R23 Battery Support

[OhCapMyCap]

Hi All,

New Boater here. I wanted to see if anyone can help me figure out next steps for my current situation.

We pulled our R23 out for the winter last fall and fully charged the House and Engine batteries before we winterized her, and left her in the yard. We left the switch for the House in the on state, and left the one for the engine in the off state. We put a cover on the boat for the winter, so the solar panel was not able to charge the batteries while in the yard.

We went to start the spring maintenance on the boat on Sunday, and we put her in the water to go to the Marian. When we launched, we realized that we left the House battery switch in the On state and it wasnt reading any charge. We realized we left the outside lights on all winter, which cause the House battery to deplete.

Once we put her in the water and started the engine, we ran the emergency parallel with the engine battery to jump the house battery. We flicked off the emergency parallel after a few min of charging, and when the house battery came back to life on the screen. But when we got to the Marina, turned off the engine, and plugged in, we noticed the lights did not turn on. We had to flick the emergency parallel again to jump the house battery (while on shore power) and turn the lights on.

I'm trying to figure out what this all means, and what my next steps are. Do I need to check the health of the batteries? Does it sound like I need new House batteries? Should I replace all the batteries?

Side note: We realized that we also left the Thruster battery switch in the On state all winter. While underway, the thruster did not work. Only after we got to the dock and plugged in, did the Thruster start to work.

So with all that in mind, does it sound like I might need to replace my batteries with fresh ones? Or is this normal activity after de-winterizing?

Thanks!

Sean

 

[Kevin Lamont]

Hi All,

New Boater here. I wanted to see if anyone can help me figure out next steps for my current situation.

We pulled our R23 out for the winter last fall and fully charged the House and Engine batteries before we winterized her, and left her in the yard. We left the switch for the House in the on state, and left the one for the engine in the off state. We put a cover on the boat for the winter, so the solar panel was not able to charge the batteries while in the yard.

We went to start the spring maintenance on the boat on Sunday, and we put her in the water to go to the Marian. When we launched, we realized that we left the House battery switch in the On state and it wasnt reading any charge. We realized we left the outside lights on all winter, which cause the House battery to deplete.

Once we put her in the water and started the engine, we ran the emergency parallel with the engine battery to jump the house battery. We flicked off the emergency parallel after a few min of charging, and when the house battery came back to life on the screen. But when we got to the Marina, turned off the engine, and plugged in, we noticed the lights did not turn on. We had to flick the emergency parallel again to jump the house battery (while on shore power) and turn the lights on.

I'm trying to figure out what this all means, and what my next steps are. Do I need to check the health of the batteries? Does it sound like I need new House batteries? Should I replace all the batteries?

Side note: We realized that we also left the Thruster battery switch in the On state all winter. While underway, the thruster did not work. Only after we got to the dock and plugged in, did the Thruster start to work.

So with all that in mind, does it sound like I might need to replace my batteries with fresh ones? Or is this normal activity after de-winterizing?

Thanks!

Sean

Hello Sean,

You may need to replace the batteries due to running them flat as they dont typically hold a charge after going that flat. I would recommend removing the batteries and connecting a charger directly to the battery to see if it will hold a charge, sometimes it will hold a charge but after a simple load it will lose most voltage and be dead again. Sometimes after all of that it is easier to just have replaced the batteries in the first place.

For future reference, if you are unable to keep the charger on for extended period of time (1+month) it would best to disconnect the grounds on the batteries. If you are able to have good solar charge you should be fine, just remember to turn off all the battery switches😉

Hope this helps,

 

[OhCapMyCap]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your help. This makes sense, and I will certainly make sure to disconnect the grounds to the batteries in the future.

A few follow up questions:
- If I confirm I need to replace the batteries, do you recommend replacing all of the batteries or just the ones that don't hold charge? I figure battery technology is better now than it was a few years ago, so I figure its worth it to replace them all?

- I havent replaced a battery before on a boat. Is it the same process as replacing a car battery? Are there any watchouts or additional steps to take when replacing a battery bank vs a single battery?

- Does Ranger Tug recommend any particular battery brand for the boat? Does it have to be marine grade? Is there a particular size it needs to be?

Thank again,

Sean

Hi All,

New Boater here. I wanted to see if anyone can help me figure out next steps for my current situation.

We pulled our R23 out for the winter last fall and fully charged the House and Engine batteries before we winterized her, and left her in the yard. We left the switch for the House in the on state, and left the one for the engine in the off state. We put a cover on the boat for the winter, so the solar panel was not able to charge the batteries while in the yard.

We went to start the spring maintenance on the boat on Sunday, and we put her in the water to go to the Marian. When we launched, we realized that we left the House battery switch in the On state and it wasnt reading any charge. We realized we left the outside lights on all winter, which cause the House battery to deplete.

Once we put her in the water and started the engine, we ran the emergency parallel with the engine battery to jump the house battery. We flicked off the emergency parallel after a few min of charging, and when the house battery came back to life on the screen. But when we got to the Marina, turned off the engine, and plugged in, we noticed the lights did not turn on. We had to flick the emergency parallel again to jump the house battery (while on shore power) and turn the lights on.

I'm trying to figure out what this all means, and what my next steps are. Do I need to check the health of the batteries? Does it sound like I need new House batteries? Should I replace all the batteries?

Side note: We realized that we also left the Thruster battery switch in the On state all winter. While underway, the thruster did not work. Only after we got to the dock and plugged in, did the Thruster start to work.

So with all that in mind, does it sound like I might need to replace my batteries with fresh ones? Or is this normal activity after de-winterizing?

Thanks!

Sean

Hello Sean,

You may need to replace the batteries due to running them flat as they dont typically hold a charge after going that flat. I would recommend removing the batteries and connecting a charger directly to the battery to see if it will hold a charge, sometimes it will hold a charge but after a simple load it will lose most voltage and be dead again. Sometimes after all of that it is easier to just have replaced the batteries in the first place.

For future reference, if you are unable to keep the charger on for extended period of time (1+month) it would best to disconnect the grounds on the batteries. If you are able to have good solar charge you should be fine, just remember to turn off all the battery switches😉

Hope this helps,

 

[Capt’nKarl]

Sean. If your current batteries are more than 2-3 years old then you need to replace all of them. As Kevin said once a battery is drained flat they usually won’t recover. You can replace with what you have or upgrade depending on your choice. Secondly, before removing any battery cables make a detailed video, take a lot of pictures, and tag each and every wire noting the battery pole and position it came off. If you do this for each battery you shouldn’t have any issues reconnecting. Good luck.
Cheers.
Karl

 

[S. Todd]

Sounds like your engine starting battery did fine. I don't know why you would replace it if it works and tests fine. I typically get five years out of my marine batteries, but I make sure they get some charge during the winter months. Our travel trailer is stored at a facility and that battery comes home with me and gets a charger on it each month. If my boat was stored where I could not charge it each month I would bring those batteries home too. They aren't cheap and replacing them early is not my idea of being thrifty. That said, when the tester says they are bad the last thing I want to do is have to call for a tow, so they get replaced even if they seem to be working. House batteries should all be replaced as a set because you don't want an old one drawing down your new ones, but those that are separate, like the engine and thruster batteries can be saved if they test out fine. My two cents worth that has worked for us for the last 30+ years.

 

[GaylesFaerie]

If you ran the house batteries dead, you will most likely need to replace them. That deep a discharge is really bad for flooded lead acid batteries. You usually don't want to take them down more than 50% of full charge. You should replace all the batteries including the start battery. If you don't, the difference in charge holding ability and efficiency will simply kill the engine battery faster when your ACRs kick in (assuming you have them). If you have the solar panel, try and use it over the winter to keep the batteries in a FLOAT state of charge. I cover my R27 front and back with 2 separate tarps that meet in the middle under my solar panel. I also take out the fuses on the 24 hour power distribution panel. This winter it worked great and I was able to get some work done and even run my microwave for meals. The 100W solar panel replenished the batteries in a day of sunshine to 100%. And definitely turn all service switches OFF if you have no plans to return to the boat for a few months. Hope this helps, GF