I was in a canoe that got swamped on a river. Both of my 12 volt lead acid batteries were completely underwater for almost two hours. They have vented caps. So fresh river water got into them. Afterwards, they wouldn't hold a charge very well. In desperation, I ended up pouring out the fluid and refilling them with fresh battery acid. (And Yes. I disposed of the old fluids in a responsible manner, thank you very much!)
Now, they lose 10-20% of their power (according to my smart charger) in just a about five minutes of running a trolling motor. And we're not talking about some monster of a motor. These came from the local Walmart and were something like $100 each, with tax and exhange.
I haven't put a hygrometer to each cell. Not real sure what the best approach is and just what I should be looking for.
I've also read that the battery acid I got for a standard car battery may be a different formula from what is used in deep-cycle/marine batteries.
Any sage advice from any experts here. This batteries were less than three months old. I hate to scrap them if they can be salvaged. But they don't seem reliable for their full 125 AH of reserve. I used them in parallel so I'd get 250 AH. I was trying to use no more than 20% of their reserve capacity before recharging.
I also use these occasionally for running emergency lights.
Any thoughts, ideas, hallucinations or wise suggestions will be appreciated.
Bach On
Now, they lose 10-20% of their power (according to my smart charger) in just a about five minutes of running a trolling motor. And we're not talking about some monster of a motor. These came from the local Walmart and were something like $100 each, with tax and exhange.
I haven't put a hygrometer to each cell. Not real sure what the best approach is and just what I should be looking for.
I've also read that the battery acid I got for a standard car battery may be a different formula from what is used in deep-cycle/marine batteries.
Any sage advice from any experts here. This batteries were less than three months old. I hate to scrap them if they can be salvaged. But they don't seem reliable for their full 125 AH of reserve. I used them in parallel so I'd get 250 AH. I was trying to use no more than 20% of their reserve capacity before recharging.
I also use these occasionally for running emergency lights.
Any thoughts, ideas, hallucinations or wise suggestions will be appreciated.
Bach On