2019 R23 Battery Reconnect Proceedure?

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Nickc

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 2, 2020
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129
Fluid Motion Model
C-242 C
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2378C919
Vessel Name
Spirit
What is best procedure for reconnecting batteries after yard disconnected the ground on all 4 batteries for "yard insurance purposes"?. My concern is for possible damage to solar panel and/or the solar controller-- as indicated by other on this forum --when yard reconnects batteries in Spring. (In past at other yards in the winter-all I did was remove all 24/7 fuses and kept panel open to sun all winter, and did not disconnect batteries- come spring batteries were fine.
The recommendation from others this RangerTug forum is that I should block off the solar panel before attempting to reconnect the Batteries. (Note: I noticed that uncovered solar panel meter in cave indicates 8 amps output when sun is shining with all 4 batteries disconnected.
I am hoping one of the solar system experts/Factory Reps could comment on methods to safely reconnecting batteries without damaging the solar panel system.
 
If you have actually pulled the fuses to the batteries from the solar controller to the batteries then there is no need to cover the solar panels when connecting the batteries. Covering the panels would be required when connecting the panels to the solar controller when there is no fuse or breaker installed (and removed or turned off) between the solar panels and controller (the way the system was delivered on my boat). The reason to remove the fuse or turn off the breaker in both cases is to reduce the chance of an arc. In other words to protect you and the boat, not necessarily protect the solar panels.

The fact however that you are reading 8 amps on the solar panel meter means something else is going on. Either you haven’t removed all the fuses or there is some other load on the solar system. Also perhaps you are reading 8Ahrs instead of 8amps. 8Ahrs would show the total current over time including the time prior to removing the fuse. The actual instantaneous current would be a different selection on your solar meter.

Curt
 
thanks curt ...great explanation.. going to boat to check the gauge in the cave again... i think you are right.. i think it showing 8Ahrs not 8amps. I am also going to check the voltage on the 5 yr old batteries (2019) to see how they are holding up this winter without any solar panel charging them as in the past winters.
I am curious ... what is the low reading on the 5 year old batteries where I should consider replacing them all?
 
thanks curt ...great explanation.. going to boat to check again... i think you are right.. i think it showing 8Ahrs not 8amps. I am also going to check the voltage on the 5 yr old batteries (2019) to see how they are holding up this winter without any solar panel charging them as in the past winters. I am curious ... what is the low reading on the 5 year old batteries where I should consider replacing them all?
 
I’m going to assume you have the factory installed Universal Power deep cycle AGM batteries. Either the UB121000 or UB121100 models. If properly maintained and not discharged below 11.8 volts (30% SOC) you should get 6-8 years of life out of them. Frequent discharging below 11.8 volts will greatly shorten their operating lifespan.
In general AGMs have a low discharge rate (1-3% per month) if stored in a cool/cold location where not on a concrete floor and not subject to freezing temperatures. If placed into storage fully charged you should be able to leave them in storage several months with no problems.
If this were my boat, I would replace the engine and thruster batteries with starter or dual purpose batteries with a CCA rating of at least 950 at this time. Lots and lots of threads on this site about recommended brands/models of starting type batteries for use in engine and thruster banks. I still prefer the Odyssey Extreme Marine batteries with 1150 CCA for the engine and thruster banks.
For the house bank, each battery should read between 13 to 12.8 volts when fully charged. If reading below that I consider replacing the house bank as well. In any event I would plan on replacing the house bank batteries at 6 years even if perfectly maintained and never abused by over discharging.
 
Thanks scross
My 2019 R23 has, I believe the original 3 Centennial Marine Deep Cycle Flooded Gp 27 90AH Maintenance Free Marine Batteries -( 2 House+ 1Thruster) and 1 Centennial Marine Flooded Gp27 Starting Battery Gp27 800CCA Maintenance free Battery.
Since CENTENNIALS are not available on east coast- if need be, I am considering replacing them with similar DURACELL BCI GROUP 27M (3+1) in kind if I find them much below 11.9 volts in the Spring.
I was considering as you indicated- using a Starting Battey for Thruster (not 90AH DEEP CYCLE), but I was concerned I would be messing with the charging system and/or ACR's and screw up battery charging correctly. Any thought appreciated.
 
I am not an electrical engineer. I do not have advanced knowledge in battery charging systems. I’m just a product user. I’m giving you my thoughts based on that level of expertise and nothing more.
I believe your boat has three battery banks. House, engine and thruster. The banks are somewhat independent of one another. The alternator charges one bank until full (13 volts for 2 minutes) then the ACRs “step in” and combines the charging current to the next bank. I know the battery charging experts are cringing at my oversimplification here.
I’ve read here that all batteries in all banks should be identical and even getting them from the same manufacturing batch is important. I don’t know how much impact doing that would really has in day-to-day operations.
For my boat, the engine battery and the thruster battery are identical X2Power Dual Purpose 1150 CCA AMG sold by Batteries Plus but made by Odyssey. The two house batteries are now 20 month old Universal Power UB121100 Deep Cycle AMG batteries installed by the seller prior to us buying the boat.
I like the Duracell deep cycle marine batteries for use in the house bank. Had them in my 2009 R-25 Classic and they worked well. The Optima Blue Top batteries have a good reputation as well.
Ok, all you electrical charging experts, please correct me for anything I’ve gotten wrong here!
 
The batteries in the same bank (house) should be identical in capacity, chemistry, and age to function best and last the longest. The other batteries (Thruster and Start) need only to be the same chemistry as the house (all AGM, all flooded etc.) They can be different in capacity, cycle life, or age. This is all due to the fact that the battery charger can only be set to one charging profile based on chemistry (AGM, Flooded, etc.).

On our boat I used the same deep cycle battery as the house (Lifeline GPL-31XT) because I have added a switch to combine the Thruster battery with the house for longer stays at anchor. Since, when combined, the Thruster is part of the house bank I wanted them to be the same capacity and cycle life as the house. The Thrusters work fine with a deep cycle battery. Our start battery is the Lifeline GPL-3100T. I’m really happy with this setup as the 31XT’s are 125Ahr each which is more than the typical group 31 battery.

Curt
 
Thankyou both for your thoughtful insight into batteries and the associated different charging/discharging characteristics of deep cycle and starter batteries. In conjunction with me probably having to replace all 4 batteries this spring, I took a look at the R23 POWER DISTRIBUTION diagram (p27) of R-23 Owner's manual & the wiring diagram. It appears both the Engine & Thruster are tied into the same ACR and the 2 House batteries into the other ACR.
The question I have is why the R23 came from factory with 2 different batteries (with 2 different charging/discharging characteristics) on the same charging circuit/ACR. The Thruster Battery is a Centinenntal Deep cycle 90AH and the Engine is a Centinenntal 800CCA Starter Battery.
When I replace them - wouldn't it be better to both the Thruster and Engine with the same type of Starter Batteries (say 900CCA) -- and not back to the way they came from factory with 2 different type batteries and associated 2 different charging profiles?
 
Nickc,
I have never heard of any FM boat being delivered with Centennial batteries. For AGM factory uses Universal Power batteries. Are the Centennials something the dealer swapped out the UP batteries for?
Since FM uses the exact same UP AGM battery for every function and in all banks, there’s no negative impact on how the ACRs are configured. Centennials AGMs tend to be a fair amount more expensive than the UP AGM batteries so yours seem to be an upgrade.
My guess is that somewhere, someone removed the factory installed Universal Power batteries and replaced them with mismatched Centennials before the boat was delivered to you.
 
My 2021 R-23 came with 5 Dual Purpose Centennial Sealed lead acid batteries.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for all the interesting comments... I am the second owner of the 2019 R23... I bought boat in 2020 and I am pretty sure those are the original 4 Centennial Flooded Non Maintenance batteries now in place ( 3Deep cycle+ 1 Starter ).The Engine has been hooked into a Starter Battery while the Thruster is hooked into a Deep cycle Battery--- and they are both tied into the same ARC. It appears my boat is unique from others--- in that I have batteries with different charging characteristics -feeding off the same ACR
It appears the Batteries have functioned fine, even though the different type of batteries supposedly have different charging characteristics and are feeding off the same ACR.
My gut feeling is check voltage of all Batteries in Spring-- and if necessary replace the replace them in kind with available 3 Duracell deep cycle and 1 Duracell starter Battery-- and not mess with what has worked in the past--
Unless I run into a Nigel Calder or some other Marine electrical expert who convinces me otherwise.
 
As long as the Centennial batteries are all Flooded the recommended charging profiles should be similar enough to work fine on the same charging system. The configuration of the ACRs doesn’t really matter as long as one side of each ACR is tied to the battery tied to the alternator. Once they they see sufficient charging voltage (13.2V or so) the will ACRs close and all batteries will be tied together.

Curt
 
Thanks Curt et al for informative comments... hopefully I can get another season out of the original Centennials.... if not I will be replacing with them with them in the same configuration as original.
 
Just down to check on boat.... as follow-up... looks like battery replacement of 5 years old batteries will NOT be required. After yard disconnected all 4 batteries last November- all 4 flooded lead batteries read 12.61 volts. As a recommended precaution (since meter in cave show solar panel is putting out 20.8 V in full sunlight)- I will cover the solar panel until yard reconnects for launching in a few weeks- after which they will uncover.
I guess having the battery fully charged at the time batteries was disconnected, was important.
 
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