Sealed lead acid battery?

[protiller]

Question for you all. This winter I purchased a new battery for the vex. I use a smart charger to prevent over charging and only get three to four hours out of my battery. The battery I purchased last winter didn't perform much better. The battery I purchased 5 years ago holds a charge longer than the two new batteries. Is it a hit or miss situation when you purchase these batteries? How long does a fully charged battery last before one needs to recharge it?

[Surface Tension]

You should be getting around 20 hours out of a 7amp battery.

[Mueske]

OK, I know I should know the answer but if you get a new 7 amp battery and you don't yet have any guage for it, how long should the initial charge be? A ballpark figure please? Is there any rule of thumb for recharging after each day's use? Thanks.

Kevin

[Surface Tension]

Depends on the charger. I have one that charges at 500mA. If my battery was dead it would take 14 hours to charge. If I fish for 10 hours I'd charge the battery for around 8 hours.

My MarCum charges at 1 amp so it would take 7 hours to charge a 7amp hour battery that was dead. The MarCum charger shuts off when the battery is fully charged so I leave it on over night.

[RogersResort]

I use a battery status indicator, Vexilar make a pretty good one.

[iffwalleyes]

I am confused if you have a smart charger I assume that you are charging it till it shuts down. As long as you are using a 7 amp battery that should do the trick. So since I assume that is what you are doing I would guess that the smart charger itself must me messed up so that is it turning off the charger before the battery is charged. This year with my marcum I have been very happy with the digital charger system that it came with you can buy one from them as well. All of you electrical guys correct me if I am wrong but you should be able to take a electrical meter and set it to DC 12 volt and test the end of the clips coming out of the charger and then test the battery when the battery is full charged it should match what you had coming from the clips. But I am thinking that your smart charge is messed up have you been using it on the battery that you bought last year too. I can run all day around 10 hrs with my marcum and and the end of the day my indicator will be between 40-60% charge.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
[email protected]

[protiller]

Thanks for the replys. Originally I thought it might be the smart charger, but here's another wrench to throw in the mix. I have a charger that has an indicator on it when the battery is at full charge. So then I thought it might be the charger. Well, sice everytime you buy a new battery one gets a charger I tried the other two chargers. Same result everytime, poor battery performance. Since a Vex has a motor will it draw a battery down faster?

[can it be luck?]

I had bought a couple replacement batterys for my flasher, either one holds a charge as well as the original battery that came with the flasher...Just something to think about.

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http://groups.msn.com/canitbeluck

[Northlander]

I have a Vex and I have the battery status gauge on it. I plug in the battery to the Vex charger and let it sit over night. Usually about 10 hrs. I have never ran out of juice and I fish for 12 hours at some times.

[iffwalleyes]

your motor shouldn't have anything to do with it. Because everyone with a Vex or Marcum can run for 10-12 hours with no problem. Have you just tried charging without the smart charger? Use that charger that has an indicator on it that is all you should need really don't need a smart charge. I have had one vex battery for over 4 years and have never used any kind of auto shut off on it just plain charger and I monitor it with the Vex battery indicator. Another question where are you storing your battery when not in use. If you leave it in a cold garage or in you vechile it will affect the battery life bring it in someplace that is warm and store it there. You multi meter should read around 12-13 volts when fully charged.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by iffwalleyes (edited 01-15-2004).]

[protiller]

I have always stored my batteries in the house. Can you see how this problem has me confused? I store them indoors, charged just the battery (with multiple chargers), charged the battery with the smart charger.

[iffwalleyes]

yep that is a confussing one for sure. I still think that it is something to do with that smart charger unit.

------------------
Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
[email protected]

[JP Z]

I'd say go to your local Radio Shack and get a voltage meter. That way you can tell what volt your batteries are at. They could just be DEAD! But the Voltage Meter/Multimeter are a very handy tool to have around.

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Tight Lines,

JP Z

[Scott1064]

I've had similar battery problems. I've started purchasing batteries from Interstate and they seem to last much longer than others I've used.

[MNice]

I do what jpz says, works great!

[Dusty]

I have a smart charger also and I have noticed that I wasn't getting the run time on it that I should. I began charging it directly to the battery and lo and behold it lasts much longer. The smart charger don't bring the battery to peak charge, at least mine won't.