"Richard Liebert" wrote in message
...
I know it may still be usable and I appreciate the comments, but I also
know
that "some" damage occurred. The price I would pay for a battery failure
is
too high, especially on the river.

I ordered a new Interstate Cranking battery and a portable waterproof 3
stage Guest charger. I just don't trust the old battery anymore.

Thanks for everyone's input.


"Richard Liebert" wrote in
message
...
I think I already know the answer, but I would still like to hear from
someone who has had a similar experience.

My cranking battery ran a little low yesterday because I was doing a
bunch
of short hops during my tournament. Once I returned home I put my 30 yr.
old
charger on it to freshen it up. Of course I forgot to remove the
charger.
12
hours later the battery was pretty well cooked. It was warm to the
touch.

I have read that overcharging a battery is very hard on the battery. I
think
I should bit the bullet and replace it. I also think I should buy a
"smart
charger" for use in the future.

It's a Bass Tracker Jet. The battery is 1 1/2 yrs. old. I don't want any
failures in the Delaware or Susquehanna Rivers.

Any comments?





Unless the charger is really a POS, 12 hours should not kill the battery.
And batteries are always warm when charging. Results of all that energy you
are inserting and the chemical reactions. Get a $5 timer from Home-depot,
Lowes, Wal-mart, etc. Take off the one tab and then set the timer to run
for however long you want to charge before the off tab activates and
manually turn on the timer switch and forget about having to turn off the
charger.