Battery charging advice

[Karl]

Hi All,

I was just wanting some adivce regarding ongoing charging of a deep cycle battery.

I did a search of the site and found some good advice, particularly these comments by JP:

The battery maintenance rules are simple:

Do not discharge the battery below 20% of it's capacity. If you do then the plates in a lead acid battery will sulphate even more rapidly and the battery will be stuffed in no time.

Use a multi stage smart charger. A smart charger will detect what charge phase to input and protect the battery from further sulphation. ie: if the battery is 40% discharged it will start off on full boost quickly settling to a topup and then finally a float charge.

Always try to recharge your battery within 24hrs to help stop sulphation.

Thanks JP

What I would also like to know is:

Once your battery is fully charged, should you leave it hooked up to your battery charger permaently until you go out again??

or should you disconnect it once the battery is fully charged??

I have a Trojan 130amp/h deep cycle battery and will have a 10amp 3 stage MinnKota battery charger.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Karl

[Karl]

Just in case this is of any help to anyone else, I seem to have answered my own question. I found this info. on the MinnKota web site:

Will I fry my batteries if I leave the charger plugged in over long periods of non-use (like storage)?

No. Minn Kota’s on-board chargers (ie. 3 stage type charger) float the battery voltage between 13.2V and 13.5V in the “maintenance” stage (3rd stage). This will allow you to keep your battery charger plugged in for long periods of time without “boiling the battery dry.” Note: It is important to check the electrolyte level approximately every 30 days. Batteries should be filled after charging and the electrolyte level should be even in all cells and below the fill well in each cell. If the battery plates are exposed before charging, then add just enough water to cover the plates. If the battery is overfilled before charging, then it may overflow during charging.

Can I leave my Minn Kota charger plugged in all the time?
Yes, but the electrolyte level should be checked every 30 days.