Battery brown bread?

Jonny2488 · 13 March 2012, 23:05

Got a 12v 100AH leisure battery. It hasn't been used in the boat since the end of last season and is probably completely flat (will check tomorrow) and doubt very much that it's been charged at any stage since then.

If the above is the case, is it likely to be a complete goner or is it worth trying to resurrect it?

A1an · 13 March 2012, 23:16

Does your charger have an ameter on it?

Chuck it on charge and see what it draws.

Leisure batteries are a high cycle battery and are designed for taking the abuse that they get.

My feeling is that itl be fine.

Jonny2488 · 14 March 2012, 22:45

Haven't got a charger but planning to buy one as I figure I'll need one irrelevant of if this battery needs replacing or not. Can you recommend any??

Put my multi meter to it this evening. The one I've got is difficult to understand unless you've got a degree in electronic engineering (which I haven't).

As far as I could tell it was telling me it had 12.04v when tested on a range of up to 20v and 26.3mA when measured on a range of 200mA.

Does that make any sense? If so, what does it mean?

Thanks, J.

Erin · 14 March 2012, 23:07

As long as it was fairly well charged at the end of last season I don't see why it wouldn't be fine now. I quite often don't charge mine over winter and it is fine for starting the engine in spring. Your voltage reading sounds reasonable for a battery that's not under load. The amperage is irrelevant and I assume you didn't actually connect the meter across the battery on the amps setting properly otherwise you'd have seen some big sparks and things would have got quite hot quite quickly.

A1an · 14 March 2012, 23:12

A good fully charged battery will give you anything from 12.6V - 13.2V, unfortunately the multimeter isnt a reliable enough test, a battery can still give out a reading of 12ish volts but have no real power for cranking.

Do you store your boat near a power supply?

I have my battery on something called a smart charger in the off season, it basically stays plugged in 24/7 and looks after the battery's health keeping it top notch for the whole of the winter. I have a few of them all plugged in to my ATV's. A good one will set you back £60 and upwards, alot cheaper than a good leisure battery.

If you are not near a power supply there are solar powered smart chargers on the market that do pretty much the same job, these tend to be a few more quid because of the solar technology.

As for a static battery charger... buy a decent one, say £40 and upwards, (Sealey, Ring) I prefer something from 10 Amp and up, I know my leisure battery can draw 9 Amps when totally flat. The secret to getting a good charge into a battery is charging it SLOWLY!

Jonny2488 · 15 March 2012, 15:52

Thanks a lot for that A1an, thats really helpful.

Only just bought the boat so haven't owned it over the last winter but am planning to keep it near a power source.

So what charger would I need for this battery? The whole amps thing confuses me a bit. What amperage charger would I need for that? Think I might just bit the bullet and buy a charger. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

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uncle al · 15 March 2012, 16:32

if its a lead/acid battery make sure that the plates are covered unscrew the tops and look inside and leave them either off or loosly screwed into the battery, differant battery makers recommend either tops in or out.I forgot to mention DO NOT SMOKE OVER A BATTERY EVER ESPECIALLY ONE THAT IS CHARGING OR JUST REMOVED FROM CHARGING, THEY CAN AND WILL EXPLODE

A1an · 15 March 2012, 19:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny2488

So what charger would I need for this battery? The whole amps thing confuses me a bit. What amperage charger would I need for that? Think I might just bit the bullet and buy a charger. Any suggestions?

Here, just the job.

Sealey AUTOCHARGE12 Battery Charger Electronic 12Amp 6 and 12V 230V new | eBay

I have one like this and its good.

When you connect a dull battery the needle will shoot up the scale to show how many Amps the battery is taking out of the charger, its not a sign of whats IN the battery, when the needle works down to 0 Amps on the scale then thats the battery as charged as its going to be.

Roughly speaking a leisure battery or a large one like you have is going to take a couple of days to fully charge, itl draw alot out the charger as soon as its connected and slowly draw less as it becomes more charged.

Car batteries and leisure batteries are wildly different in their technology, a car battery is designed to give alot of power quickly then be charged rapidly, a leisure battery is designed to give a steady power for a longer time then be charged slowly.

It used to be the case that car batteries were 200 cycle and leisure batteries were 400 cycle, a cycle being fully charged to flat then back to fully charged again.

I doubt its the same now.

Jonny2488 · 15 March 2012, 22:23

Thanks a lot for that mate, much appreciated.

Will get onto the case and buy one of those chargers and then hopefully I'll be good to go

Jonny2488 · 16 March 2012, 23:55

How does the amperage of the charger affect the battery I'm trying to charge?

Will a higher amperage charger charge it better? I.e what amperage do I need, or does it not matter?

Thanks.

A1an · 17 March 2012, 00:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny2488

*How does the amperage of the charger affect the battery I'm trying to charge?

*Will a higher amperage charger charge it better?

*I.e what amperage do I need, or does it not matter?

Thanks.

*The higher the Amp rating on the charger the more Amps are available for the battery to draw from it during charging.

*Itl charge it quicker but with leisure batteries slower is better.

*As a rough rule of thumb you divide the battery Amps by 10 to give you the charger you require, basically for your 100A battery you should be looking for a 10A charger.

jyasaki · 17 March 2012, 22:36

Jonny; you might want to do a search for a good on-line battery primer and read up. Knowledge is a good thing.

jky

Jonny2488 · 20 March 2012, 22:23

So, my Sealey Autocharge 12Amp battery charger arrived today (with thanks to A1an for his advice) and my battery is now on trickle charge.

On trickle charge it's currently drawing about 2amps and one fast charge it draws about 6amps, this sound about right?

Will let it charge fully and see how good it is after. Finger's crossed it has the beans to get the motor going!

Thanks for everyone's input.

A1an · 20 March 2012, 22:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny2488

So, my Sealey Autocharge 12Amp battery charger arrived today (with thanks to A1an for his advice) and my battery is now on trickle charge.

On trickle charge it's currently drawing about 2amps and one fast charge it draws about 6amps, this sound about right?

Will let it charge fully and see how good it is after. Finger's crossed it has the beans to get the motor going!

Thanks for everyone's input.

If it is drawing 2A from dead flat then it could be a little tired, my 120A Leisure will take 6A from dead on SLOW and 9A on FAST.

You will find as the battery gets older and more tired it will draw less from dead flat.

The good news is your battery isnt fubar and I would have every confidence in it being OK.

Did you check the electolyte levels in it?

The good thing about the Autocharge is that you can leave the battery on it during the winter and itl keep it topped up and healthy.

Jonny2488 · 20 March 2012, 22:57

Thanks for that mate. It's between the min and max so presume that's ok?

I took one of the caps off and had a peer in, there seems to be a solid mass inside with some liquid around it, what's that all about?

Yeah will be useful being able to leave it on over winter and not have to worry about coming back to a flat battery in the spring!
J.

A1an · 20 March 2012, 23:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny2488

*Thanks for that mate. It's between the min and max so presume that's ok?

*I took one of the caps off and had a peer in, there seems to be a solid mass inside with some liquid around it, what's that all about?

J.

*Yep, as long as its taking something then its good news, when a flat battery draws 0A then its srappy time.

*Have a read up on how a Lead Acid battery works, all will become clear. The fluid level needs to be slighty above the lead plates.

Jonny2488 · 21 March 2012, 19:50

Got back from work today to find that my battery was fully charged having been on trickle charge for 24 hours.

Plugged it into the boat and hey presto, the engine started first turn of the key! Good times

Is it safe to assume that as long as I look after it from now on, it should be ok? Or is there a chance it could die on me at some stage for no reason?

Thanks.

A1an · 21 March 2012, 22:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonny2488

Got back from work today to find that my battery was fully charged having been on trickle charge for 24 hours.

Plugged it into the boat and hey presto, the engine started first turn of the key! Good times

Is it safe to assume that as long as I look after it from now on, it should be ok? Or is there a chance it could die on me at some stage for no reason?

Thanks.

It is rare for a battery to just FAIL, there are usually warning signs, the starter being lazy is the easiest to spot, losing its charge quickly when not in use is another.

All should be well as long as the engines charge circuit is healthy and not under or over charging.

Jonny2488 · 25 March 2012, 22:06

Thanks a lot for your help and advice A1an and everyone, it's much appreciated. With any luck I shouldn't have anymore battery issues. Fingers crossed for happy boating

Cheers, J.

A1an · 25 March 2012, 22:08

Happy boating