In May 2013 I bought a deep cycle battery ( I think group 24, will confirm tonight when I see it. Powers lights and GPS only for a few hours in evenibev, maybe 15 nights a season, 1 overnight per season. I plug into trickle charger on Wed. or Thurs. Evening for weekend use. Kepple trickle charger in it over winter, turn it in for 1-2 nights once a month. This week, plugged in 3 - 4 days, never got to " charged" light on , always charging. At a friend's house now in regular charger for overnight, showing 13.3 volts now, is it likely to come back next time with trickle charger? What is normal life span?
Battery Life
- Thread starter DAVA390
- Start date
I agree with Tom above. I usually get 5-7 yrs out of inexpensive Group 24 lead-acid batteries. I use a small solar panel (I think maybe 5 watts) to keep the battery up and think it perhaps extends its life a bit.
A few things have probably happened with your battery.
1) it has probably been deeply discharged below 50% state of charge.
2) it has not been properly recharged with bulk, absorption, and float charges
3) it has never been brought back to a full charge or equalized.
A Group 24 battery has about 75 amphour capacity, which yields about 35 useable amp hours. An incandescent bulb will draw between 1 and 2 amps. If you have 2 lights on at 1 amp each, you have about 17 hours of use before the battery drops below 50% SOC. Repeatedly going below that level is a battery killer especially if the battery is never charged properly.
So, your battery is probably toast, time to replace it.
With a proper 3 stage charging you can get more life out of a battery. I was able to get 8 years out of the last set of Group 24's I had.
1) it has probably been deeply discharged below 50% state of charge.
2) it has not been properly recharged with bulk, absorption, and float charges
3) it has never been brought back to a full charge or equalized.
A Group 24 battery has about 75 amphour capacity, which yields about 35 useable amp hours. An incandescent bulb will draw between 1 and 2 amps. If you have 2 lights on at 1 amp each, you have about 17 hours of use before the battery drops below 50% SOC. Repeatedly going below that level is a battery killer especially if the battery is never charged properly.
So, your battery is probably toast, time to replace it.
With a proper 3 stage charging you can get more life out of a battery. I was able to get 8 years out of the last set of Group 24's I had.
One of the most helpful tutorials ever:
http://www.amplepower.com/tech_docs/index.html
Use the Tech tab to download the Ample Power Primer and associated wiring diagrams.
http://www.amplepower.com/tech_docs/index.html
Use the Tech tab to download the Ample Power Primer and associated wiring diagrams.
Those are some pretty optimistic numbers, requiring meticulous attention to maintenance/charging from the get go. You've obviously not got to that level.. and five years is a pretty good lifespan for that. My experience is that when the battery's time is up.... it's up. Time for a new battery and an investment in a 3 stage smart charger.
Update: battery charged , then load tested, fiundto be marginal, ordered a new one. Eagerly awaiting your suggestions for affordable 3 stage chargers.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 21,512
@DAVA390
Here is the info you need.
https://marinehowto.com/installing-a-marine-battery-charger/
Buy it from this site. Best price. Great service. Supports a guy who is an expert and very generous to the forum with answers to everyone’s challenges.
I bought one after in-depth reviews of various options.
Your boat your choice.
Here is the info you need.
https://marinehowto.com/installing-a-marine-battery-charger/
Buy it from this site. Best price. Great service. Supports a guy who is an expert and very generous to the forum with answers to everyone’s challenges.
I bought one after in-depth reviews of various options.
Your boat your choice.
What you are measuring is residual voltage, a fully charged battery at rest is 12.67V. Now voltage does not mean much and what you need to conduct is a load test to show how much capacity is left in the battery. If it is easier for you take the battery to an automotive parts retailer and have it bench tested on their equipment. A partially or fully discharged battery will sulfate reducing its storage capacity. Sulfation is countered by immediately charging the battery after every use. Like others have said a trickle charger is just a maintainer and not a substitute for a bulk charger to restore the lost charge in a few hours. Get yourself a smart charger with 3 cycles, bulk, absorption and float. A trickle charger just provides float. Batteries can be funny, some seem to last forever while others die a premature death and for that reason the battery warranty industry was created and has flourished. You can purchase the same battery with perhaps three different warranty plans at three different prices. Some batteries outlive their warranty and that gives you a plus but at least you are insured to have electrical power for the length of the warranty (not necessarily power from the same battery). Good maintenance and keeping a battery fully charged will extend the life of a particular battery but it offers no guarantee about how long it will last. Purchase your battery at a establishment that moves its inventory, check the manufacturing date to be no longer than 60 days as a battery that sits on the shelf for too long will self discharge and start sulfating. Good luck.
Had my auto mechanic ($1800.00 dollars last week for Vw work..." Sure thing, bring it in") bench test it, found it to be marginal. Ordered new one from marina, price only slightky higher than other places, money well spent here. Looking at 3 stage next to replasr teicklt charger. Thanks to all you guys very much for good info and links.
I have used a solid state dedicated 'marine' battery charger for a couple decades. Now using a Promariner model. We have been getting nine years out of Trojan golf cart batteries for our house bank (pair of T-145 batteries). Our emergency 12 volt battery, an Optima AGM, is over a decade old and still works fine when we test it, by cold starting the diesel, several time a season.
Going by 'anecdotal' evidence from friends, our experiences are not unusual. If you buy real "deep cycle" batteries (read up on this at Maine Sails' fine site) and take good care of them they last a long long time.
As that fellow used say on TV: "More Power!"
@DAVA390 , I was in the same situation as you. I only used lights and small electronics several evenings and a few overnights a year, charged on the engine but not really enough. I'd get maybe 5 years out of group 24 batteries. I bought one of these https://no.co/g3500, permanently mounted in the boat, and it really made a difference on my house battery. I leave it plugged in while at the dock. I don't necessarily recommend this model, they do have dedicated marine chargers for multi-bank settups, but they are good, affordable, 3 stage chargers.
@DAVA390 Well, if you have been shopping for a charging you now know that there is a bewildering array of 3 stage chargers out there. A fancy state of the art charger like the ProMariner/Sterling Pronautic series is really overkill for your needs. Spending $200+ to charge a $100 battery doesn't make much sense.
To help make a little sense of that mess, for your needs a charger with a 10 amp out put will be fine.The rule of thumb for charger sizing is 10% of the amphour capacity of the battery plus a little extra.
A portable charger will work, but I wouldn't leave it connected if I wasn't on the boat. Multi-battery chargers can be used with a single battery.
Avoid places like Harbor Freight and auto stores.
To help make a little sense of that mess, for your needs a charger with a 10 amp out put will be fine.The rule of thumb for charger sizing is 10% of the amphour capacity of the battery plus a little extra.
A portable charger will work, but I wouldn't leave it connected if I wasn't on the boat. Multi-battery chargers can be used with a single battery.
Avoid places like Harbor Freight and auto stores.
i have a 3 stage master volt charger installed on the boat. but I have had to bring on my 3 stage portable automotive Schumacher charger to charge the house batteries back up if the house batteries accidentally got too low. (like when 'SOMEONE NOT ME ' left the REFRIGERATOR and lights on ON BUT THE SHOREPOWER and BATTERY CHARGER off for 2 weeks.) there's also a 'de sulphate' cycle you can do to try to rescue old house batteries.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 21,512
@DAVA390 Only you can be the judge of what you want on your boat. The link I provided is from a professional Marine Electrical Engineer.
The above unit is a 5AMP unit. This is what was said a the beginning of the article.
The above unit is a 5AMP unit. This is what was said a the beginning of the article.
"The general consensus, & industry recommendation, is to size a hard wired charger for a minimum of 10% of the banks rated Ah capacity. A 400Ah battery bank, sized at 10%, would get a 40A charger. Sizing at 10% of Ah capacity of course assumes you have the time needed to charge at 10% of Ah capacity and no other loads while charging.The general consensus, & industry recommendation, is to size a hard wired charger for a minimum of 10% of the banks rated Ah capacity. A 400Ah battery bank, sized at 10%, would get a 40A charger. Sizing at 10% of Ah capacity of course assumes you have the time needed to charge at 10% of Ah capacity and no other loads while charging.The general consensus, & industry recommendation, is to size a hard wired charger for a minimum of 10% of the banks rated Ah capacity. A 400Ah battery bank, sized at 10%, would get a 40A charger. Sizing at 10% of Ah capacity of course assumes you have the time needed to charge at 10% of Ah capacity and no other loads while charging."
Following the "Industry Recommendation" a 5 amp charger would serve a 50 amp battery. Is that what you are planning on your boat?
The ProMariner ProSport 6A is a better charger in that range but still not my favorite. I am not a huge fan of the Marinco chargers.
For $170.00 you can buy the excellent ProCharge Ultra 10A. These represent a very good value for this grade of charger.
By a long shot the new Victron Blue Smart IP65 chargers are the best in that class (waterproof)..
https://www.victronenergy.com/chargers/blue-smart-ip65-charger
That said i am not a huge fan of most "waterproof chargers". They don't tend to last as long because they run at higher internal temps than do dry-mount chargers. If you need a portable waterproof charger though the Victron is really tough to beat.
For $170.00 you can buy the excellent ProCharge Ultra 10A. These represent a very good value for this grade of charger.
By a long shot the new Victron Blue Smart IP65 chargers are the best in that class (waterproof)..
https://www.victronenergy.com/chargers/blue-smart-ip65-charger
That said i am not a huge fan of most "waterproof chargers". They don't tend to last as long because they run at higher internal temps than do dry-mount chargers. If you need a portable waterproof charger though the Victron is really tough to beat.