Batteries and Battery Maintenance

We live in an age where marine electronics, whether for open water or ice fishing, are commonplace. We hear about their uses and advantages all the time. We seldom hear about the batteries that supply them with power, or how to take care of them. All batteries, regardless of type, have certain maintenance recommendations. For ice fishing electronics such as Vexilar sonar flashers, underwater cameras like the Fishphone, and other accessories that run off a 12 volt lead-acid battery, the recommendation is to recharge the batteries once per month. Most electronics run off of 12 volt lead-acid, or deep-cycle, batteries which are basically made up of plates, lead, and lead oxide surrounded by a solution of 35% sulfuric acid and 65% water called electrolyte which allows for the flow of electrons between the positive and negative terminals.

My basement charging station makes it easier to
maintenance charge batteries during the busy summer season.

"To help avoid sulfated batteries, and get the longest life out of them, you should maintenance charge your lead-acid batteries once per month when not in regular use."

When not in use, the sulfur bonds to the negative terminal inside a battery. When you recharge your battery the sulfur is broken up and returns into the solution. However, if left uncharged for too long the sulfur that accumulates on the negative terminal becomes too thick for a regular charge to break up, and you have a battery that will not charge, or a sulfated battery. There are devices on the market that claim to de-sulfate a battery, but guess when you typically find out that you have a bad battery? When you go to charge your electronics for their first use of the season. Who wants to deal with de-sulfating a battery the night before a big trip? To help avoid sulfated batteries, and get the longest life out of them, you should maintenance charge your lead-acid batteries once per month when not in regular use.

Clam Drill Plate with Dewalt drill powered by a Lithium ion battery.

"Simply put, it is best to store your lithium batteries at half charge during long term storage."

Lithium ion batteries are another story. Typical lithium ion battery consists of two electrodes. A cathode, or positive electrode usually made out of lithium-cobalt oxide, and an anode, or negative electrode usually made out of graphite. Like lead-acid batteries, there is also an electrolyte, typically a gel, which allows the flow of electrons between the cathode and anode. When you charge a lithium ion battery, an electric current forces the lithium ions to move from the cathode to the anode. When you discharge the battery the opposite occurs. To kill a common myth, lithium ion batteries do not have a memory. If you only drain them part way every time you use them the battery will not develop a memory and only allow you partial capacity, as was the case with older NiCad batteries. Lithium ion batteries are far more technical than lead-acid batteries and I could go on for days about how they work, but I won't.

Simply put, it is best to store your lithium batteries at half charge during long term storage. This keeps a relatively even amount of lithium ions on each electrode and is your best shot at preventing a battery failure. Some resources tell you to maintenance charge your lithium ion batteries every six to eight months, but remember to drain them down half-way if you do. Storing your batteries in high temperatures or at full charge can also cause damage to one or both electrodes and ruin the battery.

I have a charging station set up in my basement. I set up a power strip which I can plug all, or most, of my chargers into. Once a month I simply flip the switch on the powerstrip and the chargers do their thing. Most marine electronics such as Vexilar flashers come with automatic chargers that stop charging when a battery is full so I don't have to worry about remembering to turn off the powerstrip. My basement is relatively cool which helps prolong the life of my lithium ion batteries. Maintenance charging batteries will keep your batteries ready for when you need them most, and cause less headaches when you need them the least.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

Some stories you just can't make up. Like the one about my three turkey hunting clients who all shot turkeys at the same time. Or better yet, my client Brantly seeking redemption after a disappointing miss on a beautiful mature longbeard. I guide Brantly and his wife Vero on a regular basis. They hire me to guide them ice fishing, deer hunting, and turkey hunting every year. Early in the first week of the New Hampshire spring turkey season I took Brantly out for his turkey hunt. I called in a beautiful longbeard and unfortunately Brantly missed. The next day it was Vero's turn and after a close encounter with a mature longbeard, we ran out of time and had to walk away from him, heads down, tail between our legs. Brantly scheduled another hunt for just over a week later in hopes of a little redemption.

Mornings in the turkey woods are often the best part

When I picked Brantly up for his hunt I told him he had two choices. He could hunt three mature longbeards I had found in different area, or he could head back to the spot where he missed his bird in hopes of redemption. He chose redemption. We arrived at our hunting location and headed out to the exact same place we were set up the week prior, with only a minor adjustment to blind placement. I set up two hen decoys and the wait began. We sat and watched the sun light up the sky in hopes that we would hear tree gobbles at any minute, but nothing. A little later Brantly told me he heard a gobble, but I hadn't heard it. We continued to wait, making a few yelps every 20-30 minutes. Then we both heard a gobble, but it was too far away to tell where it had come from. As the dew began to dry from the grass we heard another distant gobble. Again we discussed how we couldn't tell where it was coming from, only a general direction. Then, at about 6:55am I saw movement through some brush in the distance. I was pretty sure it was a turkey based on the speed, color, and size. Within seconds Brantly spotted a huge tom working his way down the hedge row of the field we were in. Then I saw him, a huge tom in full strut, working his way along the far edge of the field. I remarked that if I could coax the big boy into stepping off the tote road and into the field, we had a shot. Otherwise he would likely hang up and walk away when his prospective hens (my decoys) refused to close the gap.

We sat and watched in anticipation as the big tom strutted back and forth. Would he break and come our way, or would we be disappointing having had a look at such a nice turkey? He was huge! Then, as if we were being rewarded for our efforts, he stepped off the tote road and began making his way across the field. He was headed straight at us. I knew that if we could sit still and not get busted, he would come right to our decoys, especially since he was all alone...or so we thought. The bird made his way toward us and into shooting range, but we decided to let him get even closer. Brantly didn't want to miss again and I had the video camera running. Just then I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye to our left. To my shock, another mature tom was headed right for the other one! They headed toward one another and the fight was on. Seconds later the bigger of the two was chasing the smaller tom away. When I refer to him as smaller, I don't mean by much. Luckily, the big boy turned around and headed back toward the decoy setup, but the smaller bird was persistent and kept the bigger one distracted. Finally, the big tom made his way back toward us and I told Brantly to take the shot. He made a great shot and the bird toppled over. Our troubles were not over though. The other tom decided he wasn't finished and wanted a little payback. He proceeded to pummel the dead bird, ripping out feathers and getting a little redemption of his own. I had to run over and shoo him off...three times!


Brantly and I high-fived and had our celebration, but our living feathered friend wasn't finished. He wanted what he came for...what he thought were the two hens looking poised and ready. I decided to take a chance and called Brantly's wife Vero. I told her to get her hunting clothes on, grab her license, and meet us at our hunting location. We tagged Brantly's bird and headed out to my truck to wait for Vero. She arrived about fifteen minutes later. Brantly handed her the shotgun and decided that he would stay behind.

As Vero and I made our way back down the edge of the field I spotted the turkey. He was in the middle of the field, about 60 yards from our blind. We backed out and headed down the opposite side of the field through some glossy buckthorn hoping we could get to the blind without him seeing us. About halfway to the blind I spotted the tom, snood raised, he was on high alert. We were busted! We attempted to wait him out, but he wasn't moving. I had to make a decision. I decided we were going to walk to the blind and hope that, with some of my most enticing calling, he would come back after we ran him off. We got in the blind and once we were both settled I made a few yelps followed by a couple of purrs. We had been in the blind for about 3 minutes when I leaned back to get a look out one of the rear side windows of the blind. To my amazement the other mature tom had returned and was crouched in the grass just 20 yards from us! Once Vero had a chance to see him I started the video camera and told her to take her shot and, BOOM! She made a great shot. We called Brantly, who was sittng in the car, and told him to come back into the field for photos. We tagged Vero's turkey, took photos and video comentary, and headed to the registration station. Like I said, you just can't make this stuff up! Be sure to watch my YouTube channel (and subscribe) for the turkey hunting episode in the coming week or so.

Here are the stats.

Brantly's Turkey:
24 pounds, 10 1/4" beard, 1" spurs

Vero's Turkey:
19 3/4 pounds, 10" beard, 3/4" spurs