I have three marine deep cycle batteries that are under a year old---2 house, 1 starting. I am a liveaboard. I have a 10amp chager that is hooked up. The two house are combined. I noticed that the voltage has droped to the point that the refridge won't run properly. Yet the engine starts properly. Is the 10amp charger enough? How can all three be dying? Arrrrggg!
- Status
Charger not chargin'?
Dear pissed off: First, you can use your name here. We really don't care. Second, you may want to put a regular charger on each of the batteries and see if they take a charge. You may have a bad 10 amp charger over/under charging. Third, you may have bad batteries. Not very likely but possible. If the charger is over charging you may be frying them. Have you been adding a lot of water? If the charger is bad you may have destoyed all three. If you find that you have a bad charger, I'd recommend that you move up to one of the newer smart chargers like a Statpower or such. You may also want to move up to a 20 amp or 40 amp unit.
Dear pissed off: First, you can use your name here. We really don't care. Second, you may want to put a regular charger on each of the batteries and see if they take a charge. You may have a bad 10 amp charger over/under charging. Third, you may have bad batteries. Not very likely but possible. If the charger is over charging you may be frying them. Have you been adding a lot of water? If the charger is bad you may have destoyed all three. If you find that you have a bad charger, I'd recommend that you move up to one of the newer smart chargers like a Statpower or such. You may also want to move up to a 20 amp or 40 amp unit.
battery charger
I would think that for a live aboard a 10 amp charger is way way to small. You most likely need to be up in the 40 amp range (try the new smart chargers) It sounds like you are just not replacing enough back into the batteries.The new smart chargers can be left on all the time and will not overcharge your batteries.
I would think that for a live aboard a 10 amp charger is way way to small. You most likely need to be up in the 40 amp range (try the new smart chargers) It sounds like you are just not replacing enough back into the batteries.The new smart chargers can be left on all the time and will not overcharge your batteries.
No electronics expert, but...
I have a good friend with a brand-new Hunter 38. He had similar problems, however, his batteries were draining the point of being useless. We isolated the problem to the charger/inverter. It seems, that the way it was wired, it was draining the batteries instead of charging them. After re-wiring the system, the problem was remedied. Don't ask for specifics, because, when it comes to batteries/electronics, I know nothing!
I have a good friend with a brand-new Hunter 38. He had similar problems, however, his batteries were draining the point of being useless. We isolated the problem to the charger/inverter. It seems, that the way it was wired, it was draining the batteries instead of charging them. After re-wiring the system, the problem was remedied. Don't ask for specifics, because, when it comes to batteries/electronics, I know nothing!
Charging
20 amp Statpower "smart" charger will handle all three batteries and do a much better job of keeping them up to snuff. I had my old original equipment 10 amp go south on me and it was actually draining the barreries when in the charge mode. Not a good thing!!! The new electronics out now are light years better than the technology of even 10-15 years ago, I say up-grade!!!
20 amp Statpower "smart" charger will handle all three batteries and do a much better job of keeping them up to snuff. I had my old original equipment 10 amp go south on me and it was actually draining the barreries when in the charge mode. Not a good thing!!! The new electronics out now are light years better than the technology of even 10-15 years ago, I say up-grade!!!
Shorts
It doesn't need to be a charger problem. The bilge and shower sump pumps are wired through the under-sole grid and are not protected from chafe - and they are may be hot-wired to the battery. A little bit of chafe and corrosion mixed with damp conditions and no visibility is a wonderful climate for battery drain. Consider rewiring.
It doesn't need to be a charger problem. The bilge and shower sump pumps are wired through the under-sole grid and are not protected from chafe - and they are may be hot-wired to the battery. A little bit of chafe and corrosion mixed with damp conditions and no visibility is a wonderful climate for battery drain. Consider rewiring.
Smart charger the way to go
There is a real science to properly charging your batteries and not frying them. There is a very good write up in the West Marine Catalog about all the different types of batteries and how a smart charger moniters the state of charge and the temperature of each battery. The smart charger will charge each individual bank accordingly. I have a 20Amp smart charger on my H34 with a remote panal which displays the voltage and amps being supplied to each bank. I also have two banks with two deep cycle batteries for the house batteries (Refrig) and a single for the starting battery. Add a volt meter with a three bank switch and you'll be able to moniter the state of charge of all of the of batteries. Make sure your battery cables are tinned to reduce resistance too. Good Luck
There is a real science to properly charging your batteries and not frying them. There is a very good write up in the West Marine Catalog about all the different types of batteries and how a smart charger moniters the state of charge and the temperature of each battery. The smart charger will charge each individual bank accordingly. I have a 20Amp smart charger on my H34 with a remote panal which displays the voltage and amps being supplied to each bank. I also have two banks with two deep cycle batteries for the house batteries (Refrig) and a single for the starting battery. Add a volt meter with a three bank switch and you'll be able to moniter the state of charge of all of the of batteries. Make sure your battery cables are tinned to reduce resistance too. Good Luck
Killing your refrigeration
If it is noticable that the refrigeration compressor is having a hard time starting up you're in the process of killing it - and it's expensive to replace. Electric motors take about 3.5 times more current to start than to run and my guess there is probably a combination of items that are contributing to poor performance. And it's not only the refrigeration is also going to be the water pump, autohelm, forced air heater, etc. As the voltage goes down the current must go up so other circuit loads such as the VHF, stereo, starter motor, etc. are going to be stressed. In addition to what the previous posters have said I'd like to suggest checking the conductors and connectors. It's preferable to use 00 in the battery area up to the master switch. The conductors to the pannel probably need to be significantly upsized over factory. If the conductors are not marine grade and tinned they should be replaced; ditto the lugs. If there are motor circuits I'd recommend taking the starting current into account when computing wire size and lower voltage drop is preferable. Conductor size is figured on round-trip length. This should keep one out of mischif for a while!
If it is noticable that the refrigeration compressor is having a hard time starting up you're in the process of killing it - and it's expensive to replace. Electric motors take about 3.5 times more current to start than to run and my guess there is probably a combination of items that are contributing to poor performance. And it's not only the refrigeration is also going to be the water pump, autohelm, forced air heater, etc. As the voltage goes down the current must go up so other circuit loads such as the VHF, stereo, starter motor, etc. are going to be stressed. In addition to what the previous posters have said I'd like to suggest checking the conductors and connectors. It's preferable to use 00 in the battery area up to the master switch. The conductors to the pannel probably need to be significantly upsized over factory. If the conductors are not marine grade and tinned they should be replaced; ditto the lugs. If there are motor circuits I'd recommend taking the starting current into account when computing wire size and lower voltage drop is preferable. Conductor size is figured on round-trip length. This should keep one out of mischif for a while!
- Status