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Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2022 4:50 pm
by green
I am preparing to haul out and trailer my new to me 2005
in two weeks. The forum is a great resource. Learning about the Mac bump.
My question today jumps ahead a bit to what to do with the batteries once the boat comes out of the water and off shore power. I’ll be storing it on the trailer in a place without a hookup. The boat will sit for 1-3 weeks at a time without running the motor.
What do you advise for the batteries? Is there a solar trickle charge setup you’d recommend?
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2022 8:15 pm
by Russ
First couple of years, I took the batteries home and stored them inside for the winter. Put the charger on them throughout the winter.
Now: I leave them on the boat full time. It's such a PITA to remove them. I have a 100w solar panel and battery combiner so I leave the solar rig to keep them topped off all winter. Been working fine. Without the solar panel and access to shore power, I'd probably get a trickle charger for them.
A few weeks. Nothing is going to happen to them. Don't sweat it. If it makes you feel better, plop a charger on them before you head to the ramp.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2022 5:44 am
by Be Free
Just turn everything off and don't worry about it. If your batteries can't hold a charge for a couple of weeks then you need to replace them anyway.
You can get a reasonably good battery tester for around $50 that will give you a good estimate of the health of your battery. I think the brand name is Topdon. It can give you advance warning that the battery is getting too old to be dependable. Alternatively, you can get a small battery pack for about the same cost and use it to jump start the engine when the battery eventually dies.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2022 7:31 am
by WinSome
Be Free is correct about holding charge and battery condition.
To overwinter (several months) with batteries onboard, we use a 7W solar charger as shown. It’s amorphous and will produce a small charge when in indirect light. Keeps batteries topped up.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2022 7:56 am
by NiceAft
whereas the info above about the batteries is accurate, I never let it go that long. If there is a power supply accessible, I use one of these to supply power to the trickle charger installed in the boat. Does your
have an access to attach such a cord?
https://www.westmarine.com/marinco-50-- ... 72439.html
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2022 10:00 am
by Russ
Be Free wrote: ↑Sat Aug 06, 2022 5:44 am
You can get a reasonably good battery tester for around $50 that will give you a good estimate of the health of your battery. I think the brand name is Topdon. It can give you advance warning that the battery is getting too old to be dependable.
Thanks,
I think I'm going to invest in one of these.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2022 10:24 am
by Be Free
NiceAft wrote: ↑Sat Aug 06, 2022 7:56 am
whereas the info above about the batteries is accurate, I never let it go that long. If there is a power supply accessible, I use one of these to supply power to the trickle charger installed in the boat. Does your
have an access to attach such a cord?
https://www.westmarine.com/marinco-50-- ... 72439.html
I'm not saying "don't charge", I'm saying "don't worry if you can't charge". I keep all five of my batteries on a charger when there is power available.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2022 10:53 am
by green
Thanks all. Sounds like I don’t have to be as proactive as I was thinking.
I’ll look into the solar charger.
Ray, yes I do have the power cable. Just no power source where I’ll park the trailer.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2022 9:27 am
by dlandersson
Ditto
Russ wrote: ↑Fri Aug 05, 2022 8:15 pm
First couple of years, I took the batteries home and stored them inside for the winter. Put the charger on them throughout the winter.
Now: I leave them on the boat full time. It's such a PITA to remove them. I have a 100w solar panel and battery combiner so I leave the solar rig to keep them topped off all winter. Been working fine. Without the solar panel and access to shore power, I'd probably get a trickle charger for them.
A few weeks. Nothing is going to happen to them. Don't sweat it. If it makes you feel better, plop a charger on them before you head to the ramp.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2022 1:42 pm
by pitchpolehobie
Do u guys use a fluid checking device on them? Do you use distilled water or battery electrolyte solution?
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2022 6:30 pm
by Russ
pitchpolehobie wrote: ↑Sun Aug 07, 2022 1:42 pm
Do u guys use a fluid checking device on them? Do you use distilled water or battery electrolyte solution?
Nope.
Honestly...I think I've checked fluid levels once over the past coupla years. Probably should check more often.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 4:41 am
by NiceAft
Be Free wrote: ↑Sat Aug 06, 2022 10:24 am
NiceAft wrote: ↑Sat Aug 06, 2022 7:56 am
whereas the info above about the batteries is accurate, I never let it go that long. If there is a power supply accessible, I use one of these to supply power to the trickle charger installed in the boat. Does your
have an access to attach such a cord?
https://www.westmarine.com/marinco-50-- ... 72439.html
I'm not saying "don't charge", I'm saying "don't worry if you can't charge". I keep all five of my batteries on a charger when there is power available.
It looks like we agree. I said
If there is a power supply accessible; you said
when there is power available. Tomato, Tomahto.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 2:38 pm
by KonstantinAtHouston
My understanding is your batteries are lead-acid. I would definitely set up a solar trickle charger for them, this batteries really don't like been depleted and stored with low charge state. Something like this (first search for "solar trickle charge" on Amazon)
30 watts for ~$50 right now with coupon.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 7:30 pm
by LakeMac26C
The PO installed a pretty nice solar system with charge controller on my boat. The problem is they had two batteries in the boat and they hooked up the charge controller to both batteries in parallel. And the batteries were different ratings and chemistries. It almost killed both batteries since it couldn't differentiate between the two batteries. One was always under charged and the other was almost totally discharged. To fix this, I installed a switch in the cabin. Now I can send the charger to the forward battery, the rear battery, or OFF. Every once in awhile I flick the switch to the opposite battery and let the solar charger do its thing.
Re: Battery maintenance on land
Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2022 8:19 am
by Russ
LakeMac26C wrote: ↑Mon Sep 05, 2022 7:30 pm
The PO installed a pretty nice solar system with charge controller on my boat. The problem is they had two batteries in the boat and they hooked up the charge controller to both batteries in parallel. And the batteries were different ratings and chemistries. It almost killed both batteries since it couldn't differentiate between the two batteries. One was always under charged and the other was almost totally discharged. To fix this, I installed a switch in the cabin. Now I can send the charger to the forward battery, the rear battery, or OFF. Every once in awhile I flick the switch to the opposite battery and let the solar charger do its thing.
That certainly is one way to fix it.
I have 2 of the same exact batteries. Both deep cycle lead acid. My solar is connected to the "house" battery and a combiner joins them when voltage goes to charging levels. So far has kept them happy through brutal winters.
Someday hopefully the newer types of batteries will be more affordable.