It’s a bright beautiful week and you're stuck at work just
thinking about the weekend. Visions of getting out the boat or jet-ski and
hitting the water fill your head. Maybe it is not the water that beckons but
the trail and that bike or ATV is sitting in the garage just waiting to be
taken out to tear up some trails. Finally the weekend rolls around and first
thing Saturday morning you roll your toys out to get them ready to go and …….
NOTHING! Dead battery!
Now
what do you do? You have to charge it up and hope it holds….. Get the tools out
and pull the battery out. Now where do you go to get a new one? What kind of
battery do you need? What is this going to cost me? NOT the start to your
weekend you had in mind! You worked hard all week now it is time to play not
mess with a battery. Relax and keep
reading I have a couple tips and tricks that will help keep this from happening
again.
I think
the biggest mistake people make with power sport and marine batteries is when
they store the boat/motorcycle/ATV/RV they store it with a low battery or they
let the battery get low while it’s parked. A battery with less than an optimal
charge with deteriorate and the next thing you know you’re buying a new one.
This is especially true on devices that do not have an onboard charger like
jet-skis and boat trolling motors. The best thing you can do for any battery
that may be stored for a while is invest in an inexpensive maintenance charger
like the “Battery Tender” brand from Deltran (available at your local Battery
Joe). Keep those batteries fully charged at all times and you will have
multiple years of service life and reliability.
The
next thing we see a lot are people buying the wrong batteries for their device.
If you have a boat make sure what you are buying is marine rated and is the
proper battery for your application. For instance don’t buy an automotive
starting battery when you need a deep-cycle marine battery made for trolling.
If you
have a motorcycle or ATV explore some of the new technologies available in
power sport batteries. For instance an AGM (absorbed glass mat or “gel”)
battery can provide increased power and reliability on your expensive bikes.
New lithium battery technology can shave as much as 8 pounds off your bike when
top-end weight is a concern. Both of these newer battery technologies are
vastly more reliable than standard batteries and generally come with far better
warranties than traditional batteries.
Next
time you are going out for a hard earned weekend of tearing up trails or riding
the waves make sure all your “toys” are ready to go. The right battery, well
charged with good maintenance can ensure your weekends are everything you have
been dreaming about. Check out www.batteryjoe.comwww.batteryjoe.com
for more tips and tricks for proper battery maintenance.
