On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 07:10:03 GMT, "Calif Bill"
wrote:
Not that many cycles. I probably use the trolling motor 4-5 weekends a
year.
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That's not many cycles at all. There's a couple of things that will
extend life if you're not doing them already. Probably most important
is to avoid discharging more than 50% if at all possible. The 50%
level corresponds to about 11 volts under load, and it should bounce
back to about 11.2 or 11.3 in a short time under no load. Next, is to
always recharge promptly, preferably with a good quality 3 stage
charger which can recharge to 100% without cooking the batt. Last but
not least, consider using a couple of 6 volt golf cart batts wired in
series (assuming a 12v trolling motor). Golf cart batts are cheap,
have as much capacity as an 8D, and will take a LOT of deep
charge/recharge cycles. They are rated for about 400 cycles if not
discharged much past 50%.