House Batteries

[plewis]

Hello All
I've noticed the house battery (all batteries are 3 months old) is at 12.4v while the others are close to 14v. I assume from this indication that the house battery - which is turned off - is not being charged, since the boat is on the hard and the charger is on with two green leds lit. To make things complicated, the boat is currently wrapped tight awaiting transport from NY to FLA for a long planned trip up the St. John's River. The wrapping allows the lazarettes to open only enough to get my head into the battery area, not great for troubleshooting, and I am very reluctant to cut the shrink wrap.

What I need is a check of my assumptions before I start to worry.
1) A battery at 80% should be charging.
2) The engine, thruster, and house batteries should all read the same voltage when being charged - they don't.
3) The ACR's should have a green led lit - they do not.

Thanks in advance

 

[knotflying]

Here is an LED indicator chart from Blue Seas http://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/other/LED-Status-Chart.png The Led should be on when they are combined. Do you have a solar panel? If the house was not getting a charge from the charger, the solar panel should be charging the house. What happens if you use your combine switch, that will combine the house and engine and bypass the ACR's. The ACR's will isolate a battery when it is below 9.5 volts and you are above that.
On another note, I have done the Saint Johns. What does a long planned trip mean? It can get cold in northern Florida in the winter, albeit warmer that New York, but 60's and lower. Also I found two weeks plenty to cruise from Jacksonville to Sanford. Others may have a different opinion, but I would hate to see you get down there and be disappointed. At this juncture you could always launch further south for warmer weather, if that is your intent.

 

[plewis]

Thanks for your assist... When a had another look I realized that there was a hefty cable running from the inverter/charger to the bottom most rotary switch labeled INVERTER which I had dutifully turned off for winter storage... DUH! Flipping the Inverter switch back on resolved the issue. I don't feel too bad as at least my assumptions where correct even though earlier actions were incorrect. Kinda like when your lost it is good to know your lost!

I do have solar but with the shrink wrap on, it does limit the solar's ability to recharge a depleted battery. This brings up another assumption that I need to test - are the ACR leds on when charging via solar only?

We are planning to start our adventure (I've been on a 35 year hiatus from boating) in Sanford and head north for near 2 weeks to Jacksonville- the thinking here is river cruising would be easier introduction to boating for newbies. Once in Jacksonville depending on our luck with weather we'll decide to head further north or head south. We're encouraged by the unseasonable warm weather 70's and 80's but are prepared for some cold nights.

 

[knotflying]

Yep, two weeks should do you fine on the river and yews easy cruising for you. Glad your problem is resolved. I never thought of the inverter switch. Tht was one of my mistakes as a newbie.

 

[#4 on Bucket List]

Returned to the boat last night after being gone for a few days with the refrigerator on and found the main battery bank just about dead. After tinkering for a couple hours and another hour trying to explain to my wife why we had no light, we finally went to bed and worried all night. Got up the morning and went to Tugnuts and the 1st thread i read was this one. Problem solved! Thank Tugnuts and thanks to all you knowledgeable contributors that help out us newbies.

 

[knotflying]

It is important to keep those batteries at a (close to) full state of charge. Every time they are severely discharged they lose some useful life, yes even AGM. Always make sure all systems are performing prior to leaving the boat. This should include bilge pumps and their sensors.