Battery life

[Stan Major]

My 2013 C-Dory is turning 3. I am thinking of replacing my 12 volt deep cycle batteries just to be on the safe side. I know my car batteries here in Florida seem to die after only 2 years. I suppose the longer periods of high heat have something to do with it. How long do most people get out of their batteries?

 

[Sea Wolf]

Stan-

IMHO/Experience:

Quality 12 v deep cycle batteries used in regular service and taken care of (not deeply discharged beyond 40% or so, recharged soon, fluid checked, plates de-sulfated, battery top and posts cleaned, etc.) and used and stored in moderate temperatures, usually last 5-6 years or even more, occasionally.

Routine preventive replacement at 5 years should be safe, if the batteries are watched to see if they recover their full voltage after charging and hold it during storage.

High or low temperature extremes and taxing usage patterns can shorten this, but I don't have enough experience at those conditions to give you specific advice except to watch them as above in the previous paragraph.

You should be OK, I'd guess, at 3 years.......?

Joe. :teeth :thup

 

[Foggy]

Agree with Joe.

Batteries are like most things that have a life span.
Usually, the better care you take of them, the longer
they last.

I would not start out a big trip with batteries over 5
years old. Putts'ing around your area for the season
may be OK if you can tolerate 'dead in the water'.

I've had lots of them over the years, flooded to AGMs,
and 5 years is about as good as it gets. Exceptions
exist but you don't want to count on being one.

Aye and Happy New Year.

 

[Sunbeam]

Heat can be pretty hard on batteries. Are yours stored in the heat or perhaps brought into a conditioned space in the off-season (if there even is one where you are?). I don't know enough to say exactly how heat would affect the life span of yours, but for the type of batteries I have (Lifeline) they recommend storing as cool as possible, preferably below 68ºF, and boost charging every 90 days or when open-circuit voltage drops to 12.5v.

I think the only way to really know is to do a 20-hour load test, but maybe there is another way I'm not aware of.

 

[T.R. Bauer]

Batteries are funny things. My little 2004 Crestliner jet boat has the original NAPA battery in it and it is still good somehow. I also have a Kirkland deep cycle in my C-Dory made in 2006. Their age does concern me somewhat, but they continue to be fine. It is also important to realize that lead-acid batteries lose their charge at a rate of about 3-6% per month and if you don't keep them charged, it greatly shortens how long they last.

I'm not sure about the heat killing them - I used to live in NC while stationed at FT Bragg and had a number of boats and cars and I don't remember batteries having any premature failures at all. Corrosion at the terminals though, seemed to be a constant battle in the warm moist climate and this is really bad as eventually it gets bad enough the battery doesn't get a good charge - especially with the large electrical draw of the AC compressor and lots of idling. This will absolutely lead to sulfation and an early demise if left unchecked.

So, in a nutshell, they can last a long, long time. I agree you should get 4-6 years out of a good quality, properly maintained battery without a worry, but you might get significantly longer with proper care.

 

[Robert H. Wilkinson]

Lots of good advise here - regarding heat - yes any extreme temperature can shorten the life of a battery. In extreme hot or cold climates - precise, temperature compensated charging is vital.

The average alternator found in cars and small boats is not an ideal charging source(for deep cycle batteries) and most do not offer temperature compensation - without which an alternator(controlled only by the voltage of the discharged deep cycle battery) will attempt to pump out as many amps as it can. This can overheat an already hot battery. This will lead to excessive boiling - lowering electrolyte levels quickly. In addition it can cause the lead plates to warp or distort - which will shorten the batteries life and in the extreme can cause internal shorting.

In short my advise is;

1/ Buy a quality battery - application specific. (spend the money)

2/ Install a low voltage cutout or alarm so that it doesn't discharge more than 50% and,

3/ Use a precise, quality charger(spend the money)

4/ Maintain it religiously(spend the time)

I do not normally keep my marine batteries for more than 4 seasons, but they are often still good. I install new ones and retire the old ones to other vehicles or equipment that won't leave me stranded in the middle of a lake.

Another thing to consider is - if a boats alternator is constantly trying to charge - or keep a subpar battery charged then your fuel economy will suffer.

Regards, Rob

 

[thataway]

The only information beyond all of the above excellent advice, is to use a pulse desulfator. Battery minder makes several. There are combo chargers or ones like pulse tech used with your own smart charger.

Avoid a trickle charger (not smart/3 stage charger).

 

[chimoii]

When we lived on the Chesapeake we had the boat on a lift. The best charger was installed and levels checked regularly. My batteries lasted about three years. Since moving to Vancouver Island and buying Chimo the boat has been in a shed and the factory charger connected to shore power. I have never had to top up the batteries. After three years I took them to the local Interstate factory location and had them load tested. They met new rating. Same thing for the next two years. Last year I started using the original deep cycle for starting (they do that job well) and installed a group 29 deep cycle for house use to get a bit more overnight capacity.

I really believe that climate has a big impact on battery life. Heat is the killer. At the other end of the scale staying fully charged when the temperature gets close to freezing is really helpful.

My advice:

Take your batteries and get them load tested.

 

[T.R. Bauer]

Now for the big question, are Trojan batteries worth the extra money?

 

[hardee]

FYI only, and not because I am any kind of a battery pro. I have a pair of group 29 deep cycle Interstate marine batteries going on 3 years now. My first set (of group 27's) lasted for 6 years and then I replaced them, although they were still registering good on the load test. I have now hankering for getting stuck someplace in the ocean with no battery power. Hence, I carry a jump start kit too. Mine just passed a load test with flying colors for the up-coming season.

I have recently considered upgrading my on-board charger from the original Guest5/5 to something with more brains :lol: Pretty soon my boat will be smarter than I am :roll: :?

I do make sure and run the charger after I get the boat back into the barn and the OB's are back into the down position.

I agree, heat is the hardest on the batteries and when I lived in SE Washington, the only battery failures I ever had was in the summer at 100* plus for weeks.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[Hunkydory]

The original batteries on the Hunkydory were lead acid dual purpose deep cell/starter batteries & I replaced them while still good after 6 years with Cabelas dual purpose AGM deep cell/starter batteries. After 6 years with these batteries still good, replaced with another set of Cabelas AGM & will replace them again, following 6 more years. I don't remove them from the boat during the long cold winters here in Wyoming, but do keep them charged up.

These are less expensive than other dual purpose AGM batteries I've researched & I feel well worth the extra cost over the more standard lead acid dual purpose. These are the AGM batteries we use & the size 24 allows two to fit in our CD 22 starboard lazaret. http://www.cabelas.com/product/CABELAS- ... 679064.uts

On a side note. I found this on Wikipedia interesting.

"A lazarette (also spelled lazaret) is a special area on a boat. It is often an area near or aft of the cockpit. The word is similar to and probably derived from Lazaretto.[citation needed]
The name derives from the biblical story of "Lazarus". On the old square-rigged sailing ships it was located in the bow of the ship. The original purpose was to store the bodies of important passengers or crew who had died on the voyage, (lesser seamen would be buried at sea). It was a large locker obviously, and was situated at the bow in order that the stench of rotting flesh was blown away from the vessel rather than across the decks. (The wind cannot come from the front of the ship whilst sailing.) All that remains from these origins is that it is still generally the largest locker on a boat, and it's still known as the "Lazarette"."

Jay

 

[gulfcoast john]

Stan,
Batteries, like tires, have a date of mfg code. I replace batteries and tires at 4 years of use (3 if causing any trouble) or 5 years from mfg date regardless. However, we only get 30 days off work per year, only some of them are during prime boating season, and trailer tires and batteries have been responsible for more 'lost' valuable boating time than all other causes combined in my last 12 (well maintained, non ethanol gas always) trailer boats. After retiring next year, we'll have more time than money and we might roll the dice a little more than now. I agree with all the above. I like Sears Diehard Platinum Marine G31 @ 73lb each (re-badged Odessey) since I'm too cheap to go with Lifeline like Sunbeam. A Blue Seas P12 40 amp charger keeps 'em full and happy.
Cheers!
John

 

[Foggy]

All good except we have not defined "usage"
or "storage".

Some live in boating "year round" climate.
Others "winter", not uncommonly for months,
boat stored, batteries aboard or not, but 'stored'.

Then there is climate ; ambient operating and storage
temperature of the battery(ies), types of batteries, type
of chargers, etc.

All relavant IMHO.

One size does not fit all.

Aye.
Grandma used to say, "Flapping of gums creates chaos."

 

[Robert H. Wilkinson]

Now for the big question, are Trojan batteries worth the extra money?

I have found it pays to buy quality. Don't just go by the output specs - what are the build specs? Are the lead plates under built? How are they embedded, separated and protected from vibration(important on a boat)?

In my experience Surrette(known as Rolls in the US) builds the best deep cycle batteries. I just put a bank of S550's into service. The bank of S460's that they replaced powered my house for 9 years. They were cycled to 50% DOD daily for over 7 years and as they began to fade mostly twice daily for the last 2 years. That is over 4000 duty cycles. According to Surrette's life expectancy graph they only warrant 2000 duty cycles at 50% DOD. My conclusion - they must be well built and yes I think I got my moneys worth out of them! 8)

Regards, Rob

 

[Sunbeam]

As regards heat/cold and storage. Going by the Lifeline battery manual (which is extensive and detailed), they definitely say not to store in heat if you can help it (shortens the life). These are AGM's. I have never lived or stored in a hot climate with flooded batteries, so I'm not sure how they behave in heat (although when I was in a hot place for awhile, anecdotally people spoke of heat killing their car batteries sooner, and those were likely flooded batteries, FWIW. This was 100ºF+).

As far as cold and storage, that is not a problem at all as long as they are fully (or at least close to fully) charged. I have lived in extremely cold climates and boat batteries were stored on the boats, disconnected but fully charged. They do just fine and stay charged. Back then they were mostly flooded batteries, but Lifeline says just about the same thing for AGM's. If they are discharged it is a different story.

 

[Sunbeam]

I'm too cheap to go with Lifeline like Sunbeam.

Well, although I'll buy AGM battery(s) for the 22, I'm too cheap to go for a Tomcat :wink

 

[thataway]

The effect of heat is very significant: (15°F) raise in temperature cuts the life of a sealed lead acid battery in half. Most batteries are rated at about 68 degrees. So if you constantly store the battery at 83 degrees, you will get half the life.

There is an inverse effect of capacity. In cold weather, a battery looses power as the temperature goes down. Thus a battery which may have started your engine at 70 degrees, may not start the engine at 30 degrees.

If you charge batteries at a high temperature, it can damage the battery, just as if too deep cycling a battery will damage it. Many good chargers will measure the battery temperature, and cut the power back if it goes too high. If you discharge the battery to less than 12.2 volts (50% discharge) that causes a significant decrease in the battery life. If you only are doing this 20 to 40 times a year, it may not be noticeable. But if you do it daily, it will be very significant.