Battery maintenance

[Brian D]

I fill my batteries once a month just to top off the water levels inside. I keep the shore power connected and the charger on all the time. Boat is an '85 Lancer 27PS. The charger looks OEM but the batteries are about 1~2 years old.I was told that because I have to refill the batteries, I might be "cooking" them. This seems almost logical to me. I recall before "maintenance free" batteries were commonly available, one had to "refresh" their batteries with distilled water.Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. I haven't been on a long excursion yet and I'd hate to have my batteries die while crusing. Granted, the outboard will provide power in such an event.Thanks

 

[Ross]

Brian, have you checked the outout

voltage of the charger while the power is on and the battery voltage with the charger turned off. The charger should be in a float mode most of the time. A full charge will be about 12.5 volts give or take a few tenths. Turn the charger off and check the voltage and a couple of hours later check again. With good bateries it won't change much, but after 2-3 hours it should remain stable for a week.

 

[Don12364]

Suggestion

Brian,Try reading any details on the label on the charger. I mean the one which gives model number etc. rather than the makers advertisement. It may be on the underside! This should give a clue to its performance and whether it is a multi stage charger. If it is then you will need to look to see if it has settings for differing battery types and to make sure it is set for "Flooded". If it is not a multi stage unit then it is definitely bad news to leave it permanently connected.You may also be able to look it up on the web.

 

[Honeyman]

If the charger...

is OEM or older than 10 years or more, get rid of it and get a new "smart" charger that will charge, taper off, then maintain (float) your batteries. The new 3 stage chargers are so much more efficient it's not even a close comparison. If you are using flooded batteries, you will still need to keep them topped off, but not near as often and they will last much longer.

 

[Benny]

Check the Voltage.

Check the voltage being put out by the charger, if it is over 13 Volts your batteries are not accepting full charge and the charger is overcooking them. We recently replaced an old 30 Amp charger with a 20 Amp smart charger and the difference is noticeable in helping better manage the battery banks and electrical system.If you have to top off your batteries more frequently than by-weekly they are probably toast and its just a matter of time until they fail. I tried once to save batteries that were 3-4 years old and required constant topping off and it just is not worth it.

 

[Brian D]

Thanks

I'll check the voltage and charger next time I am at the boat. Appreciate the replies.

 

[Paul F]

Don't believe in leaving a charger on

It is a little more work, but I always just charge the batteies and then turn off the charger. The batteries seem to last and require very little water.