[Elecraft] Care of deep cycle batterys

[Jeff Burns]

Recently my dad gave me his electric trolling motor and the 105 amp hour
deep cycle battery he used to power it. In the mailing list archive someone
described using a deep cycle battery and an automatic battery charger to
power their station. I decided to set up the same arrangement, but with a
quick disconnect so I could take it out in the boat.

I set this up temporarily a few weeks ago. My old automotive battery charger
is supposed to allow the battery to be connected all the time.  Today I
opened up the battery box in preparation of installing permanent wiring,
more fuses and a quick disconnect.  When I got under the desk to disconnect
the battery I could hear it fizzing. It sounded like a soda that had been
opened.

This battery also has a charge indicator that is supposed to glow green when
it is at 70 to 100 % charged.  For 50 to 70% it should be black and it
should be red for less than 50% charge. The indicator is always black. Right
now the battery has been off the charger for a few hours and reads 13.3 V.

Now my questions:

1. How can I tell if this battery is still good?
2. What are the recommended charge parameters for deep cycle lead acid
batteries?


Jeff Burns
AD9T