Battery Life

[FreeBeeTony]

I have (2) Seavolt 650 Dual Purpose batteries purchased from West Marine a few years ago.
Not sure if it's 2 or 3 years. Each year I remove the batteries in the fall and store in the basement. Today I go to the boat @ 5am and find both batteries dead. The boat has been in the water for about a month and have gone out every w/e. I must say they seemed a bit weak last weekend but figured they just needed to be charged while the engine is running.....now I am questioning the batteries. the alternator seems to be working.....measured the voltage to be ~14V when running.

Question: How often do you guys replace you batteries?

I am charging them now and plan on bringing them down to Autozone to be tested...

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: Battery Life

Storing them in the basement really doesn't help unless there's a trickle or float charger on them to keep them topped. The worst thing you can do to a battery is let it drain completely dead.

The three batteries in my boat have 2003 date codes. I'll have to replace one of them this season. The other two are still holding 12.6 volts.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Battery Life

I don't understand the reasoning but, I've been told to store the batts. on a piece of wood. Not directly on the concrete.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Battery Life

Determined today that this would be my 5th season with these batteries.......guess it's time to replace them. I charged them and the engine started right up but not sure if they will hold a charge.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Battery Life

I don't understand the reasoning but, I've been told to store the batts. on a piece of wood. Not directly on the concrete.

Yeah, this is an oldie but goodie. The concern was that the concrete would leech the charge out of the batteries. I think once upon a time it was actually true, but my understanding is not any more. Can anyone out there confirm or dispute?

 

[cedarjunki]

Re: Battery Life

i actually still have and still use a used battery i aquired back around 1998! best $10.00 i ever spent!
no i dont rely on just that one, but its like it doesnt want to give up. and has alot more cranking power than any other new battery i have bought.



interesting reading....http://www.thebatteryterminal.com/TechTalk_Batteries_on_Concrete.htm

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Battery Life

Soooooo........

How often do most of you replace your batteries........???

 

[robert graham]

Re: Battery Life

I replace my battery about every 3 or 4 years, the trick is to replace it BEFORE it leaves you sitting at the ramp or down the river somewhere. The charge rate on most outboards is not all that strong, my 90HP Yamaha has a max 10 amp charge at normal cruise, but accessories slow that down some. Store your battery in your garage and keep it charged up with a good automatic charger, I usually leave mine overnight on an automatic 2 amp charge about every 3 or 4 weeks. I set mine on a block of wood just to keep it off the floor but I doubt it matters at all, even though there has always been discussion on that subject. If your motor is tuned and set up correctly it will usually start quickly and save the battery, but you can run a battery dead real quick trying to start a temperamental motor.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Battery Life

One other good idea, the last thing you do before leaving to haul your boat to the lake is crank it up on the muffs in your driveway, then you can be pretty darn confident it'll crank. I learned this the hard way when we pulled the boat to Florida with a new battery, but the grandchildren had been sitting in the boat several days before and hit the tachometer light switch on and it drained that battery so low I had to buy a new one for $65! Lesson well-learned! Check battery and keep grandkids out of the @#$% boat!

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Battery Life

My engine is a Mercruiser 350 Mag I\/O so I don't think charging is a problem.
The boat is kept in a slip so I don't know the condition of the batteries until I get down to the boat.

My friend (in the business) dropped off (2) PowerMaster Dual Purpose batteries for me last night, think they are 1000 cranking amps..........

I should be good for another 5 years!!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Battery Life

They get replaced when they need to. Determining when they need to is as simple as charging them. Then within an hour or so, take them to any auto store (NAPA, O'Reily's, Car Qwest etc and have them load tested. If they fail the load test, replace them. Any other replacement schedule is simply unnecessary or at an interval that makes you happy. Batteries are not budget busters unless you have a bunch of them. Good quality on-board chargers are the best investment for keeping batteries happy.

 

[Gierhedd75]

Re: Battery Life

Yeah, this is an oldie but goodie. The concern was that the concrete would leech the charge out of the batteries. I think once upon a time it was actually true, but my understanding is not any more. Can anyone out there confirm or dispute?

Hey just going through here for some late-night reading, and came across this. To answer your question, It doesn't matter where you store your batteries, marine or automotive, on wood, plastic, or metal shelving. The battery's casing insulates it from whatever surface it's on. People used to think that placing the battery on the ground would actually ground out the battery. That's just simply not true. As long as they are kept on a trickle charge of some sort, and kept free of excessive temperatures in either direction, and away from water or some place where they may be accidentally punctured or tipped over. You should also make sure your posts/terminals are free of corrosion. Perhaps a bit of dielectric grease on them as well. Batteries work by a reaction between the sulfuric acid and lead plates inside them, creating electricity. And eventually, the reaction will stop, causing the need for a new one. This is just one of those inevitabilities. But with proper care and maintenance, you can extend the service life of your battery - marine or automotive for at least a few years past its expected lifespan.

 

[cedarjunki]

Re: Battery Life

People used to think that placing the battery on the ground would actually ground out the battery. That's just simply not true.

not true anymore anyways but it was at first.


Historical Basis
You see, the myth that concrete drains batteries does have some historical basis. Many, many years ago, wooden battery cases encased a glass jar with the battery inside. Any moisture on the floor could cause the wood to swell and possibly fracture the glass, causing it to leak. Later came the introduction of the hard rubber cases, which were somewhat porous and had a high-carbon content. An electrical current could be conducted through this container if the moist concrete floor permitted the current to find an electrical ground. The wise advice of the old days to "keep batteries off concrete" has been passed down to us today, but it no longer applies because of the advanced technology of today?s batteries.


Today?s Technology
For more than a decade, automotive and commercial battery containers have been made of polypropylene, which is a highly insulative material. In fact, the Interstate Batteries poly material is at least five times more insulative than the old hard rubber. Also, tremendous technological improvements have been made in the seals around the posts and the vent systems, which have virtually eliminated electrolyte seepage and migration.

 

[DianneB]

Re: Battery Life

An electrical current could be conducted through this container if the moist concrete floor permitted the current to find an electrical ground.

I honestly wonder WHERE this mythology comes from !!! ???

To discharge a battery, there has to be a path for electrons to move from the negative plates to the positive plates ... PERIOD - no more, no less. It matters not one wit if you were to directly connect the positive terminal to earth (ground) or the negative terminal to ground (NOT at the same time LOL!) - the battery does not care and it will have no effect - the battery is an entity onto itself and the only way to have current (electron) flow that will discharge a battery is from negative terminal to positive terminal.

In lead/acid battery technology, the culprit responsible for self-discharge is:

#1 the debris shed by the plates into the bottom of the cell. This debris is conductive and when it reaches the bottom of the plates your battery is toast - you loose a cell.

#2 the fluid itself. As the fluid becomes contaminated with more and more metal particles (from the plates) it actually begins to provide a path for electrons to migrate from the negative plate to the positive.

The factors that effect battery quality are:
- quality of materials used to build the battery
- the thickness and ruggedness of the plates
- the amount of 'free space' under the plates for debris to collect

There are trade-offs in battery design. For example, more plates makes for more cranking amps and higher amp-hour rating but unless the plates are thinner, the battery becomes heavier and more bulky. Thick large plates make for a longer battery life but at higher cost and less amp-hours.

A general rule of battery quality (unless they come with a spec sheet LOL!) is the bigger, heavier, and more expensive, the better the quality and longer the expected life.

 

[cedarjunki]

Re: Battery Life

I honestly wonder WHERE this mythology comes from !!! ???


- quality of materials used to build the battery

the "myth" came from the original batteries made wayyyy back when.......out of glass encased with wood, then the rubber cases were used.


today it is not an issue considering the type and quality of materials used as you stated

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: Battery Life

Are you running a shore power to your boat at the slip? If so you can get a battery maintainer and keep them fresh. If not I would get a solar battery trickle charger to keep them maintained. Good for the batteries and good for the bilge pump.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: Battery Life

Are you running a shore power to your boat at the slip? If so you can get a battery maintainer and keep them fresh. If not I would get a solar battery trickle charger to keep them maintained. Good for the batteries and good for the bilge pump.

Funny you ask.........I just started a new thread on this subject!

 

[lncoop]

Re: Battery Life

Good quality on-board chargers are the best investment for keeping batteries happy.

+1 on that. It's one of the few absolute truths in boating life. Some of the best money you'll ever spend on your rig.