Lockdown batteries

[dunedin]

Bad luck. Best put solar panel and regulator on the jobs list, that’s what has hopefully been keeping our battery bank topped up these past few weeks.

 

[[163233]]

If you don't turn the bottles and the alarm off, like you didn't when the batteries went flat, and there was a leak, the bilges fill up with gas, the alarm runs the batteries flat, you arrive to a bilge full of gas. Oblivious to that, you start the engine to charge the batteries up BOOM

To be fair to the alarm, it bleeps when the battery is low, and seems to be able to maintain that for weeks before dying completely.

 

[Kukri]

To be fair to the alarm, it bleeps when the battery is low, and seems to be able to maintain that for weeks before dying completely.

As does mine... do we detect a Type Approval? ?

 

[Biggles Wader]

I'm expecting to find my battery bank(all two of them) flat and caput after all this time. Having said that they are both at least eight years old and were showing their age so no great loss

 

[colind3782]

I'm expecting to find my battery bank(all two of them) flat and caput after all this time. Having said that they are both at least eight years old and were showing their age so no great loss

Same here. When I eventually get out to Spain and , probably, have to replace all four batteries, I want to set up a small solar charging system to trickle charge them while I'm away. Any recommendations for a system that will keep them topped up safely but not overcharge while I'm not there?

 

[Sailfree]

Kukri.

My commiserations.

My problems started with LPG alarm repeatedly going off. Checked for but could not detect any gas leaks so decided it was a failure of the LPG alarm sensor head. Advised they only last 4-6yrs. Mine was about 8yrs old. Due to age advised the current replacement head will not work on old alarm!

In fitting it discovered control panel was only registering 11.8V !

See my post on Battery charging and battery problems for full story but now some €1200 the poorer having replaced both batteries and LPG alarm.

Whatever made me think we would save lots of money living on the boat in Nazare Marina while new house here is being built - how silly can you get!

Probably been the safest place though as only had 2 cases of Covid in our area due to v quick shutdown prompted by Spain's actions.

 

[dunedin]

Same here. When I eventually get out to Spain and , probably, have to replace all four batteries, I want to set up a small solar charging system to trickle charge them while I'm away. Any recommendations for a system that will keep them topped up safely but not overcharge while I'm not there?

I am assuming (hoping?) that our Victron MPPT solar controller is smart enough to avoid over charging the batteries. It is certainly connected 24x7x365 so I hope so.

 

[Graham376]

I am assuming (hoping?) that our Victron MPPT solar controller is smart enough to avoid over charging the batteries. It is certainly connected 24x7x365 so I hope so.

Did you turn down the absorption voltage and time? I reduced ours from 14.8 to 14.4v for IIRC 1 hour max. Only have the gas alarm connected.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

It was that - the knowledge that I am an absent minded and scatterbrained individual - that kept me from wanting to learn to fly and kept me loyal to paraffin cookers on boats for the first half century of my sailing career.

There is a prominent notice on my cooker reminding me to turn the gas off at the bottle when leaving the boat. This was installed after I realized I'd forgotten when nearing home after a 400 mile journey! My boat is now kept closer to home.

 

[ltcom]

If the batteries are not ancient I think they will come back to life ok. After lots of mistakes and reading I learned that leisure batteries are built better than crankers. Obviously they are built for a reasonable deep discharge too. I also read that they prefer a slow charge to redemption rather than a 14.7 volt high current charge. Solar panels being ideal. As said, keep the desulfation mode until last resort. A gel battery once went down to 4 volts but a long gentle charge and some years later it is still going good guns. AGM more resilient than true leaky wet cell.

 

[rgarside]

There should be no other penetrations of the gas locker into the accommodation.
The thing about gas, is that it's a gas, not a liquid.
It won't run out by gravity like water, it will diffuse through holes, even if they are high up.

Gas locker drains quite commonly block.
One boat I had, the outlet at the transom trapped water like the u-bend in a toilet.
I've seen them collect leaves over winter.

Sadly, I have two penetrations in my gas locker, one for the drain and the second for the bulkhead fitting through which the gas is fed to the galley. The bulkhead fitting is towards the top on a side of the locker, the drain is at the bottom.

Butane is somewhat denser than air, so it will pool at the bottom of a space - if it has an unobstructed drain it will drain.

The Lord Trenchard report implied that the gas line to the galley went through the lower part of the locker, and was a copper pipe through a hole with mastic sealing, the state of the debris didn't seem to allow them to determine the condition of the mastic seal.

 

[rgarside]

My problems started with LPG alarm repeatedly going off. Checked for but could not detect any gas leaks so decided it was a failure of the LPG alarm sensor head. Advised they only last 4-6yrs. Mine was about 8yrs old. Due to age advised the current replacement head will not work on old alarm!

I had the same problem, but the manufacturer no longer did gas alarms. If you are into electrickery there is a fund of information on the web about how to make gas alarms. The sensor components are available on eBay quite cheaply. I made some replacement circuit boards to fit in the sensor head boxes, and made an Arduino based replacement board to go in the main box. I was able to use switch-mode power supplies so the current consumption is about half that of the original system.