Batteries - some advice please

[admillington]

The boat is now coming up to 4 years old in March - Fairline Squadron 58 - fitted with 10 X 180 Ah Platinum Marine Batteries (as supplied by the factory so not the most expensive)

I have never put any real demands on the batteries as we jump between marinas and plug in and even if we are moored out for the afternoon in the Solent, I would put the generator on for the grill, battery charger etc.

So I doubt the batteries have even had a cycle, let alone a 50% DOD

I am into preventive maintenance and therefore am seeking advice as to what I should do:-

1. Replace the batteries and if so with what level/make?

or

2. Leave them another year and change them then.

or

3. Any other suggestions.

Thanks


Andrew

 

[Richard10002]

If they are working fine, keep using them until they aren't? Which could be forever, or might be next year.

 

[RAI]

If they are well treated, they will last 8 to 12 years.

 

[Oscar24]

The boat is now coming up to 4 years old in March - Fairline Squadron 58 - fitted with 10 X 180 Ah Platinum Marine Batteries (as supplied by the factory so not the most expensive)

I have never put any real demands on the batteries as we jump between marinas and plug in and even if we are moored out for the afternoon in the Solent, I would put the generator on for the grill, battery charger etc.

So I doubt the batteries have even had a cycle, let alone a 50% DOD

I am into preventive maintenance and therefore am seeking advice as to what I should do:-

1. Replace the batteries and if so with what level/make?

or

2. Leave them another year and change them then.

or

3. Any other suggestions.

Thanks


Andrew

What kills batteries is poor charging systems and extremes of temp condition.
If the batteries have been installed and charged correctly then I would expect 6 years out of a bank (depending on useage)
If I were you, I would check the voltage of each cell with the charger on.
Then knock the charger off and measure voltage again.
Then put a known load on, say a fan heater and measure again.
Take readings every 15 mins and see if there are any variations.
I would expect an even voltage drop for several hours (depending on the load you use and battery capacity)
If any cell starts to drop quicker than the others its suspect and may need replacing.
This is what we do with our UPS systems when testing for battery capacity.
Would recomend you to stay with the boat while conducting a battery discharge, just in case of problems you can knock the load off and stay safe.

 

[Nick_H]

You could get an electrician to check them out

 

[longjohnsilver]

If they are working fine, keep using them until they aren't? Which could be forever, or might be next year.

+1. And when next away from the marina I'd try and use them, say put your inverter on, and see how they perform.

 

[BartW]

you could buy or borrow a battery condition meter / tester

 

[Hurricane]

you could buy or borrow a battery condition meter / tester

I've just bought one of these.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000RA14PI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
You just connect it it each battery in turn and flick a switch for about 8 or 9 seconds.
The device's inbuilt voltmeter then indicates the state of the batteries

Previously, I've used (borrowed) a load tester and it found faulty batteries in a set of batteries.
In fact during a load test on a duff battery, any bad cells bubble furiously,

I'm actually changing our complete house set this year.

My thoughts on batteries are that you either spend a lot and get really good (probably ) AGM batteries with the aim of them lasting longer or you buy the cheapest ones you can find and expect them to need changing after 3 or 4 years.
But remember, it is dead easy to damage them (by over discharge) - whatever type they are.
In that case, expensive batteries will be as useless as any cheap ones.

 

[annageek]

It sounds very much like the batteries have had a good life with respect to charge/discharge cycles. I've been an electrical/electronic engineer for a battery company for over 5 years, and based on what you describe, I wouldn't be surprised if you don't see another 4 years from them. Therefore, I'd keep on with them for at least another year or two.

Presumably, your pragmatic approach to preventative maintenance is in an effort to assure reliability? If so, one thing you could consider is to look at the installation a bit. Is it all just one bank (2 series, 5 parallel?) or is it split into two banks with separate/split charging facilities? If the former, you might consider transforming it to the latter with suitable switching arrangements, but keeping both banks connected 'as one' under normal use. If for any reason, one battery goes iffy, you'll probably have enough energy in the healthy bank to continue virtually normal use until it's convenient to replace them. This buys you some time should a failure occur, thus preventing the need to cut short your cruise, pay through the nose for a quick turnaround, or face the massive hassle of doing a 'quick' replacement yourself when you least expect/want to.

 

[rafiki_]

I've just bought one of these.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000RA14PI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00
You just connect it it each battery in turn and flick a switch for about 8 or 9 seconds.
The device's inbuilt voltmeter then indicates the state of the batteries

Previously, I've used (borrowed) a load tester and it found faulty batteries in a set of batteries.
In fact during a load test on a duff battery, any bad cells bubble furiously,

I'm actually changing our complete house set this year.

My thoughts on batteries are that you either spend a lot and get really good (probably ) AGM batteries with the aim of them lasting longer or you buy the cheapest ones you can find and expect them to need changing after 3 or 4 years.
But remember, it is dead easy to damage them (by over discharge) - whatever type they are.
In that case, expensive batteries will be as useless as any cheap ones.

Mike, does this have a max amperage capacity? Looks a good bit of kit, but couldn't find any tech data. Many thanks.

 

[Hurricane]

Mike, does this have a max amperage capacity? Looks a good bit of kit, but couldn't find any tech data. Many thanks.

The manual is a bit sketchy
But the meter has graduations for batteries between 300 and 500 cranking amps.

I'm no expert but this is how I see it.
This might be a bit light for our applications - I would think that all of us with service batteries will be using between 12v 100ah and 130ah batteries - either in series or parallel or both.
Those who use standard starter batteries would probably have batteries rated at 700 cranking amps - per battery.
And those with leisure batteries would probably be rated at around 400/500 cranking amps - per battery.
These above figures are just my assumptions - I'm sure that experts on here will be much more qualified to comment.
Anyway, the point of this tester is to put a good load on the battery and then see how well it holds its voltage.
In my experience, testers like this will show a bad battery within 8 to 10 seconds of the load being applied.
And sometimes batteries that are duff will show bubbles in some of the individual cells.

EDIT
Of course, you should only test one battery at a time.

 

[rafiki_]

The manual is a bit sketchy
But the meter has graduations for batteries between 300 and 500 cranking amps.

I'm no expert but this is how I see it.
This might be a bit light for our applications - I would think that all of us with service batteries will be using between 12v 100ah and 130ah batteries - either in series or parallel or both.

Many thanks Mike. My service batts are 170's. The starter is huge. Will do a bit more digging for tech details.

 

[admillington]

It sounds very much like the batteries have had a good life with respect to charge/discharge cycles. I've been an electrical/electronic engineer for a battery company for over 5 years, and based on what you describe, I wouldn't be surprised if you don't see another 4 years from them. Therefore, I'd keep on with them for at least another year or two.

Presumably, your pragmatic approach to preventative maintenance is in an effort to assure reliability? If so, one thing you could consider is to look at the installation a bit. Is it all just one bank (2 series, 5 parallel?) or is it split into two banks with separate/split charging facilities? If the former, you might consider transforming it to the latter with suitable switching arrangements, but keeping both banks connected 'as one' under normal use. If for any reason, one battery goes iffy, you'll probably have enough energy in the healthy bank to continue virtually normal use until it's convenient to replace them. This buys you some time should a failure occur, thus preventing the need to cut short your cruise, pay through the nose for a quick turnaround, or face the massive hassle of doing a 'quick' replacement yourself when you least expect/want to.

Thank you for all the great feedback. Have been down to the boat today to check her over and lokoing at the manual the boat is configured as follows:-

- two batteries for starting the port engine and generator
- two batteries for starting the starboard engine
- two batteries for domestic services and bow thruster
Two additional batteries may be added to the domestic battery bank if an optional stern thruster is fitted.

I ran both the thrusters with no charging and they held a good voltage and recovered well so I think I will leave them for another year and review then.

 

[HelgeA]

Good evening
Don't you have the Victron Battery Monitor on the heavy duty panel in the engine room? I have a SQ58 too (2012/#320), and mine came originally with the Battery Monitor installed. I have originally 200Ah Batteries, 6x service, 2 ea for P and SB engines. Interestingly the starter batteries are connected to the domestic bank vie an electronics supplied by Energy Solutions. I have to dig in a bit deeper how this works exactly.
Anyway, I do not see any degradation after 4 seasons.
Best rgds
Helge

Thank you for all the great feedback. Have been down to the boat today to check her over and lokoing at the manual the boat is configured as follows:-

- two batteries for starting the port engine and generator
- two batteries for starting the starboard engine
- two batteries for domestic services and bow thruster
Two additional batteries may be added to the domestic battery bank if an optional stern thruster is fitted.

I ran both the thrusters with no charging and they held a good voltage and recovered well so I think I will leave them for another year and review then.

 

[admillington]

Good evening
Don't you have the Victron Battery Monitor on the heavy duty panel in the engine room? I have a SQ58 too (2012/#320), and mine came originally with the Battery Monitor installed. I have originally 200Ah Batteries, 6x service, 2 ea for P and SB engines. Interestingly the starter batteries are connected to the domestic bank vie an electronics supplied by Energy Solutions. I have to dig in a bit deeper how this works exactly.
Anyway, I do not see any degradation after 4 seasons.
Best rgds
Helge

Hello

I have boat number 316. I have never really looked at the Victron meter but will now. If you find out how the batteries are linked I would appreciate if you could let me know.

Thanks


Andrew

 

[Official NOCO]

Do you have a charger for your batteries? If not, it's okay to assume that they may need to be replaced in a year. If they are still working fine now, there's no need to invest.