Help With My Battery

[oba97]

My battery seems to be holding charge decently but I noticed last season ( I live in Michigan) and now that the battery seems to be weeping or leaking liquid. Is this a sign that I need a new battery even if it holds a charge well? I currently have a 27m-x Northern Premium Marine Series battery. 840cca, 1200 mca and 180 reserve capacity.

if I do need a new one I’m trying to decide if I need just a cranking battery or dual purpose? I have a 2017 20’ deck boat with a merc 150. I will listen to music with the factory stereo for 1/2 hour to hour max when the motor isn’t running. The boat sits in the water in a slip for a week at a time so I don’t want a dead battery when I go to use it or if the bilge needs to run. I also am debating if I would go flooded or AGMs?


hope I make sense.

 

[Horigan]

That liquid is acid, so you want to get that battery out of there right away and neutralize the acid with a mild solution of water and baking soda.

They have dual purpose marine batteries to cover cranking and other draws, like music. They come in AGM also, which is what I've gone with.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

The liquid level should be about 1/8” above the plates when you take the caps off. Overfilled batteries can leak a significant amount and get all over everything If the fluid level is high draw some of it out with a turkey blaster have a cup handy so your not spilling it all over the place.


Reasons a battery leaks or vents excessively other than being over filled.

Overcharging a charging system test should be performed and with a carbon pile load tester loading the battery several times.

Battery cable connections or cables that have high resistance Theresa. Few simple tests with a volt meter that should be done but a visual inspection showing corrosion at any place is the first place to start. This causes the battery to run hot and alternator to continue increase this.

A hydrometer reading after being charged is something I trust on a marine or RV battery more than anything this will show individual cell state of charge.

And a battery that requires to long to reach a solid charge run hot and vent more


For me the second time a battery is low or dead on my boat its now headed for my RV during hunting season and a new battery goes in a my boat. RV marine batteries are hard to test many will pass all available tests and I have access to all available tests.

Gell cell batteries wont leak unless damaged or mounted wrong if they have a particular position they cant be ran in? However they come with there own set of problems the biggest for me is if you run one dead and had to charge it enough to get you started they require more charging with better cables if being jumped and there slow to regain a charge. Thats number one for me from there the cost My cost on a decent normal battery is about 1/3 of a good gelll cell of the same price and so my rule of replacing one the first time I think ones failing is hard to adhear to. And two good batteries in my book is always better than one great battery on a boat.

I’m not against a gell cell battery but I have 5 boat batteries and 4 RV batteries in my life at any given moment. If i had one battery to deal with I’d still do a standard battery but it would be less than 3 years old.

 

[Sprig]

I agree the liquid is acid, you need to neutralize it and clean it up. You also need a new battery. In addition I suggest a second battery rather than just the one. Most of my boats I’ve had two batteries. One starter battery and a second battery which runs auxiliary things like my downriggers, radio, automatic bilge etc. I like having a second battery in my boat in case the main battery fails I can always use the secondary battery to start the boat. I have found that when a battery fails in one of my boats it’s always a long ways away from everything and in bad circumstances.

 

[oba97]

Thanks everyone for the info. I’m leaning towards getting a AGM battery but the price tag is tough to swallow! I guess that’s what I get for owning a boat

 

[JimS123]

I'm a lifelong boater so cost is of no object. But "cost performance" IS important. At one time i thought an AGM was the way to go, and they are in a jetski where a lot of tipping can cause an acid leak. But my recent years of experience have showed that even though they might last longer than a lead acid battery, it is not long enough to justify the extra cost.

If your battery is serviceable, and your electrical system is charging correctly, you should not have a problem.

If you have an acid leak either the battery is no good (cracked and / or won't accept a proper charge), or your motor is overcharging. Check the engine first. If the voltage output when running is normal, then your battery is shot.

 

[oba97]

I ended up buying a optima 27 series dual purpose. This might sound like a stupid question but I’ll ask anyway. Is there a reason I shouldn’t strap it into my current battery holder? I think it could shift if not tight enough because it’s a different shape from my old standard battery. I see they make holders specific for the optima but I don’t like the thought of screwing more holes to mount it.