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Posts: 57
| We went out and trolled a bit with the MinnKota tonight and found only two lights lit on the panel. Last week i plugged the charger in after the trip and topped off both batteries, then unplugged it. It sat for a week. The deep cycle is in the very front of the Naden, and it sits on a slight angle, leaning backwards. I have topped off with distilled last week. As long as the plates are covered with water, it should be ok, right? ( I see 2 agm's in my future....) |
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Posts: 57
| This battery has never "topped off" when using the test button on the base of the MinnKota. WallyWorld Everstart deep cycle. After this season or even sooner I will get agm's. I hope they are good enough to survie shipping and handling. Should I be as concerned with a mfg date on agm's vs buying lead acid's? I think right now I would be ordering them and have em shipped so i cant see a date on them. Thanks!
Edited by Bruce 4/22/2008 8:23 PM
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Bruce- by "topped off" , I mean that that H2O has been added to replenish electrolyte lost in the recharge process! |
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Posts: 389
Location: Corning, Iowa | Is it necessary to charge them right after using them? Why does it matter when they are charged? We are not out that long at one time, maybe 4 to 5 hours, so I don't charge mine every time. My TM is old, and the charge lights don't work any more, so I just charge the batteries when I think they need it. I've heard you shouldn't charge a battery the same time, because it gets a memory, I hate electricity |
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Posts: 57
| How often should I check the water level in them? When I say topped off I mean charging the batteries til the charger says they are ready to go. I still would like to hear if it is ok to leave the charger plugged in all the time to help keep them 'topped off'? |
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Posts: 131
| i never even unplug my chargers,except when fishing..leave it plugged all year around,thats what they are designed to do. |
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Posts: 434
Location: searchin for 50 | If it's electric ,has wheels your gonna have problems with it sooner or later.  I had a 10 amp 2 bank charger left it plugged in for the winter and walla does not work any more. Made in chinafor cabelas |
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Posts: 109
| I leave mine plugged in year round. I use a GUEST Charger and its been fool proof. I have both AGM and Lead Acid batteries on my boat and they are doing great (Agm's are 6 years old this year and Lead Acid are 3 years old this year).
BEST way to check the battery voltage is with a Volt meter... not with "idiot" (sorry for the term) lights on your trolling motor. I used to do that and found that its not reliable. |
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Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Re. Leaving chargers plugged in year round- 24x7X365. This practice does cause accelerated aging of the battery (grid corrosion) and subsequent loss of capacity. There have been many scientific studies supporting that continuous float charging of lead acid batteries is least desirable versus periodic recharge with respect to battery life......
At the very least get a lightning surge supressor to help protect the charger. It may also be a good idea to check your homeowner's insurance to make sure you're covered in case of a charger/battery fire. Yes, a battery connected to a faulted charger can catch on fire! This is why I don't leave mine plugged in all the time.
Have fun!
Al
Edited by ESOX Maniac 4/25/2008 10:08 PM
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Posts: 390
Location: Ohio | I got a MinnKota 3 bank thats 2 years old and the 3rd bank stopped working. I'm kicking myself I had a older Guest that worked fine and sold it because I wanted a 3 bank. |
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Posts: 159
| Battery consists of sulfuric acid and H2O (hydrogen and oxygen which is water)
When a battery starts to discharge (specific gravity) the water will start to
seperate from the acid. It is the acid on the plates that cause corrosion which in
turn causes premature battery failure(or better known as sulfation). Sulfation is the formation of lead sulfate on the surface and in the pores of the active material of the batteries lead plates. If the sulfation becomes excessive and forms large crystals on the plates, the battery will not operate efficiently or at all. Common causes of battery sulfation are in incativity, operating in extreme temperatures and prolonged under or over charging. All batteries are self discharging. Inactivity will rob your battery of needed power. Monitor the state of charge when your battery is inactive for a long period of time and charge as needed. When electrolysis (inducing a charge) it is the seperation of the water and the acid causing hydrogen/oxygen to accumulate below the plates sparking and than causes a battery to explode. A GOOD battery charger is designed to charge your battery and then go into a float voltage condition maintaining a rated charge so discharging of a battery is avoided. This is also why the gel battery was invented due to it's ability to avoid retaining sulfuric acid on it's plates during discharge, and also during traveling it has been proved that the lead will actually flake off, and if enough lead flakes off it will form a conductor and short out that cell. Harley Davidson was one of the first to introduce the jell battery due to it's vibration characteristics of their engine. They could not get one year out of their wet batteries, that is why they went to the gel cell. I have 5 AGM batteries on my boat for 4-1/2 years always plugging in
the chargers 24/7/365, and under a battery load test, every battery is still within
spec. I highly doubt I have 5 of the only perfect batteries in the world.
Hope this helps. Just my 2 cents
Edited by kurtg 4/23/2008 9:07 PM
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Posts: 57
| When I got home I unplugged the charger and went back to check da idiot light. All four lights were on, that's a first. Butt I'll look again in the am. Hate to replace these two batteries before there time is up, but I'll buy only one 520c, to get two agm's. Thanks for all the help everyone. Bruce. |
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| Trolling Thunder - 4/23/2008 6:24 PM
I got a MinnKota 3 bank thats 2 years old and the 3rd bank stopped working. I'm kicking myself I had a older Guest that worked fine and sold it because I wanted a 3 bank.
Minn Kota chargers have a 3 year warranty...I would get that fixed. |
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Posts: 223
Location: Minn. | I have a Minn Kota that had one bank go out and they repaired it. It works fine now. |
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| Lead Acid batterys don't have memory. That memory deal is for Nickel Hydride batteries or some such type of rechargeable batterys. Take care of that issue by going to ECell batterys.
I leave my charger plugged in year round, most of the time. I guess I've gotten the other perfect batteries. They usually last 4 or 5 years before I notice a dgradation in performance. The charger used does make a difference. Miss my Guest chargers. Way better than the Pro Mariners, IMO. |
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Posts: 434
Location: searchin for 50 | Thanks for all the input Esox maniac. I think we go through this every year but its always a good refresher course. |
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Posts: 57
| One more q for ya'll...Is an agm still a wet cell, it just as the plates protected from vibration? |
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Posts: 159
| http://www.engineersedge.com/battery/battery_knowledge_menu.shtml |
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Posts: 390
Location: Ohio | 440 - 4/24/2008 12:56 AM
Trolling Thunder - 4/23/2008 6:24 PM
I got a MinnKota 3 bank thats 2 years old and the 3rd bank stopped working. I'm kicking myself I had a older Guest that worked fine and sold it because I wanted a 3 bank.
Minn Kota chargers have a 3 year warranty...I would get that fixed.
Cool! I thought it was a 1 year warranty.
Thanks |
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