brianmurphy
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That 20 milliamps correct? Isn’t that an acceptable amount of parasitic amperage draw?
I personally am happy if I get 5 trouble-free years and I replace before the start of the 6th season. It won’t work for you, but I also staggered their purchase, so I am swapping in a new battery every 2-years. Gives me more confidence and peace of mind that I have good batteries on my rigs.Fishrman said:... thinking about 6 or 7 years old. I don't want to have battery issues so was thinking I might replace all of them.
Thanks for the tips and great help! These I have are from Walmart too. Must be the place to get them? I have a good mechanical friend that tells me he is lucky to get 2 years out of his Interstate Batteries and was amazed when I told him how old mine were.DaleH said:I personally am happy if I get 5 trouble-free years and I replace before the start of the 6th season. It won’t work for you, but I also staggered their purchase, so I am swapping in a new battery every 2-years. Gives me more confidence and peace of mind that I have good batteries on my rigs.Fishrman said:... thinking about 6 or 7 years old. I don't want to have battery issues so was thinking I might replace all of them.
Load testing will tell you if viable, where most auto centers will test them for FREE. Some say you can load them yourself by monitoring the voltage whilst cranking while your starter is engaged for “up to 30-seconds”, but I don’t like that method. It has too many variables, which could give you a false sense of confidence and you really shouldn’t crank on your starter for 30-seconds like that.
Reading the electrolyte with a hydrometer is a good way, but even a voltage (DMM) reading can help you gauge the condition, as the voltage of a battery is a good way to determine the state of charge. Here's some voltage data for you:
State of Charge / Voltage
100% / 12.7 - 13.2
75% / 12.4
50% / 12.2
25% / 12.0
Discharged / 0 - 11.9
-If your battery reads 0 volts, chances are it experienced a short.
-If it cannot reach higher than 10.5 volts when being charged, then the battery has a dead cell.
-If fully charged (according to the battery charger, NOT your meter) but the voltage reads 12.4 or less, then the battery is sulfated and it will NOT recover.
I keep my old batteries (usable, but not in my boats) for 12V backup to my sump pumps, plus any other dead ones or whatever to avoid the core exchange charge.
I use the Walmart batteries on my boats and at one time my brothers & I had ... oh my God ... 8 or more boats between us? And some with 2 V6 OB motors and 3 batteries each, plus I take care of a fleet of up to 20 skiffs for my boat club and all use Walmart batteries. They are made by Johnson Controls, who also makes the Optima gel cell batteries. I like that they are marked with the date of manufacture and we have never, ever got a bad one.
Thanks---I will probably make a trip to Walmart tomorrow but might try to see what voltage they are testing at before I do.richg99 said:6-7 years.. Especially the starting battery.... would have been replaced a long time ago on my boat. But, I fish in places where getting a tow home might take quite a wait during the weekdays.
If you can have a local auto place or Walmart load test the other batteries you might squeeze another season out. Personally, they would all be replaced right now if I had your situation.
Maybe a good way to think about it is:richg99 said:Voltage readings...not under load....mean very little.
OK, thanks! Since they are 7 years old and I really don't want to take much more chance with them dying on me when I don't want them dead, I went ahead and bought a 1000 cranking amp battery from Walmart along with 2 deep cycle 29's with 122 Amps. These are the same batteries I had in previously that I got 7 years out of so thought I should stay with them. Thanks!DaleH said:Wait > 24 hours to test after charging. And no, a trolling motor is not a load test.
May even be a better idea than the Lithium jumper pack I carry with me.richg99 said:Well done. Add a set of jumper cables in the boat and you are set for any emergency, yours or someone else's.
Fishrman said:May even be a better idea than the Lithium jumper pack I carry with me.richg99 said:Well done. Add a set of jumper cables in the boat and you are set for any emergency, yours or someone else's.
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