On Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:41:29 -0800, "SteveB"
wrote:

I bought a 12v. battery, a deep cycle marine, for a little bass boat I have.
The battery is three years old now at least and has not ever been used.

I need a battery to spin my newly bought welder and figured this one would
be okay to get it going. But how long do you think it will last after that?
Should I just put a charger on it and try it? The battery has actually
spent a winter at below zero temps, but no signs of cracking or dry cells.


Steve

Three years is a long time to leave a battery without attention. See
if it'll take a charge. If it will, it may be OK. If not, it's
probably history. Don't be afraid to jam some current into it at
least for openers. You may need to do that to "get its attention".
After openers, a 10 amp charge rate is not excessive while it's low.

Batteries labelled "deep cycle marine" are often intended to both
start outboard engines and then run electronics and even a smaller
trolling motor for a while. It should work OK. I doubt that the
starter load of your welder exceeds that of even a 90 HP outboard.

The "deep cycle marine" battery in my lil' green boat is at least
five years old. It starts the engine (115) and then runs electronics,
livewell pump, lights, etc -- but not trolling motor. It was workin'
fine last autumn but I will replace it this spring. Five years is a
long life for a boat battery.