Old Batter Issue

This may have been covered somewhere before, but I thought I would ask for some info. I have a marine battery that hasn't been used in a couple of years. Its been stored in a basement. Do you guys think this battery is shot? Is there any harm/danger in charging it to see how much charge it accepts and holds? Is there anything I could do to improve the battery's performance? I would be using this battery for a small TM and fishfinder on my crawdad. Thanks. Any info is appreciated.

If you have an Auto Zone or Advanced Auto Parts near you, you can take it there and I believe they'll do a free load test on it to see if it's still good.

nick,
I would check the fluid levels op off where needed (distilled water) charge it up and take it to pepboys or advance auto. They can put a load test on it and tell you if i is shot or not no harm in trying


Wayne

Thanks for the quick response guys. What do you think the likelyhood is that it will still perform well?

nicdicarlo said:

Thanks for the quick response guys. What do you think the likelyhood is that it will still perform well?

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lol slim. if all you are using it for is your depth finder and a small trolling motor you could use a tractor battery it did he job for me on my dad i had the big battery in the back of the boat for moving spot to spot

The most important part of any battery is a great charger Fill the battery about 1/4" above the plates with distilled, or well water (not processed water with chlorine, etc), then put it on a good charger. By good charger, I mean one that has selectable modes, such as car, deep cycle, AGM, etc, possibly an automatic desulfation, or maintenance mode, and see what the charger spits back out at you on the condition of the battery. Start the charge at a low amp rate, such as 2, or float mode if you have one, it'll take longer to charge, days, possibly, but it will charge if there is any good left in the battery.

Chances are, it is still shot. When you fill it and charge it, it will probably show that it is holding voltage. But, it won't have any strength to it, and load testing it will find that out. Often, though, if you load test it after charging, it may show up good, so wait about 30 seconds, and do it again. We have our own load tester. Dad bought it many years back, but I am fairly certain that they are still fairly easy to get, but I couldn't give you a clue how much they cost.

many auto parts stores will test them for free

Well, I filled up the cells and put it on a 2AMP charge this morning. We'll see what happens. Wish me, and the battery, luck. Thanks for your tips.