battery charge question

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ROLAND
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Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:29 am

battery charge question

#1 Post by ROLAND » Tue May 05, 2020 11:30 pm

Hey guys, quick question for you.... The last time I fired up my boat was the fall of 2018.. yeah, I know right....We were trying to sell our house during the summer of 2019, and between people coming and going, not to mention the Louisiana heat, we just never got around to taking the boat out... So the boat ( and battery ) has been sitting at a storage place for about the last 18 to 20 months.. Battery was not on a charger.. To be honest I just plain forgot to bring it home and put it on a charger.. Anyway, my grand kids are coming up this weekend and if the weathers nice they want me to take them out on the lake. I went over the storage place and removed the battery, brought it home and put it on a Battery Tender in my garage.. No meters on the battery tender, just red or green light... The light stayed Red for about 15 hours and when I checked it later this evening it had turned green... decided to check the water levels in the battery, so I unplugged the battery tender while I did that.. 5 of the 6 cells looked fine, only 1 cell was "a little" low, but not bad at all.. Topped it off with some distilled water and put it back on the battery tender.. again, just the red light, which surprised me because the light was green just 20 minutes before.. Light is once again green.. so my question is do you think I can trust this battery out on the lake with my grand kids... I don't have a meter to "test" the battery, I just go by the red / green lights. The battery is just now 2 years old, Deka marine master 27m6. I'm worried that leaving the battery sit unattended for a year and a half could leave us stranded... your thoughts? If it's one of those 50-50 propositions, I'll just go buy another battery rather than take a chance. Appreciate your thoughts fellas. Y'all stay safe.
Roland & Jo
2010 Bennington 20 Sfi
Yamaha 75 4 Stroke
Shreveport, Louisiana

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steve1313
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Re: battery charge question

#2 Post by steve1313 » Wed May 06, 2020 2:32 am

I'd say you'll be fine, but since you've got it out of the boat already, drop by your local auto parts store and let them test it.
Steve
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Steiner
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Re: battery charge question

#3 Post by Steiner » Wed May 06, 2020 5:21 am

Some smart chargers will not turn on unless the battery voltage is at least 10.5V and I believe the standard Battery Tenders are like that. In that case, usually you can hook a "dumb" charger up to it for a few hours to get the voltage up and then put your "smart" charger on it to finish off. Also might want to think about a Battery MINDer. They have a desulfate mode and will maker your batteries last a lot longer. They'll also turn on at 3V instead of 10.5V. I run one on all my vehicles for a few days at least once a year, last battery I replaced was 10 years old. Even my $25 lawn mower battery is currently seven years old. I also keep a little $35 lithium ion jump starter on the boat and charge it every month just in case.
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onlybillhere
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Re: battery charge question

#4 Post by onlybillhere » Wed May 06, 2020 5:24 am

Deka's are good batteries so i think you will be good. Just a recommendation though, pick up a digital multimeter for your toolbox. it doesn't have to be expensive at all, just one that can read DC voltage, it will come in handy if you ever have to do any electrical on the boat. I picked this one up at my local Lowes: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Southwire-Pock ... /999970924 it's really small, has a case, and fits in my little toolbox on the boat.
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boocat
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Re: battery charge question

#5 Post by boocat » Wed May 06, 2020 6:47 am

Yeah, the little lithium jump packs are a no brainer these days.

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ROLAND
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Re: battery charge question

#6 Post by ROLAND » Wed May 06, 2020 10:47 am

Thanks to all for you replies.. I do appreciate it... I do have a jnc660 jump box that I could take out on the boat as a backup.. also like the idea of purchasing a " battery minder "... I've been using a battery tender. Is that the same thing? I've put a picture of what I've been using below...and never even entered my mind to stop at an auto parts store and have them check the battery.. I'll do that tomorrow.. that leads to another question....if I take my battery down to the auto parts store shortly after I take it off the battery tender, I would assume the charge on the battery would still be pretty good, so how long before having the battery tested should I take it off a charger to make sure it's a "truer" reading...
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Roland & Jo
2010 Bennington 20 Sfi
Yamaha 75 4 Stroke
Shreveport, Louisiana

Steiner
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Re: battery charge question

#7 Post by Steiner » Wed May 06, 2020 12:11 pm

The parts store will put a load on it to check its actual capacity. So, even if it reads ok with just a meter or even will start the boat once they should be able to tell if it's really good or not.

The Battery MINDer is different than a Battery Tender. It's got a desulfation mode that extends battery life, and has a temperature sensor so it adjusts charge based on conditions to keep from over or undercharging. Btw, I'm not trying to emphasize the minder part, that's just how they spell it haha.
2019 G3 SunCatcher V322 SS tritoon, Yamaha F200
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boocat
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Re: battery charge question

#8 Post by boocat » Wed May 06, 2020 12:43 pm

And of course the Minn Kota or Promariner onboard chargers are the super neato way.

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Bamby
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Re: battery charge question

#9 Post by Bamby » Wed May 06, 2020 4:35 pm

My batteries are getting older also. But what I intend to do is purchasing one of the battery jump packs that are available. I read references where they do work and work well. Why replace a perfectly good battery because its got some age to it when it could possibly last a few more years. Put the jump pack in the boat and go about enjoying your day knowing the most you'll experience battery wise is a bit of inconvenience.
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ROLAND
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Re: battery charge question

#10 Post by ROLAND » Fri May 08, 2020 5:39 pm

Just wanted to follow up on the battery post.... and to thank you guys for your input... as someone on here suggested, I ended up taking the battery to an Interstate battery distributor ( where I buy batteries for my cars ). Young man I always deal with checked it out... Told me there was no need to buy another.. even though the battery is 2 years old, it tested at 13.1 volts, all the cells were good and it tested out at 850 cca's, which is what it's rated at. I had always heard that Deka was a good marine battery.. it's nothing special, just a starting battery, but I was sure after leaving it sit in the boat for well over a year without being used or charged that it would be toast. The good news, havent had my boat in the water but now that the grand kids are on their way up for the weekend ( haven't seen those boogers in 9 weeks ) we are hitting the lake saturday afternoon... thanks again guys, I sure appreciate your help. Have a safe weekend.
Roland & Jo
2010 Bennington 20 Sfi
Yamaha 75 4 Stroke
Shreveport, Louisiana

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TWB
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Re: battery charge question

#11 Post by TWB » Fri May 08, 2020 6:45 pm

ROLAND wrote:
Fri May 08, 2020 5:39 pm

the grand kids are on their way up for the weekend ( haven't seen those boogers in 9 weeks ) we are hitting the lake saturday afternoon...
Hey, Roland, hope you have a great time with the grandkids!

-Paul
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Rick McC.
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Re: battery charge question

#12 Post by Rick McC. » Fri May 08, 2020 7:43 pm

Glad things worked out well for you; I was pretty sure that they would.

I often get six years+ out of my batteries, and never less than four years, so your two year old battery is barely broke in! :mrgreen:
Rick

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