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Posts: 122
| I run Interstate batteries with my trolling motor and have had the same batteries for 4 full seasons. I always charge them after fishing and charge them periodically during the off season. I am curious how many seasons other people are getting out of their batteries. Thanks |
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Posts: 139
| I do the same thing and i am going on 4 years. I expect 5 years and if i get that i will be happy. anywhere from 4 to 5 on lead acid batteries is good. |
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Posts: 633
Location: Madison, WI | i have 2 interstates from 08 in my Tuffy still going strong
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Posts: 97
Location: Chaska MN. | My understanding is batteries have a certain amount of charging lives and then they are gone they will go to pot, so I always (try ) to run mine way down before charging, then in the off season maintain by checking the water and giving a full charge and then keep an eye on them and give them a trickle charge about half way through winter.
I normally get five years out of them but I'm sure if you use them more (charge them more) then they would go sooner, on a related note I am still running my original batteries on my 2004 Chev. duramax but think that this was the last winter for them. |
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Location: sneaking out to get on the water ;-) | My last set lasted 5yrs and I keep my onboard charger plugged in. |
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Posts: 1416
Location: oconomowoc, wi | 3-5 yrs |
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Posts: 202
Location: Angola, IN | It doesn't matter how many years they last, it matters how many charges they will take.
Most musky guys fish a few days a month for 6-7 months....so that's like 30-35 charging cycles a year. Others fish 25-30 days a month....like busy guides. That's 200+ charges in a year. Most "average" guys get 3-5 years out of their batteries (3-5 years times 30 charges a year = 90-150 charges).....while most guides are lucky to get much more than a season out of theirs if they fish all the time (25 days a month x 7 months = 175 charges. So, it doesn't matter how many years they last.....the battery will only take so many charges.
Edited by SteveHulbert 4/9/2013 7:46 AM
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Posts: 2754
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | 3-5 years is typical. There are manufacturer's who make 10 year, and even 15-20 year deep cycle batteries.
Battery life is affected by many factors, most importantly are depth of discharge and then charging.
All lead-acid batteries are designed for specific purpose - don't use a starting battery on a trolling motor, its not designed for low rate, long duration discharges. They will work for an emergency, just not as well as a deep cycle battery.
Battery life has two components, and they do interact - cycle life and useful life (years). Cycle life is just what it sounds like - the battery actual wears out from each deep discharge. Most deep cycle batteries are good for 100-300 discharges (usually listed as cycle life in the manufacturer's data sheet), e.g., number of discharge's where + 80% of the available capacity has been removed. If you fish a lot, you could wear out the battery in 1-2 years. The battery didn't fail you, you didn't select the right AH size for the application. If I were guiding, I would have the biggest battery I could fit into the battery space. It might even be smart to trade lure space in the boat for battery space.
Cycle life and useful life are greatly affected by how the batteries are treated after discharge, i.e., how they are recharged. The affects of recharge abuse are usually not reversible and the end result is always the same - premature failure.
Always recharge the battery as soon as you can, no matter the depth of discharge. On overnight trips a 100ft extension cord is a good accessory to have in your truck with your charger(s), if you don't have an on-board charger.
Size your charger to your expected battery use. If you expect to deep discharge every day of a 7 day trip, you need a charger sized to get that energy quickly back into the battery while you are off the water. F.ex. a 100AH battery needs a 10A charger to get the battery back up to reasonable capacity in ~10-12 hrs. A 5 amp charger just can't do it in that time period. I have two 100AH wet-cell batteries and have two (12V-15A) chargers.
Urban legends abound about batteries, especially in the fishing/boating world. NEVER, EVER, leave a battery in a discharge condition for longer than 24 hrs - as Martha would say: Its a bad thing!
Have fun!
Al
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Posts: 833
| The key here IMO is how often you fish. I'm in my 4th season and on my 2nd set of trolling motor batteries, but I fish 2-3 days a week for all 6 months. IMO, batteries are something of a crap shoot. You can have two of the exact same make and one will be a champ and one will be a dog. There is just no way to completely be sure.
How you maintain during a cold winter also matters. If you let them bulge it won't matter how great they are...
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Posts: 1760
Location: new richmond, wi. & isle, mn | esox maniac explained it perfectly. A buddy and I talked with battery rep a few years back and explained it the same way. Always recharge your batteries as soon as possible no matter how much they were used. Also keep them topped off periodically in the off season.
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Location: Contrarian Island | going into my 8th year for some Trojan AGMs and they have seen a lot more charges/hours than the avg guy....
love those AGMs.... |
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