Winter battery maintenance

[John F]

I bought two brand new Group 27 batteries at the beginning of the season (May). I've heard that I should add water to them? How much? Where do I put it? Is it tap water or distilled?I plan on keeping them on a trickle charger all winter, but want to know about adding water to these batteries. Thanks.

 

[Fred Ficarra]

John, it depends.

Yep, sorry. What type of batteries are they? Wet cell with fill caps or 'maintenance free'? And it's best to use distilled water in batteries. Why risk contaminants?

 

[Benny]

Assuming your bats are wet cell with

fill caps, remove caps and check water level. Water should at all times be covering the cells so that should be your minimum water level. Your maximum water level will be dictated by a collar at the opening. Fill each cell slowly until you see the water reach the bottom of the collar and show in an elongated circle shape. Always use distilled water, if it is not available filtered rain water is acceptable but tap water has to many minerals and chemicals and will shorten the life and performance of the battery. Never fill to the top as acid may spill out. The color of the acid covering the cells should be clear, a milky color will point to contamination and failure of that cell. As batteries are charged water is evaporated or broken down and I find that during hot summers the rate of evaporation increases so a cupful or two need to be added to replace the amount lost. A bad charger that overcharges a battery will increase the rate of break down. An old weak battery will require more water than a new one. A good practice is to check the level at least once a month and refill as needed. Keep them charged, maintain proper acid level, do not discharge more than 50% capacity before recharging and they will last a long time.

 

[higgs]

Trickle charge

Most trickle chargerswill overcharge over time which is very bad for your batteries. Most of here in Olcott - close to you - plug our batteries into a chrger for a day or so every month over the winter. You should check us out here down in Olcott. We have a lot to offer.

 

[rad]

Solar is the way to go!!!

I have 2 deep cycle batteries on my Hunter '30 and I use a 10 watt solar panel to keep them topped up. The deep cycle batteries are more than enough to start my small diesel and they have plenty of reserve to power all the lights, chartplotter and auto pilot. In the winter I rig the solar panel to the south side of the tarp and this keeps the batteries charged all winter in the boat yard. By the way - use distilled water only. Tap water will leave minerals on the battery plates reducing the life of the battery. You can pick up a 10 watt flexible panel on Ebay for about $100.

 

[rardiH36]

Solar Trickle Charge

Out west, Kragen auto has been selling a 15watt solar panel that includes a charge controller for $99.99. The box says good for RV and Marine applications (although I don't think I would consider this product good for serious long term marine use... and I don't know about how it would hold up over the cold Buffalo NY winter.) I'm in the San Francisco bay area and during this past summer when my boat was on the hard with no AC attached, this solar panel/controller combination kept my two deep cylcle batteries nicely charged. When I first bought the boat, the batteries tested at about 11.5v The solar charger/controller took a few days to bring them up to 13.5v with the solar attached and about 12.8v unattached. And now my boat is in the marina, I am finding it more convenient to keep the batteries charged with the solar, rather than connecting the heavy AC cord to the shore receptacle each time I return from an outing.I think Kragen is part of the same group as AutoZone, The $99 price is right so it might be worth a check locally if they are available. Also give thought about the number of sunny days in Buffalo during the winter? Solar doesn't generate much on cloudy days and the low sun inclination during the winter also will reduce daily watt output. The solar system on my home's roof-top (which I can monitor with the system's performance meter) only produces 10% of its rating on a December rain day.

 

[Paul Akers]

Use Distilled Water...

...and only fill it to the "ring" inside the cap. It's available at Walmart for 89 cents/gallon. Or take some from an AC unit or dehumidifier.

 

[Bill C320 Papillon]

maybe this is over kill

but I remove my group 27's and keep them in the basement over the winter.