Charging a Deep Cycle

[fishnowworknever]

I know this has probably been beaten to death, what is the preferred way of keeping a deep cycle maintained?

Who recharges after every time out, who charges after a full drain? I just picked up a new deep cycle and want to keep this one around as long as possible.

Thanks

[PerchJerker]

You need to recharge it as soon as you can, and should try to keep it at a full charge, either with an automatic charger that maintains the battery, or by checking on it periodically between uses. You do NOT want to wait until it's run down before recharging.

[BobT]

+1

Wouls also add to check electrolyte levels periodically and top off with distilled water when needed. Should only be filled to the bottom of the tube inside and should never be allowed to get low enough to expose the lead plates.

The best charger to use is a multi-phase charger incorporating at the very least the three following phases.

1. Bulk phase - allows the battery to draw high current to rapidly return it to a minimum voltage level, typically somewhere around 80%-90% capacity.

2. Absorption phase - voltage is held to a constant (14.2-15.5) until the battery reaches near full capacity.

3. Float phase – voltage output drops to about 13v and tops off the battery. This is a maintenance phase that will shut off the charger and restart it as needed to maintain the battery.

I believe most on-board chargers provide this type of recharging circuitry.

[fishnowworknever]

Perfect, this is what I was looking for.

Thank you both.