Copyright © 2009 by Swansea Jack
BATTERIES Pt1
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PROJECT PAGES
PROJECT GALLERY
GALLERIES
The experience of some, if not most, boat owners is that short battery life and dead batteries are a constant problem. Read this article to see what you can do to understand and eliminate this problem.
Poor quality of batteries or inadequate battery power
Faulty installation
Faulty charging systems
Any or a combination of faults in a DC electrical system can cause serious damage to electrical components. Engine starting motors in boats are so infrequently used that they should never have to be replaced. And yet engine starting motor failures are a constant source of trouble. The reason is either poor quality batteries, improperly maintained DC systems or substandard wiring. High resistance in electrical systems, combined with low voltage is deadly to electric motors, especially DC motors which run on only 12 volts. If you're having a problem with electric motor failures of any kind, chances are (unless the damage is caused by water leaks) the problem is related to problems with the system itself.
Some builders of small to midsize boats to supply both low quality batteries and batteries that are of insufficient capacity to supply the needs of the DC electrical equipment on board. Unlike nickel-cadmium batteries, which need to be completely discharged occasionally, lead-acid batteries become damaged when heavily discharged. Allow a battery system to become partially discharged and it becomes seriously weakened and never again will it return to its original, full-charge rate.
For this reason, it is important not to allow battery systems to become depleted. But this is nearly impossible when the total ampere/hour capacity just barely meets the total demand, for the batteries are constantly being over-taxed.
Nowadays, it is very common to find larger boats with a mass of electrical equipment on board, including an AC/DC refrigerator, and equipped with only a pair of 60 A.H. car batteries. Even though it probably says something like "auto-marine"on them, automotive batteries are discernible by their thin, cheap plastic casings. Battery suppliers do not tell you that the quality of automotive batteries has declined substantially. One of the primary cut backs in quality is the size and quality of the lead plates that generate the electricity. These thin, low-quality plates not only don't last as long as better quality units, but also very quickly begin to experience a fall off in the total amount of power they can generate. This, in turn, taxes the battery even more, thereby shortening its life span.
In other words, what are being passed off as "marine" batteries are really car batteries that not suitable for marine use. True marine batteries are distinguishable by both their heavy plastic casings and their substantially greater weight. They weigh considerably more because the lead plates will be close to twice as thick as automotive batteries. Because plates corrode in the process of generating electricity, plate size and thickness is the criteria for quality. Generally speaking, the thicker the plate, the longer it will last.
Poor quality of batteries or inadequate battery power
Faulty installation
Faulty charging systems
Any or a combination of faults in a DC electrical system can cause serious damage to electrical components. Engine starting motors in boats are so infrequently used that they should never have to be replaced. And yet engine starting motor failures are a constant source of trouble. The reason is either poor quality batteries, improperly maintained DC systems or substandard wiring. High resistance in electrical systems, combined with low voltage is deadly to electric motors, especially DC motors which run on only 12 volts. If you're having a problem with electric motor failures of any kind, chances are (unless the damage is caused by water leaks) the problem is related to problems with the system itself.
Some builders of small to midsize boats to supply both low quality batteries and batteries that are of insufficient capacity to supply the needs of the DC electrical equipment on board. Unlike nickel-cadmium batteries, which need to be completely discharged occasionally, lead-acid batteries become damaged when heavily discharged. Allow a battery system to become partially discharged and it becomes seriously weakened and never again will it return to its original, full-charge rate.
For this reason, it is important not to allow battery systems to become depleted. But this is nearly impossible when the total ampere/hour capacity just barely meets the total demand, for the batteries are constantly being over-taxed.
Nowadays, it is very common to find larger boats with a mass of electrical equipment on board, including an AC/DC refrigerator, and equipped with only a pair of 60 A.H. car batteries. Even though it probably says something like "auto-marine"on them, automotive batteries are discernible by their thin, cheap plastic casings. Battery suppliers do not tell you that the quality of automotive batteries has declined substantially. One of the primary cut backs in quality is the size and quality of the lead plates that generate the electricity. These thin, low-quality plates not only don't last as long as better quality units, but also very quickly begin to experience a fall off in the total amount of power they can generate. This, in turn, taxes the battery even more, thereby shortening its life span.
In other words, what are being passed off as "marine" batteries are really car batteries that not suitable for marine use. True marine batteries are distinguishable by both their heavy plastic casings and their substantially greater weight. They weigh considerably more because the lead plates will be close to twice as thick as automotive batteries. Because plates corrode in the process of generating electricity, plate size and thickness is the criteria for quality. Generally speaking, the thicker the plate, the longer it will last.
There are three primary reasons why battery problems occur:
Batteries and Battery Problems