Battery question - how much water?

[Kuba]

This my trolling battery, should these be full??? I can only run my 55lb terrova about an hour at full speed on auto pilot. The battery came with the boat, the previous owner did not remove them from the boat for winters. It charges fine etc, but after about an hour of trolling its at 25%. There us no marks inside the cells.

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[NitroMusky]

Can't tell from the pic, but read this.

http://www.batteries-faq.com/activekb/q ... estionid=6

Also, how old is the battery? Should be a date marked on it, usually punched out of the sticker on top...if its more than a few years old, and particularly if it wasn't maintained properly by charging it religously EACH TIME shortly after using it, then they will progressively loose their ability to take a charge and you will have a battery that will not last as long.

BUT...Keep in mind that your 12v TM is not likely to last too much more than an hour or two on full blast, so dont expect miracles from a new battery either. The terrova with the digital maximizer will however do nicely if running less than full bore. For instance, at half power it will last 2x as long (5 speeds that use a resistor burn about the same juice no matter what power setting you use) so you do have that in your favor...but maybe you knew that already

Good luck!

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[Kuba]

Previous owner used the boat 4 times, so i have a feeling that he simply.....let it sit none of the cells are exposed, so as you said .... Its simply loosing its charge i guess...

How would a capacity test do? Like they do at auto repair centers?

The place where these holes were supposed to be punched out is untoutched no marks there.

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[NitroMusky]

My experience with those testers is that they are spotty at best for testing load (like a starter battery) but not even worth your time for capacity (if they even have one for that on a deep cycle). I had a car battery that tested fine but wouldn't hold a charge more than a day...

I'm sure there is some way you could hook up something with a known amp/hr draw and see how long it lasts then do the math vs. its rated amps but that seems like overkill. If you're going an hour + on it at a steady speed, then it still clearly still works fine. the question is what percentage have you lost 5? 25?...50? And is it worth it to you to drop the coin on a new one to be sure you've got all the run time you can... When its good and dead you'll know it: It will loose its oomph in short order once you start running the TM.

I replaced mine the year after I got the boat. The batterys were a few years old, I didn't know if the previous owner kept the trickle charger on all the time or if he even charged em properly. They worked 'ok' but lost some 'top end' after about 15 minutes, if I recall. Put two new ones in and knew exactly what fresh batteries should do, so from then on I have a point of reference. I always charge as soon as I get home and always keep em plugged in (auto trickle charge function on the charger). I bring my extension cord(s) when I travel too

Not sure if that helps but I think its really a judgement call at this point as to whether you bite the bullet now or wait....call interstate, see what they cost and go from there. At least you only have one to replace! Lol

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[Kuba]

Thank you for all the replies, I think I will keep using it, it is my 'trolling only battery. I used my trolling motor few times when I was fishing in lake Ontario. It is quite convenient to be able set auto pilot(it has a gps built in) and setup downriggers wonder around the boat or simply take a leak:) im really curious how it will perform in smaller lakes. I was only getting about 1.7mph in the big O. I assume there was current + wind that made difference. I know it is not a trolling motor for such water bodies.

Coming back to the battery thread, spoke to few people and they said I should be able to use it for most of the day. I doubt that the guy who owned the boat ever took care of it. Was thinking of getting a blue optima.

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[NitroMusky]

Are you planning on using it primarily for casting or also trolling? A full day casting, yes it should last just fine, given that you will be going well below max speeds generally. Trolling is a different story though.

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[Kuba]

What speed do i have to maintain for wallye & musky trolling? I'm new to this

I mainly fished bass before, but since i got hooked big time on downrigger trolling i would love to try smaller lake trolling

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[NitroMusky]

Well, muskie you won't really be able to use your TM for, other than maybe for autopilot in conjunction with your big motor. They typically are 3 up to 5+ mph. Late nov maybe as low as 2-2.5.

Eyes you can use the TM for, as they are more like 1.5-2.5 depending whether you're pulling harnesses or lures. But you're still probably only looking at a few hrs at the upper end of that speed range, less if you're pulling hard divers like dypsies.

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[jimski2]

Trickle chargers can kill a battery, it just takes longer. Use distilled water only as the calcium In tap water ruins the acid. The three stage chargers are the way to go, my battru is plugged in 365 days a year, never needs water and is five years old going strong.

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[NitroMusky]

Nothing wrong with a trickle charger other than they are usually the 'stupid' kind that don't know when the battery is full and just keep charging vs. the ones built into the more $$ chargers that will only top off as needed

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