FINALLY!!!

[Poopdeck 0]

After a very mild winter and three weeks of perfect spring temperatures but hard rains that had the river flooded and raging, I finally got out today To kick off Shad 2017! River was still high, stained and debri filled but we determined it to fishable largely because I have been chomping at the but to get out.

 

For those unfamiliar with American shad, they live in salt water and spawn in freshwater. In eastern pa on the Delaware river shad are our salmon or steelheads. They taste like crap but they are a hard fighting fish and a blast to catch.

 

My first trip should have been around the last week in March not the middle of April but anywho the first trip is in the books with 14 in the boat and one escapee. Not great numbers but it's FINALLY a start.

[Dave G. 0]

Sounds good to me !

 

My boat needs a battery, so not taking it out just yet. I charge it up and it's down to 25% the next morning. I know what the next step is, it won't take a charge at all,or it lets us down on the water someplace. So it's done.

[cphubert 0]

Good to see the start, it will be a short wait for us on the Connecticut River. American shad, poor man's salmon. Poopdeck ever try a red glass bead in front of your fly?

[Poopdeck 0]

Nothing is worse than having to buy new batteries. They cost a lot of money. All my battery woes ended when I got an on board battery charger. Get home, park the boat and plug it in. This simple thing doubled, maybe tripled, the life of my batteries.

 

I put this in the lodge because I don't fly fish for shad. All hardware to include downriggers, diving/planing disks and hookless crankbaits with a flutter spoon.

[Dave G. 0]

Marine batteries suck, expensive and really don't last all that great IMO. Course, it's the down time I suppose. I do periodic charges on my mine during the off times. Generally two over the winter on slow charge . But I knew last year this battery was not up to snuff, I just wasn't expecting to do brakes on the car right when I'm wanting the boat LOL ! $117 for the battery for my boat it seems. Could be worse.

[mikechell 0]

Just keep in mind ... Marine deep cycle batteries, used as starting batteries, will not last. Starting batteries, used like a deep cycle battery, will not last.

 

Starting batteries are designed for high amperage, rapid discharge, and an equally rapid charge. Lots of thin plates, lots of surface area. Easy to heat up and just as easy to cool down.

 

Deep cycle batteries are designed for lower amperage, slow and long duration discharges and equally slow charging. The plates are thicker, more "robust" with a little less surface area. They do not like high heat build up and can not cool off well. Quick discharging and charging can break down the plates due to heat build up. Deep cycle batteries, actually, should not be hooked up to alternators, since they do not actually trickle charge.

 

The worst thing you can do with any battery, is to leave it in a discharged state. The chemical reaction that is "discharging", actually creates a molecule (seed) of crystalline material. If left on the plate, the crystal will continue to grow. Once it grows into a crystal, it cannot be converted back ... that part of the plate is permanently disabled.

[Bimini15 0]

One question. Once I heard somebody say that you can break down those crystals by what amounted to electrical shock to the battery. It sounded hokey to me, but do I know... What say you, Mike?

[mikechell 0]

This is the best way I can describe, with pictures. I do this on the white board for my students.

This is based on a lead/acid battery, but all batteries work similarly.

[Poopdeck 0]

I've heard of people shocking their tool battery packs but never a marine battery. I sure wouldn't try it because, if it does work, it can't be a long term fix and batteries can be quite explosive. I'll say it again, the on board charger is a battery game changer. It charges slowly and tapers off to nothing. It maintains the batteries at peak charge conditions. Prior to the on board charger I would pull the batteries and charge them before a trip. Most of the time they sat there discharging because it's a pain the neck to pull the batteries. Based on my non scientific uneducated personal observations and experiences with marine batteries, I would say mike nailed it and provided a reason as to why.

 

I got two batteries and have a two bank on board charger. It's without question the best thing I ever bought for a boat and it took me 25 years and a boatload of marine batteries before I finally bought it. It would be the first thing I buy should I ever get another boat.

[Bimini15 0]

So there is some truth to it, but it is not a practical solution. It came up in a "if the battery is dead anyway, might as well try" context.

[mikechell 0]

Yes, Bimini ... but Poopdeck's warning of, "... they can be quite explosive." is to be taken very seriously. Charging and discharging both release oxygen and hydrogen into the liquid solution. Some of those gases do not reach the opposite plate and "outgas". Hydrogen and Oxygen have been used for rocket fuel ... and an explosion of them in an enclosed area can level buildings.

 

ALWAYS charge batteries in well ventilated areas.

[Dave G. 0]

I just need a new battery and I know enough to buy a cranking battery for a starting situation. The spec on my Optimax is 800ca and the interstate Marine crank has either 1000 or 1100cca.

 

I ran a commercial fleet repair department for 44 years. One of the constant battles was lift gate batteries on commercial trailers. Two high end cranking batteries were used to best match the tractors charging system ( it was the system spec) and give them quick recovery between stops. The pair of batteries delivered over 3200 CCA. We would get about two years per set out of them and then be on shaky ground, depend how bad the driver was about running them down . A good cranking battery can take about 5 deep discharges before it says screw you ( for those who want to use their cranking battery for the electric trolling motor). And as Mike says ,if left in the discharge state , That's the worst thing. Drivers being drivers, well anyway we won't go there. Suffice it to say that the lift gates could be run down and up a few times, then you started to pull the batteries down if the vehicle wasn't running to backup the charge. Hah, and the company engaged the computer based auto shut downs after 5 minutes idle run time, thinking they would save fuel. Many of the guys knew to engage the cruise control at 1100 rpm and the engine would stay running while they off loaded. Many did not.

[Bimini15 0]

Don't mean to hijack. Just to be clear, not advocating for shocking batteries to revive them. Never done it. Just something I heard once.

[Dave G. 0]

People used to use epsom salt in a futile effort to get a few more cranks out of their long shot batteries. It stirred up the sediment but did nothing for the warped and deteriorated plates. Course today with maintenance free batteries these self deceiving tactics can't be performed. So shocking must be the latest and greatest. Mike demonstrated clearly beyond words ( pictures can be like that) why it doesn't work. When a battery is kaput, it's going down for the count, if not already there.

[Saltybum 0]

Bimini I got instructions a while back on how to revive tool batteries. I didn't have quite the right setup to give them the proper blast but it did work,

however for only a few seconds on my drill. I gave up and bought new ones.