Marcum LX-3 battery

[Dano2]

Was wondering what the life expectency is of these batteries.

This will be my 5th year using it, and I believe I'm encountering some problems. I charged it every couple months when not in use, but this last time, th meter kept reading zero after a couple hours, and it fealt abit hot, the charger and meter. I thought maybe I had the wrong charger, but I'm sure its the one that says something like 13.5V, thats the right one, right? I DO have another backup with the gater clips, maybe I'll try that, but wondering if this is a possible sign of the battery finally crapping out.

thanks

[Dave]

Five years on a battery is pretty good. I don't have my charger right here to verify for you. Disconnect your DCS from the battery and try charging it with your other charger. Connect your DCS and then see what the meter reads.

[Surface Tension]

You don't want to use any charger with the DCS other then the one shipped with your MarCum. You should have a yellow warning sticker on you charger stating that info. If it doesn't have that sticker its going to ruin something.

[Dave]

Maybe I should clarify my previous post. Charge just the battery (DCS disconnected)with your other charger. Disconnect the charger and use your DCS meter to just read if the battery is fully charged.

[Dano2]

ya, I used the other charger, and hooked the meter back up, but still reads 0. I never had a yellow sticker on my charger, When I bought the unit from scheels it didn't have the charger so they gave me the one with the alligator clamps until the other came in, this was about 4 years ago, but I dont ever remember seeing a yellow sticker, but I guess thats beside the point, i think its just time for a new battery or something went wrong with the meter, but I'm guessing the battery as last year it seemed it wasn't holding a charge as long.

thanks for the help, and surface tension, I hear what your saying, I fryed my craftsman battery using the wrong charger, now I make sure that it stays in the case with the drill.

[Hookmaster]

I'm still using the original battery I got with my Clearwater Classic in December of 1995.

[Dano2]

Yep, the battery it was. Picked up a new one at fleet today.

[opsirc]

Made the mistake of not checking mind over the summer. When to charge it the other day and the meter read 0. tried twice to get it to charge, once over night with no luck. The meter never moved off the 0 reading. Guessing the battery is toast. Where a good place in the twin ports to get a replacement?

thanks

O

[Ya Hey Der]

I thought the sealed batteries used for flashers and underwater cameras were 12v batteries. Dano2, you mentioned the charger read 13.5v. I am not to electrically savvy so I don't know if this make much of a difference. I just wanted to bring this up because if it was the charger, I wouldn't want you to burn up another battery.

Did you get the 12.99 12v battery from fleet farm? I saw the add for it and thinking of getting one. Batteries.com also sells 12v batteries. Look for online coupons, they usually have coupons for 15% off or more.

YHD

[metrojoe]

Been there done that. I not only fried the battery in my camera, but I also ruined the charger for my LX-5. Be carefull, the plugs look the same, but I think the polarity is reversed. Time to label the ends of all my chargers.

[metrojoe]

If you really want to save some $, take the fleet farm ad to Gander and take advantage of thier low price guarantee. If I got it figured right you should be able to get the same battery and charger for about $6.

[hanson]

Quote:

---

Made the mistake of not checking mind over the summer.

---

Made the same mistake opsirc. Oh well. Went to charge my Marcum LX-3 earlier this fall and it wouldn't take a charge at all. I even tried charging the battery with a different charger that has the alligator clips (Vex charger). Still nothing. Bought a new battery and am good to go now.

The DCS continues to draw a little juice as it sits and it will apparently destroy a battery if allowed to sit all summer.

My VS560 battery on the other hand is alright and I left that one connected as well.

[Surface Tension]

During long term storage disconnect the battery from your DCS. Sam, Gander will have that battery.

[nytelyter]

yuppers it will says so in the instruction book " if you are going to store for a long period of time . disconnect the dcs charge indicator as it will slowly draw down the battery" or close to that.

[metrojoe]

I notice the battery in my LX-5 is different. Can I use the 12V-7amp batteries, that are available everywhere, as a replacement?

[Dave]

Yes, you can.

[BassPatrol]

Don't waste your time with going to Gander Mountain. I tried last night and they wouldn't even match the $12.99 price on the Mills Fleet Farm ad. The old guy at the Customer Service Desk at the Maplewood Gander Mountain simply stated that they weren't the same brand. Mills had the Aqua Vu Battery and charger and Gander carries the generic Zeus line. Needless to say I'm going to Mills tomorrow because I need a new battery for my LX-3 also.

[metrojoe]

Thanks Dave.

BassPatrol,

That's a load of bull. I bought one of those batteries at Fleet Farm and they are the Zeus brand. That Maplewood Gander just P.O.'s me to no end. They operate on a skeleton crew and nobody seems to be around to help a guy out. It's really a blast when you get 8 - 10 people in line at the register.

I apologize for the rant. I've just walked out of there disgusted too many times lately.

[BassPatrol]

metrojoe,

It turns out that you are correct they are the same brand of battery made by Zeus. I went to Fleet Farm and got the Aqua Vu battery and charge combo advertised. The Gander Mountain Customer Service Rep was unknowledgeable and the Reps at the Fishing Desk were too busy chit chatting about their up north fishing experiences to help a guy out. I never even got them to match the price or beat it as they claim in their advertisements. So, needless to say I'm avoiding the Maplewood Gander due to lack of service and knowledgeable help. The line at the Maplewood Gander Mountain store can also get long as well like at Fleet Farm. Later.

Lee (bassminn)

[mnrstrider]

Quote:

---

metrojoe,

It turns out that you are correct they are the same brand of battery made by Zeus. I went to Fleet Farm and got the Aqua Vu battery and charge combo advertised. The Gander Mountain Customer Service Rep was unknowledgeable and the Reps at the Fishing Desk were too busy chit chatting about their up north fishing experiences to help a guy out. I never even got them to match the price or beat it as they claim in their advertisements. So, needless to say I'm avoiding the Maplewood Gander due to lack of service and knowledgeable help. The line at the Maplewood Gander Mountain store can also get long as well like at Fleet Farm. Later.

Lee (bassminn)

---

That's total BS in my book, I thought about trying to get a price match from Gander, but I figured it was just easiest to go ahead and buy them at Fleet farm,

but I didn't just stop there, I took the time to email GM and complained about the poor service (abotu not price matching Fleet on the batteries), in the past any problems I've had with a store or employee, that I reported to GM was taken care of (it helps to be specfic, and know people's name's), really I have to say I haven't had a problem in a long time now, but I deal with a different store, but trust me, if you do say something, someone will absolutely get back to you.

Bottom line for me I like my local GM, they are close by and most of the time have what I'm looking for so that were I do most of my shopping, thus far only employees have ever pissed me off, not the company itself (like I've said all matters with employees have been dealt with), so I'll keep shopping there hoping day never comes, that GM as a company pisses me off.