Usually,
by the end of October, many of the lakes have “turned over” for the
winter. Morning steam rising from the water indicates that the heat energy
stored in the lake from the long hours of summer daylight is beginning to
return once again to the atmosphere as the water begins its annual slumber
and ultimate renewal. There is perhaps still a little time left for one
final outing, but most – if not all – of you have taken your boats out of
the water and gotten them cleaned out, “winterized” and ready for next
spring’s trek back to your favorite fishing spots. You take very good
care of your boats, motors, poles, reels and other gear inside the boat.
But have you really taken the time to look after one of the most important
pieces of equipment that you have on board – your batteries?
Most of us
take our boat batteries for granted, in much the same manner as we do our
car batteries. I used to do that. In fact, I had a car that sat in the
warmth of the garage all winter. I thought that an occasional blast from
a charger would be enough to do the trick. Boy was I wrong. And the
result was a new battery about every other year – until, after a lecture
from my mechanic, I got a little bit smarter about batteries. Not unlike
young children, they require maintenance. Getting the right battery for
the intended task is only part of the story – keeping that battery healthy
with the proper charging and maintenance will ultimately ensure that you
will have the necessary power when you call for it!
Although I have found
that the subject of batteries and battery maintenance is a multi-faceted
subject that encompasses many different topics, I am going to limit my
discussion to a few of the most important “basics”. I will briefly
discuss:
Things that will
destroy a battery There are essentially
two things that will quickly and easily destroy your battery: 1)
undercharging it or 2) overcharging it. The majority of deep cycle and
starting batteries are lead-plate batteries filled with sulfuric acid.
Undercharging them will ultimately cause lead sulfate to accumulate on the
plates – this will eventually destroy the battery because the normal
chemical reaction will be unable to continue. Overcharging the battery
will accelerate the natural corrosion of the plates due to excess
electrons being literally boiled out of the electrolyte. Ultimately, the
fluid boils away and the plates are exposed to the air, which ruins them.
Battery Chargers Having said those
things, it should be somewhat obvious that it is extremely important to
use a proper charger to do the job of recharging your batteries! Most
chargers that are designed to charge you car batteries are not
designed to charge your boat batteries: they just don’t always completely
shut down. And how often do you think that you can remember to unplug
that cheap charger when things “look about right?” From what I have read,
a 3-stage charger – one that will totally shut off when the battery
has reached full charge – is your best buy. Without all the chemistry and
physics involved, batteries will do best on a regulated diet of amperes
and volts served up in the right amount… and in stages. There are three
stages: 1) bulk, 2) absorption and 3) float. The bulk stage is where a
battery is brought up to about 75-80% of capacity. Absorption is where
the voltage is constant but the amperage is tapered while the battery is
“topped off.” And finally, the float stage is where the voltage is just
enough to keep the battery from losing any charge. I’m sure that you are
aware of this, but a battery can lose – depending on how and where it is
stored – up to 30% of its charge per month – just sitting around
the house or garage! And there are all kinds of things that affect
battery charge and loss
thereof (like temperature, humidity, state of
discharge, age of battery, etc); most of us never consider any of them.
Does size really matter? Well… in a matter of speaking – yes! Try to get
a charger that is rated at about 15% of the battery’s amp-hour rating (a
battery with a 200 amp-hour rating would suggest the need for a 30 amp
charger).
Usually,
by the end of October, many of the lakes have “turned over” for the
winter. Morning steam rising from the water indicates that the heat energy
stored in the lake from the long hours of summer daylight is beginning to
return once again to the atmosphere as the water begins its annual slumber
and ultimate renewal. There is perhaps still a little time left for one
final outing, but most – if not all – of you have taken your boats out of
the water and gotten them cleaned out, “winterized” and ready for next
spring’s trek back to your favorite fishing spots. You take very good
care of your boats, motors, poles, reels and other gear inside the boat.
But have you really taken the time to look after one of the most important
pieces of equipment that you have on board – your batteries?
