Typically, how long should a battery last? I bought the boat brand new in July 2005 and withiing a year one battery used to lose its power pretty quickly. The other was fine, but now that's dying too. Granted, I didn't use the boat since the day before he superbowl, but how long should a battery last before you have to replace it?
Battery Life
- Thread starter bajanbum
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i depends on the batteries, the charger, the usage, etc...
one year is too short, unless the battery was neglected. do you check water level regularly ? your charger maybe boiling them out... depends on the charger. if you ever drained them too low, that will affect life expectancy as well...
in So Fl, they dont' last very long... 3 years seems to be the average i got from the average marine battery. on the other hand, the last sets of heavy duty golf cart batteries i replace on the hatt were 4 to 5 years old...
one year is too short, unless the battery was neglected. do you check water level regularly ? your charger maybe boiling them out... depends on the charger. if you ever drained them too low, that will affect life expectancy as well...
in So Fl, they dont' last very long... 3 years seems to be the average i got from the average marine battery. on the other hand, the last sets of heavy duty golf cart batteries i replace on the hatt were 4 to 5 years old...
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Pascal's right on.
Battery manufacturers claim the average battery life in a marine environment is 3.8 years. However, if they're well-maintained, kept charged, are not allowed to be overcharged, and are never completely discharged at any point in their life, they have been known to last 5 or even 6 years.
Battery manufacturers claim the average battery life in a marine environment is 3.8 years. However, if they're well-maintained, kept charged, are not allowed to be overcharged, and are never completely discharged at any point in their life, they have been known to last 5 or even 6 years.
I have 3 batteries on a 3 banks marine charger, I get 4 -5 years out of the 2 start/deep cycle. I just replace the start only on the genny every 6 years. If you have 2 bateries you really need a 2 bank charger, trying to charge 2 at the same time off a single bank will end up burning one up (the good one).
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My batteries have lasted about 2.5 years on my first boat.
This one was bought used and my surveyor told me at the moment of sale that 1 battery was just OK but the second one was old. A year and a half later, they are both working great.
I would say 1 year is way too low.
Do you always turn your batteries off when not using the boat?
Do you check water (if not sealed) regularly?
Do you clean your battery terminals regularly?
Do you always have your battery switch to "ALL" so both can be recharged when running?
This one was bought used and my surveyor told me at the moment of sale that 1 battery was just OK but the second one was old. A year and a half later, they are both working great.
I would say 1 year is way too low.
Do you always turn your batteries off when not using the boat?
Do you check water (if not sealed) regularly?
Do you clean your battery terminals regularly?
Do you always have your battery switch to "ALL" so both can be recharged when running?
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checking water level is a must... it doens't take long esp. if you use a filling bottle. a the same time, you can check terminals, etc... normally, you shoudn't have to clean them too often, i use dielectric grease on them and they stay clean.
how you set your battery switch depends on the boat... on a single engine / 2 batt. boat, you're better off charging one then the other although if it's going to be a short run charging both is ok. just make sure you don't forget to switch back to one or the other so that you don't drain both ! if you always run on both, sooner or later you'll forget to swtich back.
on or off when not using the boat ? depends... if stored on the hard you can leave the switch off. If in water, with shore power and charger on, you can leave the switch on although some will argue that the risk of corrosion increase... as usual, there isn't a right/wrong answer...
how you set your battery switch depends on the boat... on a single engine / 2 batt. boat, you're better off charging one then the other although if it's going to be a short run charging both is ok. just make sure you don't forget to switch back to one or the other so that you don't drain both ! if you always run on both, sooner or later you'll forget to swtich back.
on or off when not using the boat ? depends... if stored on the hard you can leave the switch off. If in water, with shore power and charger on, you can leave the switch on although some will argue that the risk of corrosion increase... as usual, there isn't a right/wrong answer...
When I had a smaller, single engine boat with a battery switch I would never run on both/all. The reason like I keep saying, the alt. will charge the low battery until it is fully charged, it will at the same time overcharge the one that it not low, overcharging is very hard on a battery. I would start-up on one and use it all day, if it started the engine, I'd run back on it, if it wouldn't start the engine I'd switch to the other battery, start the engine, switch back to the low battery and run back on it. Never would take a chance on havivg 2 low batteries. The boat had a 2 bank shore power charger, so when I got back to the dock both would charge.
Don't laugh, but I've never checked the water level. I thought they were sealed batteries. I only check to see if there's any corrosion. I guess I need to check the water first. Thanks Pascal!
1. Always.
2. Never so far. Will do that next time.
3. Never did that either. I always look at them and there's no corrosion.
4. Once I anchor and switch off, I switch to 1 or 2. Then All to start and run.
Thanks!
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4. Once I anchor and switch off, I switch to 1 or 2. Then All to start and run.
That's exactly what I always do. But as you can see, Jim is explaining something else about how the batteries are recharged that I did not know.
So, the only thing now I am only 100% sure is: never switch batteries while the boat is running. Anything else can be wrong!
That's exactly what I always do. But as you can see, Jim is explaining something else about how the batteries are recharged that I did not know.
So, the only thing now I am only 100% sure is: never switch batteries while the boat is running. Anything else can be wrong!
I must have Eveready gel cells. 8 seasons behind them so far & they still load test strong. Where's that block of wood?
They are NEVER left on trickle charge. Boat is revolving mooring kept therefore no shore power is available.
when on the mooring the boat is dead. Batterys are off. Only bilge pump is on.
The boat seldom runs for more than 1 1/2 hrs. Not alot of charging time
We overnight everytime we get on the boat but are very careful with power use.
Batterys don't need much to be happy.
Always on & trickle charging is not good. Reduces service life.
Terminals are checked & cleaned once a year.
They are NEVER left on trickle charge. Boat is revolving mooring kept therefore no shore power is available.
when on the mooring the boat is dead. Batterys are off. Only bilge pump is on.
The boat seldom runs for more than 1 1/2 hrs. Not alot of charging time
We overnight everytime we get on the boat but are very careful with power use.
Batterys don't need much to be happy.
Always on & trickle charging is not good. Reduces service life.
Terminals are checked & cleaned once a year.
Like most boats even when everthing is off, there are items that are still hooked up, thats a good thing, bulge pumps should allway work, or be ready to work. But you might have something on that is running down the battarys even you think its all off, check to make sure your not leaving unwanted drains of the batterys on. Even a small drain will drop a battery over time.
I use Delco Brand deep cycle 27 batteries, 2 of them, with a battery switch. I never have the switch on BOTH. I alternate batteries, both for charing and for use. When I leave the boat after the weekend, nothing is plugged into shore power and the switch is on OFF. But before I leave, I top off my batteries so they are left fully charged. My batteries last 6-7 years each.
Presuming you don't run it down flat and keep the water level above the tops of the cells, the best thing you can do is to make sure the battery gets a FULL charge as soon as possible after any kind of discharge. FULL charges include significant gassing. Without gassing you are getting partial charges and sulphation. The longer between gassing charges the more permanent the sulphastion will be since it "cures" over time. Running the engine 7-8 hours after a night on the hook will probably result in a partial charge because the voltage probably is too low for gassing because of all the normal electrical loads and the design of the average marine alternator. All my 8D's are 5 years old at least. The stbd. engine battery will start year 9 on 1 April. Luck. Dale
Got to disagree with Jim. When batteries are in parallel the strongest will try to charge the weakest and the voltage will be near that of the weakest. The alternator will charge the weakest more than the strongest because it accepts charge “easier” than the more charged battery. Only when they are both at similar voltage will the alternator significantly charge both.
pdecat, the chargers only see voltage, they know nothing else, you are flat wrong. Weakest will be weak for some reason (dead cell),parallel is not the way to go, if you have another choice, if you don't get one. You even said the good one will try to help the bad.
Charging 2 batteries off of a single bank charger or alt. will work, for a while, it will result in burning the good one up.
Charging 2 batteries off of a single bank charger or alt. will work, for a while, it will result in burning the good one up.