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On 11 Sep 2004 04:37:36 GMT, (Wklkj) wrote:
I have a cruiser with 3 - 12 volt batteries installed, the boat is twin screw
and has 2 battery switches (1,2,all,off) type, and finally a 30 amp battery
charger with terminals for all 3 batteries.
I always leave the charger on at the dock with shorepower but the past couple
of weeks I have 'cooked' 2 of the 3 batteries (maintenance free, probably 5
years old). Friends on the dock are guessing that the battery charger is
broken. Although it still charges fine, they suspect that it doesn't shut off
when the batteries are fully charged, causing them to boil over and eventually
dry up.
At five years and constant charging, that was probably as far as they
were going to go anyway.
Here's my questions:
I just purchased 3 'dual purpose' Exide brand marine batteries that are not
maintenance free so I can pop the caps and see if there's water in the cells.
Do you think I can continue to use the original battery charger and just watch
to see that they don't boil dry?
A new charger which will charge 3 batteries is around $300. (ouch). I can get
a guest charger (2611) for $100 that is 10 amp on 2 circuits, for 2 batteries.
What will happen if I connect 2 batteries to one of the terminals in the
charger? Will that work or will I break something?
Karen has this one exactly right. Get a cheapo multimeter - you can
get them ad job lot stores under the Cal Hawk label for $3 - $4. Just
wire it across a battery that has been under load for a while and
measure the amperage drop when charging.. If it stays at 10 amps (or
what ever amps) and doesn't drop, it's junk and you need a new one.
If it does drop, monitor it until it gets to 1 to 2 amps. If it's a
switched charger, it will actually shut off until the voltage monitor
flips it on, but I don't think that's the case here.
It's not a good idea to use one charge circuit for two batteries.
Take care.
Tom
"The beatings will stop when morale improves."
E. Teach, 1717
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