Battery charging

Looking for guidance on ice fishing battery maintenance/charging. Specifically, I’ve got a battery for my sled as well as one in my ice castle (deep cycle I think, it’s for backup purposes only as I usually run a generator).

I have an older battery charger that has a 2 amp (trickle) or 10 amp option for charging rate. Can/Should I plug this charger on to each of the batteries for 24 hours or so before ice season? 2 amp-trickle rate I assume?

Or, do i need to purchase a new, purpose-built “battery-tender” type of charger for these? If so, any suggestions?

Thanks!

Hesitant to give you suggestions on the charger you do have now, but, I can say that if you decide to replace it with a more advanced one, I’ve had excellent luck with the NOCO brand intelligent chargers. I have the 7200 and the G4 and love them both. Best pricing for these is typically Amazon.

I do feel safe saying that with the 2 amp setting you should be fine and not have to worry about damaging anything. Does it have any kind of sensor that kicks it on and off when it senses full charge or not?

I don’t think it has an on-off sensor, but I’ll take a better look tonight.

Yeah, it would help to try and identify the brand/model. A good charger/tender can be a bit of an investment, but my 7200 has lasted me 6-7 years of regular use. They’re also nice in that you can hook them up and leave them, some offer “repair” mode, or even lithium mode (for those upgraded flasher batteries).

Considering the cost of a good lithium or AGM deep cycle battery these days, I guess I just feel it’s a relatively minor investment.