Battery report-gctid380976

[dmcb]

Visited our 38xx for the first time since early Oct. of last year.

Checked the battery condition for the house and starting batteries on the next to useless factory gauge. They both showed almost a full charge.

House bank is 420 amp hours and the starting batteries are just two large 12 volt batteries you can buy at Walmart.

Turned on the 100 amp charger but it only charged 44 amps. That was just for a very short period and it started tapering back.

I was charging about 8 amps in a very short time so I switched my switches to all which now charges the starting batteries.

It went up to about 20 amps for a short time. Didn't measure the time but within an hour they were charging about 3 amps.

I never charge the batteries during the winter. And never have. Batteries don't discharge much in cold weather anyway.

This was pushing 8 months and that is the results.

I often advise here to fully charge your batteries, leave them in the boat, and forget about them for the winter months.

If they are dead in the spring, they were no good in the fall.

The same thing for the diesel truck and tractor I leave in Mich.

In Florida I disconnect the batteries on everything and other than a lawn mower I can't remember anything not starting in the fall when I return. We are gone there 7 months. And I get very good battery life in my stuff.

Doug

[captharv]

The main problem seen with batteries has to do with improper charging. The very worst thing you can do is to discharge a battery and leave it there. Storing a disconnected, fully charged battery, is the way to go. it also won't freeze. A discharged battery will freeze.

Sunday morning, wifey comes back into the house with --(whiney voice) the cars battery is dead. So after inspecting for lights or something else left on, I got out the heavy duty charger and connected it. The battery took heavy current imediately, so its not sulfated. I measured the current from the car, and it was about 6 amps, key off. I pulled fuses and determined that brake lamp circuit was drawing the current. I found the problem in the brake pedal switch. There was a spacer between the pedal and switch which disintegrated (cheap plastic) I fashoned an aluminum spacer. Good to go...

Gave it an hour charge and took it to be load tested, which it passed. All because it was charged immediately after being totally discharged.

Besides, the battery has a 3 yr no-charge (pun intended) warrranty which is only a year and a half old. Gives me a problem, I'll get a new one.

I will take it in in 2 months for another load test.

[706jim]

I just returned from a bareboat charter in the BVI's. The boat was a monstrous power cat just over 4 years old. The house batteries seemed to have very little capacity, even after a two hour run under engines following a 12 hour generator charge. I think that batteries simply wear out and the time it takes varies wildly. I've had batteries fail in a year and also last 14 (my old Ford truck).

I think you should replace your batteries from what you described above.

[Guest]

706jim wrote:
I just returned from a bareboat charter in the BVI's. The boat was a monstrous power cat just over 4 years old. The house batteries seemed to have very little capacity, even after a two hour run under engines following a 12 hour generator charge. I think that batteries simply wear out and the time it takes varies wildly. I've had batteries fail in a year and also last 14 (my old Ford truck).

I think you should replace your batteries from what you described above.

I'm curious why you say this; from what I saw in both of their posts, I felt their batteries are likely fine for a at least another full year, and probably more.

Is your reply directed at Doug or Harvey?

[706jim]

whiskywizard wrote:
I'm curious why you say this; from what I saw in both of their posts, I felt their batteries are likely fine for a at least another full year, and probably more.

Is your reply directed at Doug or Harvey?

At Doug, but I will admit to skipping through the post and misread the symptoms.

Just thinking that a battery giving you problems should be replaced.

[Guest]

I agree with keeping the batteries in the boat for winter storage. I have a short adapter cord that I plug into one of my shore power inlets, turn off all the AC panel breakers except for the battery charger, then shrink wrap the boat. Once or twice during the winter, I go to the boat yard and plug in the adapter with an extention cord for a couple of hours.

My house bank is 4 golf cart batteries that have date labels on them from 2004. Add distilled water once or twice a year.

[Stratocaster]

706jim wrote:
At Doug, but I will admit to skipping through the post and misread the symptoms.

Just thinking that a battery giving you problems should be replaced.

I read the post twice and failed to see any "symptoms" described.

What I did see was Doug telling us his real-world experience about leaving a fully charged battery untouched over the winter and it is still pretty much fully charged today.

[706jim]

Stratocaster wrote:
I read the post twice and failed to see any "symptoms" described.

What I did see was Doug telling us his real-world experience about leaving a fully charged battery untouched over the winter and it is still pretty much fully charged today.

"Turned on the 100 amp charger but it only charged 44 amps. That was just for a very short period and it started tapering back.

I was charging about 8 amps in a very short time so I switched my switches to all which now charges the starting batteries.

It went up to about 20 amps for a short time. Didn't measure the time but within an hour they were charging about 3 amps."

Ok, if not symptoms, observations then?

[Guest]

706jim wrote:
"Turned on the 100 amp charger but it only charged 44 amps. That was just for a very short period and it started tapering back.

I was charging about 8 amps in a very short time so I switched my switches to all which now charges the starting batteries.

It went up to about 20 amps for a short time. Didn't measure the time but within an hour they were charging about 3 amps."

Ok, if not symptoms, observations then?

Those low currents tell you the battery(ies) are not discharged very far. What Doug's saying is that even after a long winter, sitting disconnected and never charged, they were in good shape before he appiled the charger.

[Stratocaster]

Right.

Put simply, if Doug turned on the 100A charger, and it immediately started putting out 100A....those batteries are DEAD!

However, if he turns the unit on and it's only putting out a trickle...those batteries are fully charged and are not pulling any current from the charger.