off and do not put any load on the battery until you measure the voltage..Then measure the battery voltage.
State of Charge 12 Volt battery Volts per Cell
100% 12.7 2.12
90% 12.5 2.08
80% 12.42 2.07
70% 12.32 2.05
60% 12.20 2.03
50% 12.06 2.01
40% 11.9 1.98
30% 11.75 1.96
20% 11.58 1.93
10% 11.31 1.89
0 10.5 1.75
Guess what if the battery measures 12.4V using this "open circuit test" (thats what we call letting it rest for 4 hours after recharge without load and then meaasuring the voltage). You need a new battery!
Another possibility is your charger may have a problem- If the battery is connected and charging you should measure ~ 13.5V->13,8V in what we call float charge mode. If in equalize charge mode it should measure ~14.4V.
Re- Dual prpose batteries. They are a ballance between the two, i.e., a starting battery and a deep cycle. They are actually good for marine starting applications because of the amount of ancillary electronic loads that we connect to them. For your trolling motor you need to stick with a deep cycle battery, i.e., it will give you the best service life.
Have fun!
Al
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| I used it today. Seemed fine. But before I went out I hooked the PD55 to it and tested the battery thru the minnKota's l.e.d. panel and only 2 lights came on. # lit the other day. So I put it on the charger for an hour before I had to leave. Left it on the 2 amp setting. Brought it to over 75% again, which could mean 99 down to 75%. It was still at 3 lights when I got home. I put it on the charger overnight at 2 amp. We'll see in the am. I dont think I can run it for 24 hours. It will step down and eventually shut off. This charger is shown in Cabelas Marine catalog. I usually dont fish the next morning after a trip so I wont charge again on the highest setting, even if it steps down soon after. How many of you would buy a sealed battery vs. a maintenance one??? And is the long, lowest setting the best way to charge a deep cycle? Thanks for letting me ramble..... |
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| About that 'equalize' setting...I dont know. I beleive it has a program where it will dump the charge of a battery then re-charge it. The man at WalMart was going to try this but it would have taken 40 minutes, time which I did not have that morning. I have access to a digital volt meter, so I will check it in the am. How would I check each cell?? |
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