battery care

[Jeremy]

I recently bought a new 13 plate battery and had a rectifier fitted to keep it charged. I have a pull start outboard, so I just use the battery for the sounder, radio, bilge, nav lights etc. I have been out about 4 times with the new battery and rectifier now and checked the battery yesterday. It seems to be keeping full charge (ie recharging) well.

My question is what maintainence is required now that I don't have to manually charge the battery? Should I disconnect the boats electronics after each trip? How often to check the level of electrolyte in the battery?

Cheers,

Jeremy

[Lucky_Phill]

Who told you that you don't have to manually recharge your new battery.

Give them and uppercut !!!!!!

The rectifiers fitted to outboards ( very large 4 strokes excepted ) do NOT fully charge a battery. They offer minimal charge to keep the battery topped up.

I have a 15plate N70ZZ ( truck ) battery. If I use the boat on 2 to 3 night trips, I would definately manually charge the battery before the next trip. This charging takes place over a 2 or three day period as I only use a 4 amp charger.

I know people will say that using a sounder, bilge, lights etc, will not flatten your battery, but, the rectifier will not replace the charge you have used, unless of course you are travelling 100 klms back to the ramp.

Certainly, a isolator switch cannot hurt to switch off the power at the battery when the boat is not being used. Please, do not forget that a spike protector is probably more important for your electronics and about the same price as a isolator switch.

[mick]

jeremy

just check it the day before you go out, and recharch it if needed. in my opinion batteries are dicey. they can go dead with no apparent reason.

i have two 600 centuries (both 2 months old). my boat had a major wiring prob, so the batteries wernt charging. i went into supercheap auto and told the 16yr old kid behind the counter what battery i had and asked for a charger to suit. after a night of charging the battery was still dead, so i had the charger replaced. next day, still no charge. so i had it swaped for a dearer brand. next day, still no charge. after talking to a few mates i found i needed a stronger amp charger. i went in and fliped my lid, got a 12amp charger instead of the 4amp they sold me.

one battery has full charge and the other has a few hours left on the charger.

the moral of the story is, dont listen to pimply employees , who are payed to tell you "yes sir"

[mick]

lucky_phill

are spike protectors easy to wire-in.
i have a main + & - wire running up the side, these wires go into a splitter and then to instuments. would the spike protector go onto the main + wire??

[elmo]

A rectifier transforms alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC). The alternator produces AC, it is then passed through the rectifier to a regulator which limits the voltage/current (charge to the battery).

How quickly a battery charges depends on the rated size of the alternator (a car alternator is rated around 100 Amps) as well as the time charging.

This also applies to the 4amp or 12 Amp charger from Super Cheap. The 4 amp charger would charge the battery if left long enough. For simplicity, if you have 120 ampere hour battery it can supply 12 amps for 10 hours or 4 amps for 30 hours. Therefore if you turn around to charge it would take a 12 amp charge 10 hour and a 4 amp charger 30 hours to fully charge a battery from flat.

Note that this is not the exact way it works but is only for explanation.

As for spike protection. Yes they are easy to wire. The suppressor is usually fitted between the positive and negative (in parallel). The quality and price is relative to how quickly and how much surge is diverted.

The more expensive the equipment the more you would pay for a suppressor.

Just like charging rates for deep cycle and lead acid batteries, an expert's (auto electrician, etc.) opinion should be sought.

[Lucky_Phill]

Not a bad explaination elmo !

The new 4 strokes ( 225 Honda )have about 70amp output at 4000rpm, and some as low as 45. But a rectifier fitted to and old 2 stroke Yammie such as mine puts out about 8amps.

Thus requiring a 100 kilometer trip after a nights fishing to fully charge the battery.

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