Starting again.....batteries and Charger

[yellahunter]

Hey all,

well im finally getting back into fishing after a few personal dramas.

I havent had the boat out for 2 years so teh batteries havent been charged at all....they have just sat in the boat

The ex pinched my charger so im in the market for a new one,

can anyone tell me:

1. would the batteries be dead? or possibly still ok?

(they are 105ah deep cycle i think) not the sealed ones

2. what sort of charger can i get away with?

any tips appreciated,

Ben Darmody

[JarrydA]

Hey all,

well im finally getting back into fishing after a few personal dramas.

I havent had the boat out for 2 years so teh batteries havent been charged at all....they have just sat in the boat

The ex pinched my charger so im in the market for a new one,

can anyone tell me:

1. would the batteries be dead? or possibly still ok?

(they are 105ah deep cycle i think) not the sealed ones

2. what sort of charger can i get away with?

any tips appreciated,

Ben Darmody

Your best bet would be to get a CTEK charger mate. Great charger and they have a recondition function that bring alot of old dodgy batteries back from the dead.

[crazywalrus]

I would go a Cteck 250? It has a reconditioning mode.If they can be saved it will be able to do it. Doubtful though if left of charge for 2 years. Not good for batteries.

[yellahunter]

thanks guys,

what about the ctek m100?

i see its a bit cheaper,

everything is starting to add up,

i gotta try to keep costs down having just bought a new car to tow the boat haha

[crazywalrus]

It looks like it has the same functions as the 200 has. The only issue is if you are using the leccy each day for a period as the 100 is 7 Amp as different to the 15 Amp. It will take longer than the night to recharge the batteries ready for the next day. If I had the cash when i bought mine I would have bought the 300. Look around for pricing as they can vary a lot in the order of hundreds

[yellahunter]

ok sweet, ill go for the 200

now...i gotta find the best price,

thanks for the help,

cant wait to get back on the water

[crazywalrus]

this is a link to a forum member's site

/>http://www.reeltackle.com.au/index.php?option=com_ixxocart&Itemid=115&p=product&id=17967&parent=394&vendorid=2

I am not an electrician so make sure you verify my maths on whether or not it will charge over night. My understanding is 7amp per hour so 105 amp will take 13 hours to charge from empty but you do not take them any where near empty when using them. I have a two batteries so I need to charge both of them over night each night.

[Eug]

I have a 7 amp CTEK (XS7000, older model). Hard pressed draining a 100 amp AGM with a 54lb bow mount on a 4.2m boat all day on the dams. Also for holding position against current/correcting my drift. Probably use about half.

If you plan on running the electric all day for trolling then maybe go for a bigger charger to allow for the off chance you'll increase your battery capacity in future. You'd also have to consider if you plan on fishing two days back to back.

A FULL 105 amp charge will take about 15-18 hours as the unit scales down to a trickle charge as it nears capacity. Go for the larger unit if you can afford it, even if it means waiting a little longer. That said the 7 amp will do you just fine as well.

8 hour overnight charge @ 7 amps will top up around 49 amps.

8 hour overnight charge @ 15 amps should give you 105 amps.

Of course these times can vary depending on temperature, if it's too hot the unit's thermal control will reduce output. Increasing charge time.

[rayke1938]

I can give you a loan of a charger to see if the batterys will accept a charge. Pick up from redland bay.

0403072325

Cheers

Ray

[yellahunter]

Hey eug thanks for the tips,

I think I'll go for the 200 looking at the info as I fish hinze a bit and run the bow mount a lot.

Ray thanks so much for the offer,

Ill just buy a charger, ill need one anyway so no biggy,

If they charge up its a bonus, if not ill have to get a couple of new ones,

Cheers,

Ben

[dassa]

Hey all,

well im finally getting back into fishing after a few personal dramas.

I havent had the boat out for 2 years so teh batteries havent been charged at all....they have just sat in the boat

The ex pinched my charger so im in the market for a new one,

can anyone tell me:

1. would the batteries be dead? or possibly still ok?

(they are 105ah deep cycle i think) not the sealed ones

2. what sort of charger can i get away with?

any tips appreciated,

Ben Darmody

Hey Ben I have some news for you..........and it's probly going to be BAD spent nearly 10years in the battery industry AND I WOULD BE VERY SUPRISED if they are not stuffed mate and you should use starting batteries for starting and yes people are going to say MMIINNNEEE WORK FINE but I can tell you there not,cycling batteries for all your electronics and electric motor and starting batteries to start you motor. I would also recommend a C-TEK CHARGER as I have found they are the most reliable on the market and all round size would be a 15amp as they will charge you larger deep cycle batteries as well as your starting batteries and won't over charge you batteries and are safe enough to leave your batteries on 24 hours a day and won't harm you batteries as they only charge your batteries when they need charging. pm sent

[yellahunter]

Thanks dassa,

[Binder]

Your looking for a charger that will go about 10% of your battery size. (eg if you have 100ah batteries, 10amp charger) That will give you an overnight charge from 20% to full no worries. Go smaller and you might not get a good charge, bigger if not to much bigger or if your not getting your batteries to low, but if they are glass and your going down to 20 or 30%, you risk damaging them if trying to put to much juice in at once. (more than 15-20% of the battery capacity).

Try putting those old batteries on an equalizing charge for a few days, you never know your luck.