battery charge and emergency ideas?

[tredragon]

My battery ran dead a few times last weekend and needed a jump. Needless to say, having the shift shaft stuck in forward didn't help the poor battery start the boat, which contributed to the problem. I had to jump it today off the car and it fired up within 15 seconds or so. It's not running currently (I cut it off after I made sure the gears were working properly with the muffs on)... but is still hooked up (the battery anyways) to the running car via the jumpers.

How long (since I don't have a battery charger... and yes it's next on my list) should I leave it hooked to the car to have enough charge to get an initial start this weekend when we go to the lake again? And after that, running it at idle for 20 minutes, then full out for 10 minutes after getting out of the creek and into the lake... will it be charged enough to start again? Maybe a borderline question but...

Also, I bought one of those Black and Decker jump start packs... basically a battery you can plug in and then just keep in the boat/car if you need a jump... it doesn't seem to be working and I'm wondering if I DO get a charger... should I just get a smaller "piggy back" battery to keep on the boat for those "just in case" scenarios??

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[chicknwing]

Re: battery charge and emergency ideas?

Not too sure that charging from your car is gonna cut it. Someone else might disagree. You need a battery charger. I know that I run 2 batteries on my boat and run a maintainer charge cycle on them before every use. I also test my batteries on a regular basis just to avoid having a bad battery on the boat.

TC

 

[j_martin]

Re: battery charge and emergency ideas?

When you run a battery in a discharged condition, the pounding and vibration in the boat or car knock the lead sulfate crystals off the plates. The battery then loses it's ability to be recharged fully.

Deep cycle batteries are constructed to minimize this damage, at the cost of less peak current availability.

I don't take too much ten buck per hour auto engine running to pay for a charger.

hope it helps
John

 

[tredragon]

Re: battery charge and emergency ideas?

yeah, I usually want the easy way out... then learn to do it right.. so I'll get a charger...

the other part of the question though is what is a good way to keep "backup" power on the boat? If I had two batteries hooked up in parallel.... if a light was left on or anything else that might drain one battery will now drain two batteries. Should I just keep another battery (charged) on board and give it the "maintenance" charge the night before each outing? I was hoping this little black and decker jumpstart thing would do the trick... but it just keeps beeping at me when I plug it into the wall and press the recharge button. Says that indicates "sudden loss of DC power... check power cord connection or outlet connection"... neither is the issue... grrrrrr..

 

[bhammer]

Re: battery charge and emergency ideas?

I carry one of the Black & Decker jump boxes I picked up at Walmart. It was under $50 and is a great peice of mind for me. I haven't needed it yet, but I am sure that day will come.

 

[j_martin]

Re: battery charge and emergency ideas?

yeah, I usually want the easy way out... then learn to do it right.. so I'll get a charger...

the other part of the question though is what is a good way to keep "backup" power on the boat? If I had two batteries hooked up in parallel.... if a light was left on or anything else that might drain one battery will now drain two batteries. Should I just keep another battery (charged) on board and give it the "maintenance" charge the night before each outing? I was hoping this little black and decker jumpstart thing would do the trick... but it just keeps beeping at me when I plug it into the wall and press the recharge button. Says that indicates "sudden loss of DC power... check power cord connection or outlet connection"... neither is the issue... grrrrrr..

The jumpstart thing is broken.

I keep my electrical system in good shape, with main engine and trolling systems isolated. If I have a battery failure on the main engine, I can just move a trolling battery to that circuit and start up.

I have lost all my regulators at the same time while in the middle of a race day event. Other than leaving the radio and lights off, I did nothing unusual, and made it through the entire day without having to move or rewire anything. A good healthy main battery just carried it through.

Gauges, and a charger that will show you the condition of the batteries, and a little maintenance and watchfullness go a long way toward a safe and enjoyable boating experience.

Oh, by the way, my "backup" on the boat is called a marine 2-way radio.

hope it helps
John

 

[Tom P]

Re: battery charge and emergency ideas?

The jump start battery pack is a great thing to have if you have the space. I have duel batteries and i still fell better having an isolated third battery. But what I also like about having it is I have my stero pluged into a lighter plug in the cabin. When I've hung out dock side I've plugged the stero into the jump start for hours. I also have a 12 volt clamp light that lights up the whole deck that I've run off it. The list is endless on what you can do with them and not worry about starting your boat.

Tom

 

[j_martin]

Re: battery charge and emergency ideas?

The jump start battery pack is a great thing to have if you have the space. I have duel batteries and i still fell better having an isolated third battery. But what I also like about having it is I have my stero pluged into a lighter plug in the cabin. When I've hung out dock side I've plugged the stero into the jump start for hours. I also have a 12 volt clamp light that lights up the whole deck that I've run off it. The list is endless on what you can do with them and not worry about starting your boat.

Tom

Unless you kill it first playing the stereo or lighting up the landing party.