Rechargng a deep cycle battery

[Troller]

Hi all,
I have an older regular 12-10 amp auto battery charger with a 'trickle charge' switch on it. I am wondering if this charger, switched to trickle, is adequate enough to charge up my deep cycle battery for my trolling motor?

Thanks,
Daver

[troutnmuskiehunter]

Most trickle chargers charge at 2A...this is recommended for deep cycle batteries so I believe your old charger would do the trick....

[beeman]

I do this all the time for my batteries running electric fences for bears. It is a better charge for the battery than a faster charge.

[Fisher Dude]

Had the same question - thanks for the posts! Is a deep cycle good enough to run three things:
1. Fish Finder
2. Running lights (small 14' tinny)
3. And say a 40lb thrust trolling motor?

[troutnmuskiehunter]

The question is how long do you want to run those items on the battery before recharging??

I have a 40lb Minn Kota Maxxum and I can get around 18hrs of use before having to recharge but that's also dependant on the wind conditions, speed of trolling, and weight factor of the boat.

I can't use my 565 Hummingbird sonar on the same battery as the Minn Kota as I get too much noise for some reason...I just bought an Energizer lawn tractor battery at Walmart on sale for $21.00 just for the Fish Finder and it works great...I used it for 6hrs on Sunday and it was still at 98% charge.

Hope this helps....

[mikemicropterus]

you can charge the battery and you will charge the battery BUT you may decrease the live of the battery because the "trickle" charge is unregulated meaning that when the battery is fully charged the charger will not shut off or float to maintain a fully charged level rather it will continually try to force 2 amps into a fully charged battery and it will boil the electrolyte.

A "deep cycle" charger, most are automatic, will do the charging automatically and will float when the battery is fully charged thus negating the negative effects of overcharging which can decrease battery live by 20% easily.

Always check electrolyte level FIRST before charging
Always use distilled water to refill(make sure not to overfill the electrolyte, as it will expand when charging) not city or well water.

[beeman]

You actually have to watch all older chargers. Some of them do not have an auto switch off even at the faster charge (10 amps). You just need to keep an eye on them and turn them off when they are done.

[OBD]

Same type of question: I recently bought a charger for my deep cycle battery and I charged it at 10A. I also have 12a and 2a... Which is better to charge the battery? Should I stick to 10A or go to 2A?

Thanks,

Nod

[troutnmuskiehunter]

What make of charger is it Nod?....

I bought a Nautilus Digital charger last year and it has a built in microprocessor that senses the battery/charging status and then adjusts the the charge rate...when the charge reaches 100% it goes into a "float-mode" so overcharging can't occur.... I always select 2A when recharging my Deep Cycle or small ATV battery.

[Tomcat]

Nodie:

The recommended charge rate will depend entirely on your battery. Gel Cell and some AGM batteries may require a special charging rate. Consequently, look at the spec sheet for your battery to ascertain the recommended charge rate. If you are unable to find the spec sheet, you can't hurt the battery charging it at 2 amps as long as you don't over charge the battery.