What is it with these boat batteries

[jonesg]

Does anyone else use auto batteries?

I bought a marine battery 3 yrs ago, not sure where but it was dual purpose and very heavy. Either Bass Pro or walmart.

Didn't use the boat the past couple of yrs as I was repairing, the battery probably had less than 10 starts on it over a total of 3 yrs. I probably paid around $130.

I removed the battery the first winter but left it in the boat the second winter, I kept cycling the T?T to make sure it didn't go flat, seemed fine.

I just had it load tested at autozone and it faILED, i also TRIED IT IN MY 4 CYL volvo after charging all nite, too weak so its shot for sure.

The battery in my volvo is $45 from walmart, the car sat well over a yr through extreme cold and was flat due to the analog volvo clock on the dash running it down.

The battery in the volvo charged up and is back in use, the boat battery was used for core charge to buy a new battery for the volvo which I'm going to use in the boat for now. I have a second battery in the boat which I need to test.

I've never had a battery wear out so fast with little use, I'm gonna try auto batteries and see if they do better, Does anyone else use auto batteries, the one I bought is 650CCA.
I think I paid around $90 at autozone.

 

[mmuutts]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

Hi, I use a auto batt. for starting and a marine batt. for the house...lights and such...always workes fine for me. Sounds like you just got a lemon....

 

[JB]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

Neglect will kill a lead acid battery faster than regular use. If that was a Walmart Everstart Marine Maxx dual purpose you didn't pay $130, you paid closer to $70. That is the best marine battery Wally offers, and it is made by Interstate, one of the best battery makers.

I wouldn't expect an auto battery to survive that treatment either. You just got lucky with the Volvo.

 

[dingbat]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

I use deep cycle batteries for both house and starting use. I repalced one of them last fall with a 2005 date code. The other, just 2 weeks ago and it had a 2001 date code.

Never did anything special. Always left in the boat for the winter. Instructions said don't use a trickle charger on them so they sat for 3 months at a time w/o being charged.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

Your problem might be that Autozone does not know how to test a good marine battery. If this is an AGM battery such as an Optima Blue Top, if can fool the system into thinking it is bad. Wire a good battery (fully charged) in parallel with it. Charge BOTH in parallel, and that may recover your battery. Keep an eye on the "bad" battery. Make sure it is not getting hot or venting. If so, it is probably bad. In general, I do agree with JB though. Pull the battery, bring it indoors and keep it charged.

TerryMSU

 

[rrhodes]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

The first 2 years I pulled the battery and every couple of weeks I put a charger on it set on maintain. Last year I got lazy and forgot to pull the battery, after 3 months she cranked right up but the gauge showed a little weak so I threw the charger on for one night and it is fine after 3 weeks.

Letting a Deep Cycle battery go dead is a bad thing but I don't think you need to leave a charger on it all the time. Most of us trailer boaters don't charge before every outing so in the winter I would think throwing it on a charger every 3 to 4 weeks should be sufficient to keep them in good order.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

You'all are in Columbia. He is a Yankee, up near Boston. It gets a lot colder up there than it does down where you'all are. He needs to keep it fully charged or pull it out of the boat and put the battery where it is warmer. I store my battery in my basement. Columbia isn't much colder than my basement, especially if you park in a garage in the sun.

(Hope my Southern talk did not offend you. If so, I am a sorry Yankee.)

TerryMSU

 

[jonesg]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

Your problem might be that Autozone does not know how to test a good marine battery. If this is an AGM battery such as an Optima Blue Top, if can fool the system into thinking it is bad. Wire a good battery (fully charged) in parallel with it. Charge BOTH in parallel, and that may recover your battery. Keep an eye on the "bad" battery. Make sure it is not getting hot or venting. If so, it is probably bad. In general, I do agree with JB though. Pull the battery, bring it indoors and keep it charged.

TerryMSU

After charging at 2amps overnite it vented, the top was wet with acid.

I used it to barely start the volvo and drove to autozone where they said it was dud, traded it for core charge on a new battery.
All indications said it was bad. The new battery is only connected to the outboard. It cranks it a lot faster than the old dual purtpose marine.

 

[jonesg]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

True it was a N-everstart,
my other battery which runs all the house equipment, that must be the better one from bass pro.

 

[JoLin]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

I removed the battery the first winter but left it in the boat the second winter, I kept cycling the T?T to make sure it didn't go flat, seemed fine.

Doesn't make sense. If you regularly tested the T&T (which takes a lot of current), but never charged the battery, all you did was help ruin the battery. A partially discharged battery (from running the T&T) subjected to freezing temperatures long term, won't last.

I fully charge and desulfate my batteries in the fall. I disconnect them but leave them in the boat. Some top them up occasionally during the winter. I normally don't. Come spring, my batteries are are charged and fine.

My .02

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

If this is an AGM battery such as an Optima Blue Top, if can fool the system into thinking it is bad. Wire a good battery (fully charged) in parallel with it. Charge BOTH in parallel, and that may recover your battery. Keep an eye on the "bad" battery. Make sure it is not getting hot or venting. If so, it is probably bad.

I have a co-worker who had a "bad" optima yellow top that he stored outdoors over the Michigan winter. This spring it came up bad. (No surprise!!). We tried the parallel battery trick and it did work. Battery is now functional!

TerryMSU

 

[Art Bernard]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

Dunno about good or bad battries, I use the wall-mart marine batts and do just fine, but I do have a solar battery maintainer I hook up when the boat is not in use. It monitors the batt and only starts charging when voltage drops to a certain level, than shuts off at full charge. Works well for me

Art

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

You'all are in Columbia. He is a Yankee, up near Boston. It gets a lot colder up there than it does down where you'all are. He needs to keep it fully charged or pull it out of the boat and put the battery where it is warmer. I store my battery in my basement. Columbia isn't much colder than my basement, especially if you park in a garage in the sun.

(Hope my Southern talk did not offend you. If so, I am a sorry Yankee.)

TerryMSU

It's Y'all, which is an abbreviation for You All.

 

[mike.coleman67]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

I have used regular car batteries with a waterproof battery tender hooked to each. I plug in whenever my boat is not in use and get about three years of life out of them.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: What is it with these boat batteries

+1 on above. I use car batteries on boats as long as they're not being used with trolling motors, and have a battery tender I plug in every month or so. It doesn't hurt to remove the batteries and take'em inside during a long, cold winter.

I've been using the same battery probably 8-9 years, and my last battery lasted something like 10 years. Car batteries only come from 3 national manufacturers, and they're relatively cheap to purchase--at least until the last couple of years.