merc1997 Bo Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 bud if the charger is truly depleting water by leaving it plugged, then the charger is not truly shutting off and is charging all the time. normal draining and recharging a wet cell deep cycle battery is going to deplete some of the water in the battery. some brands of batteries gas worse than others and will need water more often. that is why wet cell deep cycle batteries are not sealed and still have caps. bo
Hazbin Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 bud if the charger is truly depleting water by leaving it plugged, then the charger is not truly shutting off and is charging all the time. normal draining and recharging a wet cell deep cycle battery is going to deplete some of the water in the battery. some brands of batteries gas worse than others and will need water more often. that is why wet cell deep cycle batteries are not sealed and still have caps. bo I know the factory say you are suppose to keep them on charge until you are ready to use them again. Mine are BPS 2 10amp and I noted when I left it on there for extended period of time I would note the water level would eventually evaporate. I also noted when the batteries were charged the green lite was on that the charger was functioning properly and not putting out any charge, but when you unplug the charger and left it for awhile it would drain the batteries by that maintenance check of the unplugged charger. I checked this when I would unplug the charger and wait for say 30 seconds or so and disconnect the charger for the batteries and then touch the charger wires back to the batteries there would be a spark indicating a draw from the maintenance feature. So what I 've been doing is charging the batteries up full then unplugging the charger, disconnecting the charger and then connecting the charger again for an hour or so before I go again and disconnecting the charger from the batteries while not charging.
merc1997 Bo Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 I know the factory say you are suppose to keep them on charge until you are ready to use them again. Mine are BPS 2 10amp and I noted when I left it on there for extended period of time I would note the water level would eventually evaporate. I also noted when the batteries were charged the green lite was on that the charger was functioning properly and not putting out any charge, but when you unplug the charger and left it for awhile it would drain the batteries by that maintenance check of the unplugged charger. I checked this when I would unplug the charger and wait for say 30 seconds or so and disconnect the charger for the batteries and then touch the charger wires back to the batteries there would be a spark indicating a draw from the maintenance feature. So what I 've been doing is charging the batteries up full then unplugging the charger, disconnecting the charger and then connecting the charger again for an hour or so before I go again and disconnecting the charger from the batteries while not charging. that is why all chargers are not equal to each other. a good charger that is made to leave on the battery will actually shut off. the bps might say something about charger quality. bo
Hazbin Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 that is why all chargers are not equal to each other. a good charger that is made to leave on the battery will actually shut off. the bps might say something about charger quality. bo Yep, I was thinking the same thing. " You know poor people have poor ways ". merc1997 Bo 1
Members flyrod17 Posted April 30, 2015 Members Posted April 30, 2015 i have used a dual pro charger for years. i plug it in when i get in, and it stays plugged in until i go the next time. it absolutely shuts down when the batteries are fully charged. it also kicks on and checks the batteries periodically and will kick back on if needed. if you do not trust your fully automatic charger, then you just need to get a manual and go disconnect it when you think your batteries are done. these newer auto chargers will extend your battery life. i read about chris lanes boat fire, but was the problem actually with the charger, or was it because of bad battery connections that made the charger overheat??? i will go with the latter. all battery connections need routine cleaning to maintain proper contact. any corrosion will travel up wiring causing resistance which in turn causes over heating and voltage loss. boats need a maintaining schedule just as your car does. i bet fishwrench could write a book about how many repairs could be avoided with proper scheduled maintaining. how many change the lower unit lube at least once a year, and if you fish a lot, it should be done twice, especially with the new powder poured gears. how many change the water pump impellar at least every two years?? when is the last time you cleaned all of your battery connections??? how often do you clean and lube your reels?? enough said. bo I have a four bank charger that gets plugged in as soon as I unhook the boat in the garage. In the winter this is religon almost because winter is hard on batteries. I have given thought to the chance of fire but I think it's a very low probability. Everyone is different but that's how I do it. As for other maintaince issues, I change the lower unit lube twice a year, when I fished tournaments I changed it at least 3 times a year. I saw a video of Gerald Swindle before he made the trek to California couple weeks ago, he said he changes his lower unit before every tournament. Lube is cheap, engines are a little more expensive.......... "I'm Haunted by Water"
fishinwrench Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 Swindel selling gear lube these days? Wonder if he changes the differential lube(s) in his truck every time too.
bfishn Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 ... I checked this when I would unplug the charger and wait for say 30 seconds or so and disconnect the charger for the batteries and then touch the charger wires back to the batteries there would be a spark indicating a draw from the maintenance feature.... Several automatic chargers have a large capacitor in the output circuit that will discharge on initial contact back to the battery, but don't spark again with repeated tries, and won't discharge the battery when off. Sounds like yours was sucking it down though. I can't dance like I used to.
inshore Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 same as hazbin it will run the water out of a battery that's not maintance free.
merc1997 Bo Posted May 1, 2015 Posted May 1, 2015 Swindel selling gear lube these days? Wonder if he changes the differential lube(s) in his truck every time too. since you work on boat motors, what is your advice on the frequency to change lower unit lube on motors that have powder poured gears in the lower unit?? powder poured gears' life span is directly linked to lube changes even in vehicles. bo
fishinwrench Posted May 1, 2015 Posted May 1, 2015 Being a mechanic (for hire) I change gear lube when I am asked to, and 75% of the time the lube I am disposing of is as clean and free of viscosity breakdown as what I'm replacing it with. As much as I love making money I still have concerns about the needless waste of oil based resources in our lives. Unless the lube is contaminated with water or particles of metal, and still has its original color then it is as good as new IMO. Heat inside a gearcase is very slight, so.... If your lube has not noticeably changed in color then my guess is that it is still good. What does the manufacturer recommend in your "powdered gear" lower unit ? I honestly have not been educated about it, so I don't know. I do know that the price of replacement gearsets have NOT gone down, so are we now paying more for an inferior product?
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