Trolling motor batteries

Hello all,

So i have the motorguide xi5 on my pa17.  No problems with it, actually its amazing.  My issue is battery.  I bought the bass pro shops brand 180.  The biggest one they have. It doesnt run out of juice, yet atleast,  while im out all day. But i have noticed that after full charge and sitting in garage that when plugged back into the charger it has lost a significant amount of its charge. Or the auto charger readout is atleast saying it has.  Is this normal?  Do marine batteries really lose juice that fast just sitting?  Or should i get a different brand/any recommendations?

Thanks
Jason

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It should hold a charge over a reasonable amount of time. But they do slowly dissipate over a longer term when left uncharged. How long of a span is it dropping voltage and how much?

I have no experience with a BP 180. What are the specs? I have done well on an older Optima style yellow top AGM with my minnkota. Actually, the Deka AGM's are better now than the new Optimas. I would get one of those or an Odyssey. Just make sure its meant for deep cycle.

Anyway, it sounds like you probably have a bad battery if it wont hold a charge.

"Sitting in the Garage"    If it is sitting on concrete floor it will drain the battery very rapidly, needs to make sure it's on plywood or something like that.

"Sitting in the Garage"    If it is sitting on concrete floor it will drain the battery very rapidly, needs to make sure it's on plywood or something like that.

They don't make batteries with porous hard rubber casing anymore.  That was true of your grandfather's battery.  It isn't true anymore. 

These batteries drop off about 2% per day +/- and if left discharged can develop a ceiling.  You might also have a damaged battery.

How were you charging the battery?  How long had it been left and in what state of charge?  How old is the battery?

It sounds like your battery is XPS-185....a flooded deep cycle battery......it carries a 1 year warranty.
If the battery is "disconnected from your trolling motor" and it still loses charge,  then the battery is faulty.

If you are still in the warranty period, I would return it.

Thanks for yhe replies guys.  The battery i purchased 2 weeks ago. Dont know how long it was sitting on shelf though. I use one of the auto chargers (2 station) meant to be installed in a boat. Its in my garage though.   I dont know exactly how much it is loosing per day but it might also be looking a bit better than initially perceived. After the initial charge to full and being left unplugged for about 5 days i plugged it back in to make sure it was topped off. The indicator on charger showed only 1 bar of 5 lit up and started charging again. Now that i have charged it again a few times it doesnt start off so low after the charger analyzes it. I think it might also just be the way the charger reads it because even when it was at like 3 bars charged after being unpkugged a couple days it was full up green and "ready" after only 30 minutes or so.  I think the indicator on charger might just be conservative and slow to catch up when initially reattached to a battery.   Good thing is the charger is a smart charger and can be left plugged in permanent to maintain max charge with a little trickle when needed. I will have to get a voltmeter and thoroughly test the drop over a week to see.

Thanks for the info yall