Vexi Charging Question

[bturck]

I know you are supposed to charge the old Vexi up after every use, however if I only used it for 2-3 hours would you still charge it? Doesn't that deplete the overall depth of the charge? If I've used it all day I will definitley throw the charger on it. Just looking for your thoughts. Thanks Guys. Bill

[Bigfife]

I have two batteries and I run each one until it is dead. If I know I need more than one day of battery life then I charge them both up.

[borchawk1]

I only charge it when it gets down to 50-20% or less, been doing it for 3 years and the battery is still doing great. The Aqu-View is another story, they must fry batteries because I'm on the second one in 2 years.

[kais24]

I bought one of the marcum digital readout chargers and if you just hook up the battery it will give you a % of charge that the battery has. If it's below 100% just plug it in and it tops it off and has automatic shutoff. It's pretty slick! I'm glad I spent the $30.

[gman2002]

if i fish for 4 hours i would charge it for 4 hours , i always would charge it for how long i fished for ! i've had the same vex battery for 5 years now, still plenty left after 8 - 10 hours of fishing, probably the next day also. might not be the right thing to do , but it has worked fine for me.

[andy j]

With a Vexilar you should be able to get a least three four hours trips out of a full charge as long as the battery is in good shape and has been maintained. I have a marcum and it seems to drain a little faster, I think because of the added power Marcum has. I ran a Vex. Fl-8 for 5 years and always got a least 3 shorter trips before I had to recharge.

[Guest]

My vex battery is 4 years old and I can go 6-7 hours with no problem and I charge it when Iam done fishing and charge like gman2002 for time used, hasnt failed me yet.

[Giant_Jackpot]

Here is the scoop on the Vexilar type batteries. Since I used to work for a company that made smart chargers for these types of batteries, I can say the info I am giving you is good stuff.

First of all, the batteries are sealed lead acid and just like the battery in your car, they like to be charged. Charge the battery after each use and you can get them to last 4 or more years. The worst thing you can do to a lead acid battery is run it down and not charge it as soon as possible. Also charge the battery every month or so during the off season.

With that said, the cheap chargers that come with these batteries will cook the battery and shorten its life if you leave charger on the battery for extended periods. If you really want to take care of the battery, connect a voltmeter to the battery during charging. When the battery reaches about 14.8 volts disconnect the charger. Otherwise don’t leave the charger connected for more than 24 hours (unless the charger is a smart charger).

The smart chargers are a good idea if they are doing the right thing. They should charge the battery to about 14.8 volts and then drop into a maintenance or float mode at about 13.2 volts.

As far as the LED battery indicators go, don’t believe everything you see. The components used in an inexpensive device like this can have tolerance swings of up to 20%. On a properly charged battery, one indicator may read fully charged while another might say ¾. Just something to keep in mind.

Let me know if you have any other questions.........

[anyfishwilldo]

I usually charge mine after 10- 12 hrs of use. I got a charger/maintainer at Batteries +, so I can just hook it up, and forget about it. This battery is 3y/o, and I have never been good about charging it after every use, and I can get ~18-22 hrs out of it. I also agree with the previous post on the camera batteries. My OVS500 seems to be hard on batteries.

[bturck]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. Much appreciated.

Giant Jackpot: What brand or type of charger would you recommend and where can it be purchased that would charge the unit and then go into a so called trickle mode rather than frying it? I currently use the charger that came with the Vex, but it would be nice to have it shut down automatically when charged to full capacity. thanks for your insight and explanation. Bill

[Dry_Fly]

Vexilar makes a charger that shuts off when fully charged it's called a model V-300 automatic charger. Do a internet search for it can get a decent price, think I paid $25.00 for mine off the internet but I forget which site I ordered it from.

[TRITC]

bturk,

Giant is talking about The Smart Charger (that's the name of it). I have one and love it. I got mine at Gander.

TRITC

[Giant_Jackpot]

Quote:

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bturk,

Giant is talking about The Smart Charger (that's the name of it). I have one and love it. I got mine at Gander.

TRITC

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Yup

[EBass]

Nice informative post GJ! Now about them pike.

I have a multimeter that I check my vex bettery with on a regular basis, since I seem to fry batteries often! Any ways, I take my "cheap" charger that came with the FL-18 and get it to about 13.XX volts then take it off. I'll leave it on a bit longer, or maybe that's the max my battery will go, like 13.20 volts? Any ways I thought for every hour of use to charge double that. 4 hours of use = 8 hours of charge time. Kinda a general rule. I thought that was in the video that came with the FL-18.

[spearchucker]

Quote:

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Nice informative post GJ! Now about them pike.

I have a multimeter that I check my vex bettery with on a regular basis, since I seem to fry batteries often! Any ways, I take my "cheap" charger that came with the FL-18 and get it to about 13.XX volts then take it off. I'll leave it on a bit longer, or maybe that's the max my battery will go, like 13.20 volts? Any ways I thought for every hour of use to charge double that. 4 hours of use = 8 hours of charge time. Kinda a general rule. I thought that was in the video that came with the FL-18.

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That is if you have a 500mA charger (which most are) which is 1/2 Amp. A completely dead 7 amp/hr battery will take about 14 hours to charge with a 500mA (.5Amp) charger.

[Giant_Jackpot]

Well, you are correct on the math but one thing to remember is that those chargers will taper off the current as the voltage gets higher so it doesn’t work out quite as nice as you describe but it is close enough for government work. You guys are both on the right track by not overcharging and that is the key to long battery life.

[bturck]

Thanks again guys, really appreciate all of your posts and input. Bill

[vikingmeatwad]

Do you guys think the batteryminder smart charger/maintainer is much better than the other chargers for $30 at gander?

Thanks for all the great info!

[Giant_Jackpot]

What other chargers are you refering to?