Larry had me read a line that says:

Sealed batteries: Those trying to minimize maintenance should be warned
that sealed lead-acid batteries cost about three times as much as
equivalent capacity flooded batteries and last about one-half as long.
No surprise there. I still consider it a good trade off. If I was heading
off around the world and concerned that I might not have the cash or source
for new batteries, I would use wet cells. Two new AGM's even every couple
of years is just a blip in the cost of boat ownership so I'm willing to pay
it not to have liquid acid on my boat.

Actually, I expect to get years out of these batteries with my shallow
discharge cycles. 15 hp engine, no refrigeration, just lights.

I can't leave mine on continuous float. Here's my question in more sucinct
form:

I can go up to the boat and plug in the charger about once a month. If I
hang around freezing or sit in a coffee shop for a few hours while the green
LED's blink, am I going to add any significant life to the batteries
compared to just plugging them in until they trip to float? I know I'm
going to add some finite amount but it isn't worth it if it's just tinkering
around the margins.

For that matter, now that I've confirmed that they aren't leaking into the
electrical system somewhere, I could probably just leave them till spring.
If they last 5 years instead of 6, I wouldn't be too upset. 1/5 of the cost
of two new ones is about the cost of the gas and sandwiches to go up to the
boatyard every month for five years.


Larry

--
Roger Long

"Roger Long" wrote in
:

For that matter, now that I've confirmed that they aren't leaking into
the electrical system somewhere, I could probably just leave them till
spring. If they last 5 years instead of 6, I wouldn't be too upset.
1/5 of the cost of two new ones is about the cost of the gas and
sandwiches to go up to the boatyard every month for five years.



If they go on float quite quickly, reduce your trips to 60 days and try
it. Let's also just DISCONNECT the ground post off of them, taking them
completely out of the circuit, leaking or not. It's safer, reduces any
leakage and galvanic action on any of the parts that get wet during the
storage. Just hook the ground post back, recharge, and remove it again.
The charger, itself, is a load caused by its measuring circuit. It's
minute but that adds over time. West Marine has a disconnect knife
switch I'd want on mine if I had to store it. Put it in the negative
lead right at the post, making this process simpler. I know someone who
took this one step further for a safety feature. He has a little lanyard
on the knife switch going up into his cockpit with a knot on the end of
it. If there's any kind of fire below, he can disconnect his batteries,
completely, by pulling on that knot....assuming the lanyard doesn't burn
first. Maybe a little wire would be better for him.

Grease the knife switch to prevent corrosion.

Larry
--
Why is it, in any city, all traffic lights act as if they have rotary
timers in them, like they did in 1955, and are all set to create
maximum inconvenience and block traffic movement, entirely?

Larry wrote:
"Roger Long" wrote in
:

For that matter, now that I've confirmed that they aren't leaking into
the electrical system somewhere, I could probably just leave them till
spring. If they last 5 years instead of 6, I wouldn't be too upset.
1/5 of the cost of two new ones is about the cost of the gas and
sandwiches to go up to the boatyard every month for five years.



If they go on float quite quickly, reduce your trips to 60 days and try
it. Let's also just DISCONNECT the ground post off of them, taking them
completely out of the circuit, leaking or not. It's safer, reduces any
leakage and galvanic action on any of the parts that get wet during the
storage. Just hook the ground post back, recharge, and remove it again.
The charger, itself, is a load caused by its measuring circuit. It's
minute but that adds over time. West Marine has a disconnect knife
switch I'd want on mine if I had to store it. Put it in the negative
lead right at the post, making this process simpler. I know someone who
took this one step further for a safety feature. He has a little lanyard
on the knife switch going up into his cockpit with a knot on the end of
it. If there's any kind of fire below, he can disconnect his batteries,
completely, by pulling on that knot....assuming the lanyard doesn't burn
first. Maybe a little wire would be better for him.

Grease the knife switch to prevent corrosion.

Larry

Unless you have an automatic 12 volt bilge pump! You don't want to put
the boat at risk to pamper the batteries.

Chuck

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chuck wrote in news:1165848293_22927
@sp6iad.superfeed.net:

Unless you have an automatic 12 volt bilge pump! You don't want to put
the boat at risk to pamper the batteries.



Yes! I assumed this boat was on the hard stored for winter....

If it's in the water, never disconnect bilge pumps.

Thanks, Chuck....

Larry
--
Why is it, in any city, all traffic lights act as if they have rotary
timers in them, like they did in 1955, and are all set to create
maximum inconvenience and block traffic movement, entirely?