I'm glad I bought a second battery before my trip, my battery didn't last 2 days, and that was with a full charge, now to see how long the other one will last.
Boy I'm glad
- Thread starter fred1diver
- Start date
The battery didn't last, she was dead on the second morning, everything was ok when charging, but it's dead now
What kind of battery? How old was it? What type charger? You should be more specific if you have a complaint or a question...
Deep cycle battery about 4 years old
Smart charger for deep cycle batteries, I left it in the boat last winter and it wasn't charged so I didn't help it have a good life
Smart charger for deep cycle batteries, I left it in the boat last winter and it wasn't charged so I didn't help it have a good life
Most batteries have a shelf life with most for two years. Once you go past the designated life of a battery, you are living on borrowed time. What does your battery call for.
Wait, what? Shelf life of 2 years? Dave, I think you should clarify what you mean by that... I'm guessing you mean once the battery is built and charged, it can sit there for 2 years? As I learned from MaineSail, batteries like to be charged fully. They don't like to be run down too far, or left sitting not fully charged. Based on you saying "living on borrowed time" the fact that I got 5 years out of my car battery (after running it down far enough to need a jump, TWICE
) means that's a lot of borrowed time. Actually, I figure on a lifespan of about 5 years for car batteries. Now, I know car batteries are not deep cycle batteries, and the use case scenario is quite different. My boat usage is different. I swapped to all LED bulbs. So, I get minimal nav light and cabin light draw, and then I sometimes charge the phone or the Bluetooth speaker. I went down to a U1 tractor battery, knowing that it's not deep cycle, and that I only ever stay on the boat one or 2 nights. I figured the U1 would be easy to bring home every so often for charging. And the U1 is hardly deep cycle. But if it only lasted 3 years, another $70 at Tractor Supply isn't going to bankrupt me.
Of course, even carrying the thing home once a month for charging got to be too much of a hassle for me, so I got a 5w solar panel with a built in charge controller. It's a combination of laziness, and having to have all the gizmos! 
The manufacturers put a limit on how long the battery will work for better lack of terms and then after that, they eventually will not work any more as they do wear out regardless of being fully charged. Have you ever had to replace for example a fully charged battery so you thought that was no longer charging? Batteries in a sense only will last so long. I always advocated if going on a long trip in your boat, to have a second new battery just in case. You can only charge up batteries so much and then they wear out.
I get at least ten years out of my marine batteries (purchased at West Marine). I keep them charged when not in use with a smart charger. I take them home for the winter and keep them charged there also. One of my two batteries requires topping off the electrolyte which I do only once a year with deionized water. I have also been changing over to LED lights after determining that my largest load at anchor was the night anchor light. LED's may eliminate the need for larger batteries and higher output alternators. I used to use Die Hard batteries but never got good life out of those.
I don't think this thread was about his battery and why it failed. We discussed in another thread about his iffy battery and he opted to take an extra battery rather than a solar charger... Or am I the only one that remembers that? He's glad he opted for a replacement battery, I am too, since I'm sure it made his short cruise a lot more enjoyable.
I'm back from my trip, safe and sound, we had a blast, the second battery lasted the whole trip, so I'm pleased, going to get me a second one and a solar panel w controller for next year.
Fred, thats sounds great. I would read up on MaineSail's forum to understand better how to size your panels and what type controller to get. There is probably some consideration in how you wire the batteries for max effect. I continually forget all that stuff, and since I only have 1 little battery, I don't worry about it. I just remember if I need to study up, where to go
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?forums/musings-with-maine-sail.135/
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?forums/musings-with-maine-sail.135/